The Beauty of Brush Calligraphy: Techniques and Styles
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).
The Influence of Kanji on Japanese Calligraphy Styles
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
1281 驚天駭地 1282 尭天舜日  1283 仰天長嘆  1284 驚天動地  1285 仰天不愧  1286 協同一致  1287 尭年舜日  1288 外剛内柔  1289 回光反照  1290 魁梧奇偉  1291 悔悟慚羞  1292 回顧之憂  1293 解語之花  1294 悔悟憤発  1295 快語満堂  1296 開権顕実  1297 棄甲曳兵  1298 跂行喙息  1299 規行矩歩  1300 疑行無名  |
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1301 鬼哭啾啾 1302 旗鼓相当  1303 気骨稜稜  1304 起居動静  1305 旗鼓堂堂  1306 騎虎之勢  1307 奇策縦横  1308 奇策妙計  1309 偽詐術策  1310 箕山之志  1311 箕山之節  1312 箕山之操  1313 起死回骸  1314 恵風和暢  1315 経文緯武  1316 軽便信用  1317 刑鞭蒲朽  1318 傾盆大雨  1319 軽妙洒脱  1320 形名審合  |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
1321 鷄鳴之助 1322 兄友弟恭  1323 勁勇無双  1324 傾揺解弛  1325 形容辺幅  1326 啓沃之功  1327 軽慮浅謀  1328 隙穴之臣  1329 撃壌鼓腹  1330 窺伺傚慕  1331 起死再生  1332 旗幟鮮明  1333 貴耳賎目  1334 紀事本末  1335 疑事無功  1336 棄邪従正  1337 騎獣之勢  1338 睚眦之怨  1339 懐才不遇  1340 開三顕一  |
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1341 回山倒海 1342 開示悟入  1343 海市蜃楼  1344 亥豕之譌  1345 改邪帰正  1346 開迹顕本  1347 膾炙人口  1348 鎧袖一触  1349 外柔中剛  1350 外柔内剛  1351 下意上達  1352 薤上之露  1353 快人快語  1354 開心見誠  1355 強迫観念  1356 虚有縹渺  1357 器用貧乏  1358 尭風舜雨  1359 行不踰方  1360 驕兵必敗  |
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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.