The Aesthetic Appeal of Kanji: Crafting Characters with Style
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 History and Evolution of Japanese Calligraphy
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
81 買犢還珠 82 舞文弄墨  83 閉戸先生  84 女人結界  85 風流三昧  86 皮開肉綻  87 白板天子  88 平気虚心  89 兵戈槍攘  90 並駆斉駕  91 風雲之志  92 繁文縟礼  93 百聞一見  94 風清月白  95 日新月異  96 不言不語  97 反躬自問  98 駢拇枝指  99 如意摩尼  100 平沙落雁  |
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101 無事平安 102 方駕斉駆  103 翻天覆地  104 伐木丁丁  105 白日昇天  106 日昃之労  107 物議洶然  108 必経之路  109 斑門弄斧  110 片言隻言  111 放蕩不羈  112 風塵外物  113 望文生義  114 不霊頑冥  115 富貴浮雲  116 放馬南山  117 不可思議  118 富貴長生  119 日省月試  120 物質代謝  |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
121 発揚踔厲 122 万乗之君  123 反行両登  124 不羈之才  125 病入膏肓  126 鮑魚之肆  127 匹夫之勇  128 評頭品足  129 焚琴煮鶴  130 文人無行  131 馬角烏白  132 万邦無比  133 風魚之災  134 墨翟之守  135 麦麯之英  136 閉目塞聡  137 夫里之布  138 万紫千紅  139 比翼連理  140 風霜之気  |
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141 白髪青袗 142 苹水相逢  143 馬痩毛長  144 万事如意  145 百世不羈  146 万古長青  147 肉袒負荊  148 無為不言  149 梅酸止渇  150 片簡零墨  151 方正之士  152 暮色蒼然  153 墨名儒行  154 反面教員  155 風霜之任  156 内清外濁  157 報仇雪恨  158 白璧断獄  159 不耕不織  160 捕風捉影  |
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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.