Mastering Kanji: The Art of Brush Calligraphy
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).
Kanji Writing Styles: Exploring Traditional and Contemporary Techniques
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1201 心地公明 1202 参差錯落 1203 紳士淑女 1204 唇歯相依 1205 真実一路 1206 真実無妄 1207 人事天命 1208 唇歯之国 1209 参差不斉 1210 人事不省 1211 唇歯輔車 1212 仁者不憂 1213 仁者無敵 1214 仁者楽山 1215 進取果敢 1216 人主逆鱗 1217 神出鬼行 1218 神出鬼没 1219 浸潤之譖 1220 深情一往 |
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 1221 尋常一様 1222 深情厚誼 1223 唇焦口燥 1224 尋章摘句 1225 信賞必罰 1226 針小棒大 1227 晨鐘暮鼓 1228 神色自若 1229 神色泰然 1230 心織筆耕 1231 人死留名 1232 心身一如 1233 人心一新 1234 水天一碧 1235 水到魚行 1236 水到渠成 1237 垂頭喪気 1238 垂頭塞耳 1239 垂堂之戒 1240 錐刀之利 |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1241 随波逐流 1242 垂髪戴白 1243 清光素色 1244 成効卓著 1245 清光溶溶 1246 生殺与奪 1247 青山一髪 1248 青史汗簡 1249 噬指棄薪 1250 生死存亡 1251 生死肉骨 1252 青鳥之書 1253 青天白日 1254 正当防衛 1255 正当防御 1256 清廉潔白 1257 世運隆替 1258 世外桃源 1259 世外之交 1260 是耶非耶 |
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 1261 積悪之報 1262 積悪余殃 1263 尺蚓穿堤 1264 積羽沈舟 1265 千波万波 1266 千般計較 1267 鮮美透涼 1268 全豹一斑 1269 仙風道骨 1270 前覆後戒 1271 前仆後継 1272 千兵万馬 1273 穿壁引光 1274 千篇一体 1275 千方百計 1276 千磨百錬 1277 千万無量 1278 千門万戸 1279 先憂後楽 1280 千里一曲 |
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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.