Four-Character Idioms: A Guide to Japanese Proverbs
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 Vocabulary for Art Lovers: Essential Terms
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1041 山容水色 1042 山容水態 1043 三浴三薫 1044 山溜穿石 1045 三輪空寂 1046 三輪清浄 1047 三輪体空 1048 山礪河帯 1049 三令五申 1050 暫労永逸 1051 三老五更 1052 思案投首 1053 詩歌弦管 1054 尺短寸長 1055 積土成山 1056 責任転嫁 1057 積年累月 1058 石破天驚 1059 尺幅千里 1060 尺布斗粟 |
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 1061 尺璧非宝 1062 隻履西帰 1063 鶺鴒之情 1064 世辞追従 1065 是生滅法 1066 世尊金口 1067 世態人情 1068 節哀順変 1069 雪案蛍窓 1070 節衣縮食 1071 窃位素餐 1072 雪萼霜葩 1073 石画之臣 1074 折花攀柳 1075 折檻諌言 1076 絶観忘守 1077 積毀消骨 1078 窃玉偸香 1079 雪月風花 1080 接見応対 |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1081 節倹力行 1082 絶巧棄利 1083 千態万様 1084 先代未聞 1085 前代未聞 1086 川沢納汚 1087 専断偏頗 1088 先知先覚 1089 浅知短才 1090 扇枕温衾 1091 扇枕温席 1092 扇枕温被 1093 前程遠大 1094 前程万里 1095 先手必勝 1096 旋転囲繞 1097 旋転乾坤 1098 前途多難 1099 前途万里 1100 前途有為 |
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 1101 前途有望 1102 前途遼遠 1103 千成瓢箪 1104 先難後獲 1105 善男信女 1106 善男善女 1107 漸入佳境 1108 阡陌交通 1109 浅薄皮相 1110 先発制人 1111 率先励行 1112 啐啄同時 1113 祖逖之誓 1114 素波銀涛 1115 楚夢雨雲 1116 粗鹵迂遠 1117 粗鹵狭隘 1118 孫康映雪 1119 損者三楽 1120 損者三友 |
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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.