The Aesthetic Appeal of Japanese 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).
Shūji for Beginners: Starting Your Calligraphy Journey
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 241 四百四病 242 雌伏雄飛 243 自負自賛 244 自分勝手 245 四分五割 246 四分五剖 247 四分五落 248 四分五裂 249 耳聞目撃 250 耳聞目見 251 耳聞目睹 252 歯敝舌存 253 資弁捷疾 254 四方雑処 255 自暴自棄 256 歯亡舌存 257 四方八方 258 子墨客卿 259 子墨兔毫 260 徙木之信 |
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 261 慈母三遷 262 慈母敗子 263 揣摩憶測 264 揣摩憶断 265 揣摩迎合 266 四曼相即 267 水火無情 268 随感随筆 269 酔眼朦朧 270 随機応変 271 随喜渇仰 272 随喜功徳 273 随宜所説 274 随宜説法 275 推究根源 276 水窮山尽 277 炊臼之夢 278 垂拱之化 279 垂拱之治 280 水鏡之人 |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 281 水魚之親 282 水魚之交 283 炊金饌玉 284 水月鏡花 285 水月鏡像 286 水光接天 287 水紫山明 288 隋珠和璧 289 随処為主 290 翠色冷光 291 随処任意 292 随人歩趨 293 水随方円 294 水清無魚 295 酔生夢死 296 水村山郭 297 吹竹弾糸 298 水中捉月 299 水中撈月 300 翠帳紅閨 |
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 301 垂髫戴白 302 推陳出新 303 水底撈針 304 水滴石穿 305 斉紫敗素 306 西施捧心 307 静寂閑雅 308 西戎東夷 309 西狩獲麟 310 済勝之具 311 清浄無垢 312 青松落色 313 精神一到 314 精神鬱怏 315 聖人君子 316 聖人賢者 317 精心孤詣 318 誠心誠意 319 精神統一 320 聖人無夢 |
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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.