The Essence of Japanese Idioms: Expressions That Enrich Language
Multiple examples of four-character compounds and four-letter words are presented on one page with examples of four-character compounds displayed by various designs focusing on four-character compounds and four-letter words.
We express four-character idioms in various designs, such as Mincho, Gyosho, Gothic, and Sosho styles. These can serve as general examples for lettering in Japanese, posters (handmade signs), and calligraphy assignments like the New Year's calligraphy tradition.
 Comparison Samples of Four-Character Idiom Designs. |
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 Mincho Font |
Textbook Font |
Gyousho Font |
Gothic |
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| Maru Gothic |
Anxiety |
Brush Pen |
Sosho Font |
We have put together a one-page sample of such a design for one four-character phrase.
Kanji characters may be missing if they are old or special characters (Unicode).
Four-Character Idioms: Capturing the Spirit of Japan
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 641 一成一旅 642 一世一度 643 一世之冠 644 一世師表 645 一超直入 646 一朝之忿 647 一朝之患 648 一朝富貴 649 一致和協 650 一沈黄粱 651 一擲乾坤 652 一擲千金 653 一擲百万 654 一徹無垢 655 一点一画 656 屋烏之愛 657 屋下架屋 658 屋上架屋 659 屋梁落月 660 雄蝶雌蝶 |
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 661 汚名返上 662 親子団欒 663 一言万鈞 664 一時緩急 665 一字三礼 666 一字千金 667 一日九回 668 一日九遷 669 一堂和気 670 一丘一壑 671 一裘一葛 672 一球入魂 673 一丘之貉 674 一虚一盈 675 一虚一実 676 一挙一動 677 一虚一満 678 一境四面 679 一挙双擒 680 一挙両失 |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 681 一挙両全 682 一挙両得 683 一挙両利 684 恩威兼済 685 恩威並行 686 恩威並重 687 恩威並用 688 温衣飽食 689 厭穢欣浄 690 温言慰謝 691 栄枯休咎 692 栄枯窮達 693 栄枯盛衰 694 栄枯浮沈 695 英姿渙発 696 英姿颯爽 697 永字八法 698 英俊豪傑 699 郢書燕説 700 栄辱得喪 |
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 701 溢美溢悪 702 一筆啓上 703 一筆勾断 704 一筆抹殺 705 一筆抹倒 706 哀毀骨立 707 愛及屋烏 708 哀矜懲創 709 愛月撤灯 710 哀鴻遍地 711 哀鴻遍野 712 有頂天外 713 烏鳥之狡 714 烏鳥私情 715 雲外蒼天 716 雲間之鶴 717 雲起竜驤 718 運斤成風 719 雲霓之望 720 雲行雨施 |
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Significance of Font Design
They play an important role in the communication and visual presentation of information. First, fonts can greatly affect the impression of a message depending on the shape and style of the letters. For example, serif fonts give a traditional, formal impression, while sans-serif fonts create a modern, clean look.
They also contribute to readability and legibility and are designed to aid visual attraction and understanding, especially in advertising and publications. In addition, fonts can serve as part of a brand identity, a means of expressing the personality of a company or product.
About precautions How to write and read four-character phrases |
This homepage introduces how to write various four-character phrases.
Some kanji characters may be garbled because they are not supported in the font-based character design. We have also taken care to ensure that there are no mistakes in the kanji and reading notations, but there may be kanji mistakes or conversion errors.
The introduction of typefaces is only shown as an example as a sample of typeface design. Even similar fonts may differ in minor details. It is not intended to indicate superiority or inferiority of any typeface.
The font and cursive typefaces shown on this page are not necessarily correct, as they often reflect the individuality of the person actually writing them.
When accuracy is required for school assignments, exams, work, etc., please confirm the correctness of the kanji, readings, and meanings of 4-kanji compounds with a Japanese dictionary, idiomatic expression dictionary, or other reliable source. Text and images on this site may not be reproduced or redistributed.