Mastering the Brush: Advanced Techniques for Kanji Writing
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 Calligraphy: A Journey Through History and Art
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1 細心翼翼 2 細心臨摸 3 祭政一致 4 祭政分離 5 載籍浩瀚 6 差以千里 7 才疎意広 8 灑掃応対 9 洒掃薪水 10 財多命殆 11 裁断批評 12 採長補短 13 采椽不斲 14 殺頭便冠 15 才徳兼備 16 災難即滅 17 才難之嘆 18 妻梅子鶴 19 曬腹中書 20 才弁縦横 |
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 21 三段論法 22 山中暦日 23 三徴七辟 24 斬釘截鉄 25 斬鉄截釘 26 参天弐地 27 讒諂面諛 28 山涛識量 29 三頭両緒 30 残忍酷薄 31 三人市虎 32 三人成虎 33 残忍非道 34 残念至極 35 三年味噌 36 残念無念 37 三拝九叩 38 三拝九拝 39 残杯冷肴 40 残杯冷炙 |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 41 暫費永寧 42 三百代言 43 三釜之養 44 散文精神 45 三分鼎足 46 三分鼎立 47 三平二満 48 残編断簡 49 讒謗罵詈 50 山木自寇 51 三位一体 52 四神相応 53 詩人墨客 54 詩人墨卿 55 死生契闊 56 至聖先師 57 至誠通天 58 四世同堂 59 市井之臣 60 市井之徒 |
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 61 市井之人 62 死生有命 63 咫尺千里 64 咫尺天涯 65 咫尺之功 66 咫尺之書 67 咫尺之地 68 志節堅固 69 時節到来 70 自然選択 71 自然天然 72 自然淘汰 73 四戦之国 74 四戦之地 75 紫髯緑眼 76 志操堅確 77 志操堅固 78 耳聡目明 79 四塞之国 80 四塞之地 |
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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.