Four-Character Idioms: Essential for Japanese Language Mastery
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).
Japanese Vocabulary for Travelers: Essential Phrases
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
1601 錦繍之腸 1602 錦繍綾羅  1603 近朱必赤  1604 擒縦自在  1605 謹小慎微  1606 金城鉄壁  1607 錦上添花  1608 金城湯池  1609 君側之奸  1610 君命無二  1611 群分類聚  1612 群雄割拠  1613 群竜无首  1614 勲労功伐  1615 経緯万端  1616 経緯万方  1617 鯨飲馬食  1618 還来穢国  1619 絢爛華麗  1620 絢爛豪華  |
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1621 枯木枯草 1622 枯木死灰  1623 枯木生葉  1624 枯木発栄  1625 枯木逢春  1626 枯木竜吟  1627 枯木冷灰  1628 故歩自封  1629 故歩不離  1630 虚妄分別  1631 虚融澹泊  1632 御用繁多  1633 孤立無援  1634 孤立無親  1635 狐狸変化  1636 五里霧中  1637 狐狸妖怪  1638 五倫五常  1639 五倫十起  1640 五輪著地  |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
1641 固陋寡聞 1642 固陋蠢愚  1643 狐狼盗難  1644 虎狼之国  1645 虎狼之心  1646 虎狼之毒  1647 孤論難持  1648 滾瓜爛熟  1649 権理通義  1650 懸梁刺股  1651 懸梁錐股  1652 賢良方正  1653 彦倫鶴怨  1654 牽攣乖隔  1655 堅牢堅固  1656 黔驢之技  1657 懸腕直筆  1658 懸腕枕腕  1659 五噫之歌  1660 挙一明三  |
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1661 強悪非道 1662 高位高官  1663 好逸悪労  1664 香囲粉陣  1665 黄衣廩食  1666 光陰如箭  1667 光陰流水  1668 光陰流転  1669 行雨朝雲  1670 行雲流水  1671 形影相随  1672 形影相弔  1673 形影相同  1674 形影相伴  1675 形影相憐  1676 形影不離  1677 繋影捕風  1678 形枉影曲  1679 形骸土木  1680 傾家竭産  |
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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.