Kanji for Everyday Life: Practical Calligraphy Applications
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. |
|||
| |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Mincho Font |
Textbook Font |
Gyousho Font |
Gothic |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 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 Significance of Brush Techniques in Shūji
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
1041 卑怯千万 1042 一目十行  1043 貎合心離  1044 茅屋采椽  1045 拈華破顔  1046 不可抗力  1047 紛紛聚訴  1048 斧鑿之痕  1049 攀轅臥轍  1050 敗柳残花  1051 内峻外和  1052 蔽賢妬能  1053 博文約礼  1054 班女辞輦  1055 胼胝之労  1056 非常之功  1057 百下百全  1058 廃寝忘食  1059 万物斉同  1060 発人深省  |
|
1061 半官半民 1062 白虹貫日  1063 背井離郷  1064 背本趨末  1065 百黙一言  1066 麋沸蟻聚  1067 白面書郎  1068 白髪童顔  1069 米珠薪桂  1070 伯夷之廉  1071 悲喜交集  1072 兵馬倥偬  1073 眉目清秀  1074 白衣蒼狗  1075 貧者一灯  1076 弁才無尽  1077 難攻不落  1078 伐木之契  1079 麦曲之英  1080 百川帰海  |
|
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
1081 年災月殃 1082 百術千慮  1083 眄視指使  1084 博覧強記  1085 俯察仰観  1086 撥墨淋漓  1087 忍之一字  1088 内剛外順  1089 畢竟寂滅  1090 白雲孤飛  1091 巫雲蜀雨  1092 反抗憤怒  1093 肥大蕃息  1094 朋党比周  1095 不事二君  1096 万死九生  1097 文武両道  1098 白衣宰相  1099 白玉微瑕  1100 万馬奔騰  |
|
1101 鳳凰銜書 1102 非才浅学  1103 奉公克己  1104 別有天地  1105 不倶戴天  1106 覆雨翻雲  1107 能猫陰爪  1108 瓢瓢踉踉  1109 風月玄度  1110 軟紅車塵  1111 氷清玉潔  1112 仏籬祖室  1113 北斗七星  1114 賁育之勇  1115 稗官小説  1116 文武兼資  1117 粉身砕骨  1118 蓬頭赤脚  1119 偏袒扼腕  1120 伯牙破琴  |
|
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
1121 二律背反 1122 富国強兵  1123 没風流漢  1124 風起雲蒸  1125 分合集散  1126 内平外成  1127 人之安宅  1128 変幻出没  1129 万乗之尊  1130 茅茨不翦  1131 抱薪救火  1132 豊衣足食  1133 普遍妥当  1134 白眉最良  1135 人情冷暖  1136 百家争鳴  1137 妨功害能  1138 美中不足  1139 費半功倍  1140 貧窮福田  1141 非驢非馬  1142 不刊之論  1143 評頭論足  1144 北面稽首  |
|
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.