Understanding Japanese Expressions: The Importance of Context
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 Role of Idioms in Japanese Communication: A Cultural Insight
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 721 四通八達 722 悉有仏性 723 十誡五倫 724 悉皆成仏 725 十寒一暴 726 質疑応答 727 日月星辰 728 日月逾邁 729 疾言遽色 730 嫉賢妬能 731 執行猶予 732 失魂喪魄 733 失魂落魄 734 実事求是 735 十室九虚 736 十室九空 737 質実剛健 738 質実朴素 739 失笑噴飯 740 十進九退 |
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 741 漆身呑炭 742 失神落魄 743 疾声大呼 744 実践躬行 745 疾足先得 746 叱咤激励 747 叱咤督励 748 疾痛惨怛 749 疾痛惨憺 750 殊俗帰風 751 寿則多辱 752 手足重繭 753 手足之愛 754 手足之情 755 首鼠両端 756 受胎告知 757 酒池肉林 758 取長補短 759 述懐奉公 760 出奇制勝 |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 761 出群抜萃 762 出言不遜 763 朮羮艾酒 764 出谷遷喬 765 出将入相 766 出処進退 767 出没変幻 768 出藍之誉 769 出離生死 770 出類抜萃 771 殊塗同帰 772 酒入舌出 773 受忍限度 774 酒嚢飯袋 775 首尾一貫 776 首尾相応 777 寿比南山 778 手舞足踏 779 朱墨爛然 780 孺慕之思 |
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 781 儒名墨行 782 修羅苦羅 783 儒林棟梁 784 珠聨玉映 785 株連蔓引 786 震天駭地 787 震天撼地 788 震天動地 789 人頭畜鳴 790 心頭滅却 791 審念熟慮 792 心搏急速 793 心煩意悶 794 心煩意乱 795 塵飯塗羮 796 振臂一呼 797 人微言軽 798 人品骨柄 799 人貧智短 800 心腹之患 |
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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.