Four-Character Idioms: Language That Tells a Story
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).
The Influence of Kanji on Japanese Dialects
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
881 点睛開眼 882 胆気横秋  883 長安日辺  884 天地開闢  885 徹骨徹髄  886 踏足付耳  887 竹林名士  888 斗斛之禄  889 天香桂花  890 談言微中  891 断長続短  892 投閑置散  893 痴心妄想  894 同軌同文  895 貪欲吝嗇  896 提鋼挈領  897 鉄樹開花  898 択言択行  899 儻来之物  900 竹帛之功  |
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901 鳥面鵠形 902 同袍同沢  903 張冠李戴  904 兔走烏飛  905 断章取意  906 天下無比  907 斗筲之材  908 対牀風雪  909 泥船渡河  910 大椿之寿  |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
911 直言切諌 912 低唱浅酌  913 唐明有悌  914 大逆不道  915 雕梁画棟  916 敦厚周慎  917 遅疑不断  918 朝歌夜絃  919 対牀夜雨  920 知勇兼全  921 朝過夕改  922 当機立断  923 胆大心細  924 呑刀刮腸  925 螳臂当車  926 読書亡羊  927 鉄心石腸  928 雕文刻鏤  929 多事多患  930 倒懸之急  |
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931 置酒高会 932 天之美禄  933 大才小用  934 朝種暮穫  |
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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.