Exploring the Beauty of Kanji: Calligraphy Styles and Techniques
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. |
|||
| |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Mincho Font |
Textbook Font |
Gyousho Font |
Gothic |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 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 History of Japanese Calligraphy: From Tradition to Modernity
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 81 止足之分 82 咨咀逡巡 83 志大才疎 84 殊域同嗜 85 十悪五逆 86 拾遺補過 87 拾遺補闕 88 集腋成裘 89 縦横自在 90 縦横無隅 91 縦横無礙 92 縦横無尽 93 秀外恵中 94 衆寡不敵 95 羞花閉月 96 衆議一決 97 衆議成林 98 衆蟻慕羶 99 十逆五悪 100 十行倶下 |
|
 101 愁苦辛勤 102 羞月閉花 103 衆賢茅茹 104 衆口一致 105 秋高気爽 106 衆口熏天 107 衆口鑠金 108 重厚長大 109 秋毫之末 110 秋高馬肥 111 十五志学 112 修己治人 113 終歳馳駆 114 聚散十春 115 集散離合 116 寸土寸金 117 寸馬豆人 118 寸歩難移 119 寸歩難行 120 寸歩不離 |
|
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 121 青鞋布韈 122 井蛙之見 123 青雲之志 124 精衛填海 125 清音幽韻 126 青蓋黄旗 127 星河一天 128 臍下丹田 129 西河之痛 130 星火燎原 131 擠陥讒誣 132 誠歓誠喜 133 旌旗巻舒 134 生寄死帰 135 旌旗堂堂 136 政教一致 137 政教分離 138 精金良玉 139 斉駆並駕 140 晴好雨奇 |
|
 141 晴耕雨読 142 性行淑均 143 誠惶誠恐 144 草衣木食 145 草偃風従 146 滄海一滴 147 滄海桑田 148 桑海之変 149 滄海揚塵 150 総角之交 151 総角之好 152 造化小児 153 草間求活 154 双管斉下 155 桑間之音 156 桑間濮上 157 壮気横秋 158 操奇計贏 159 創業守成 160 創業守文 |
|
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.