Shūji for All Ages: Learning Calligraphy Together
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).
Shūji: The Art of Brush Writing for Beginners
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
1 内外之分 2 平穏無事  3 抜萃出類  4 璞玉渾金  5 博古知今  6 奔放不羈  7 廟堂之器  8 白手起家  9 廃藩置県  10 猫鼠同眠  11 並駕斉駆  12 放縦恣横  13 薄唇軽言  14 不用之用  15 博学審問  16 布衣之友  17 破帽弊衣  18 百家九流  19 尾大不掉  20 蚊虻走牛  |
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21 万里鵬翼 22 閉月羞花  23 不羈奔放  24 平地波瀾  25 日居月諸  26 不同不二  27 鳳友鸞交  28 百発百中  29 比肩随踵  30 白首窮経  31 物論囂囂  32 百年之柄  33 浮雲驚竜  34 貧小失大  35 背水一戦  36 風花雪月  37 覆車之戒  38 入郷従郷  39 蜂準長目  40 法誉無上  |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
41 被髪佯狂 42 方正謹厳  43 風餐露宿  44 風餐雨臥  45 鵬霄万里  46 憤懣焦燥  47 分形連気  48 被髪文身  49 報本反始  50 粉愁香怨  51 忘身忘家  52 認賊為子  53 尨眉皓髪  54 反首抜舎  55 販賤売貴  56 蜂目豺声  57 跋山渉水  58 百挙百捷  59 発揚蹈厲  60 逢祖殺仏  |
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61 肥肉大酒 62 南都北嶺  63 博学洽聞  64 舞文弄法  65 百年之業  66 波流茅靡  67 蒲鞭之政  68 閉目塞聴  69 風塵僕僕  70 木人石心  71 肥肉厚酒  72 風波之民  73 筆力扛鼎  74 暴戻恣雎  75 非難囂囂  76 撥雲見天  77 法爾自然  78 肉山酒海  79 碧血丹心  80 飛雪千里  |
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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.