Shūji: The Meditative Art of Writing with a Brush
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).
Understanding Japanese Expressions: The Power of Language
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1361 銷毀骨立 1362 傷弓之鳥 1363 松喬之寿 1364 章句之徒 1365 上求菩提 1366 商君徙木 1367 笙磬同音 1368 小隙沈舟 1369 浄潔快豁 1370 銷遣之具 1371 上行下効 1372 上行下従 1373 焦熬投石 1374 照顧脚下 1375 小国寡民 1376 城狐社鼠 1377 鐘鼓饌玉 1378 将錯就錯 1379 正直正路 1380 心領意会 |
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 1381 心領神会 1382 新涼灯火 1383 深慮遠謀 1384 深厲浅掲 1385 蜃楼海市 1386 辛労辛苦 1387 随鴉彩鳳 1388 吹影鏤塵 1389 随縁放曠 1390 隋和之材 1391 隋和之宝 1392 鮮血淋漓 1393 前言往行 1394 浅見寡聞 1395 浅見短慮 1396 旋乾転坤 1397 先見之識 1398 先見之明 1399 千言万句 1400 千言万言 |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1401 千言万語 1402 洗垢求瘢 1403 洗垢索瘢 1404 千紅万紫 1405 千孔百瘡 1406 前虎後狼 1407 善後処置 1408 前後相随 1409 千呼万喚 1410 千古不易 1411 前後不覚 1412 千古不朽 1413 千古不抜 1414 千古不変 1415 尸位素餐 1416 侈衣美食 1417 子為父隠 1418 時雨之化 1419 慈烏反哺 1420 四宇和平 |
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 1421 持盈守成 1422 持盈保泰 1423 四海一家 1424 四海兄弟 1425 死灰枯木 1426 四海困窮 1427 死灰再燃 1428 四海天下 1429 四海同胞 1430 自己暗示 1431 舐糠及米 1432 試行錯誤 1433 至高至上 1434 自高自大 1435 自業自得 1436 自業自縛 1437 至公至平 1438 豕交獣畜 1439 師曠清耳 1440 師曠之聡 |
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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.