Mastering Brush Strokes: Techniques for Beautiful Kanji
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).
Four-Character Idioms: Expressions That Capture the Heart
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
1 大衣広帯 2 張甲李乙  3 庭訓三月  4 同始異終  5 刀槍矛戟  6 大味必淡  7 朝生夕死  8 大吼一声  9 大慾非道  10 長命安楽  11 中秋無月  12 怠慢忘身  13 頭童歯豁  14 倜儻不羈  15 断編残簡  16 沈黙寡言  17 天涯海角  18 同床各夢  19 地大物博  20 読書三昧  |
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21 大智不智 22 鄭衛桑間  23 多謀善断  24 大徳不官  25 脱兎之勢  26 東夷西戎  27 大人大観  28 知者不言  29 天地万象  30 低唱浅斟  31 仲連蹈海  32 凋零磨減  33 跌宕狷介  34 天下無敵  35 沈博絶麗  36 椿庭萱堂  37 奪胎換骨  38 長枕大被  39 重煕累葉  40 棟梁之器  |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
41 超仏越祖 42 陳詞濫調  43 短慮浅見  44 長夜之飲  45 躊躇逡巡  46 置錐之地  47 董狐之筆  48 篤実温厚  49 同病相憐  50 同功一体  51 対驢撫琴  52 濁流滾滾  53 短期決戦  54 兔起鶻落  55 多才能弁  56 大驚小怪  57 天災地変  58 単純明快  59 大同団結  60 枕経藉書  |
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61 銅頭鉄額 62 知小謀大  63 桃李成蹊  64 転彎磨角  65 断簡零墨  66 短慮軽率  67 桃林処士  68 稠人広坐  69 独具隻眼  70 耐久之朋  71 轍鮒之急  72 兔死狗烹  73 対機説法  74 端正和顔  75 天資英邁  76 同気相求  77 通暁暢達  78 独断専行  79 沈思凝想  80 鋳山煮海  |
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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.