Mastering the Brush: Advanced Techniques for Kanji Writing
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).
Shūji: The Art of Brush Writing for Beginners
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1681 剪草除根 1682 千瘡百孔 1683 吮疽之仁 1684 千村万落 1685 千態万状 1686 全霊全力 1687 賎斂貴出 1688 賎斂貴発 1689 前狼後虎 1690 粗衣粗食 1691 粗衣糲食 1692 創意工夫 1693 疾風勁草 1694 疾風迅雷 1695 疾風怒涛 1696 櫛風沐雨 1697 櫛風浴雨 1698 失望落胆 1699 膝癢掻背 1700 衆少成多 |
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 1701 上援下推 1702 攘往煕来 1703 彰往考来 1704 生死事大 1705 生死長夜 1706 笑止千万 1707 生死転変 1708 小人革面 1709 小心謹慎 1710 焦心苦慮 1711 精進潔斎 1712 小心狷介 1713 匠心独運 1714 小人之学 1715 小人之勇 1716 小心翼翼 1717 剰水残山 1718 小水之魚 1719 匠石運斤 1720 生滅滅已 |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1721 笑面夜叉 1722 笑面老虎 1723 招揺過市 1724 逍遥自在 1725 従容中道 1726 従容赴死 1727 逍遥法外 1728 縦容無為 1729 少欲知足 1730 乗輿車駕 1731 乗輿播越 1732 笑裏蔵刀 1733 小利大害 1734 小利大損 1735 常鱗凡介 1736 上漏下湿 1737 心間手敏 1738 心願成就 1739 人間青山 1740 心寛体舒 |
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 1741 心機一転 1742 深山窮谷 1743 人山人海 1744 深山幽谷 1745 塵思埃念 1746 進退出処 1747 進退動作 1748 身体髪膚 1749 進退両難 1750 震地動天 1751 人中騏驥 1752 人中獅子 1753 人中之虫 1754 失道寡助 1755 松風水月 1756 傷風敗俗 1757 乗風破浪 1758 松風蘿月 1759 嘯風弄月 1760 蕭敷艾栄 1761 枝葉扶疏 1762 乗桴浮海 1763 昭穆倫序 1764 枝葉末節 1765 枝葉末端 1766 常命六十 1767 上命下達 1768 鐘鳴鼎食 1769 生滅去来 1770 生滅遷流 |
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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.