is a Japanese

lexeme A lexeme () is a unit of lexical meaning that underlies a set of words that are related through inflection. It is a basic abstract unit of meaning, a unit of morphological analysis in linguistics that roughly corresponds to a set of forms take ...

consisting of four

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

(

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

s). English translations of include "four-character compound", "four-character idiom", "four-character idiomatic phrase", and "four-character idiomatic compound". It is equivalent to the Chinese .

Definition and classification

in the broad sense refers to Japanese compound words consisting of four

characters. In the narrow or strict sense, however, the term refers only to four-kanji compounds that have a particular (idiomatic) meaning that cannot be inferred from the meanings of the components that make them up.

Non-idiomatic

There exists a very large number — perhaps tens of thousands — of four-character compounds. A great majority of them are those whose meanings can be easily deduced from the literal definition of their parts. These compounds may be called ''non-idiomatic'' . For example, the compound word is a non-idiomatic . It is made up of four characters: , , , and . Alternatively, it can be regarded as consisting of two common two-character compounds: , and . Either way, the meaning of the compound is clear; there are no idiomatic meanings beyond the literal meanings of its components. Below are a few more examples of non-idiomatic : *, (, university + , education) *, (, environment + , deterioration) *, (, Japan + , U.S. + , relations) *, (, history + , novel) *, (, advertisement + , effect). Note that is itself a non-idiomatic four-character phrase.

Idiomatic

By contrast, several thousands of these four-character compounds are true idioms in the sense that they have a particular meaning that may not be deduced from the literal meanings of the component words. An example of the highly idiomatic compound is: *, (, ocean + , thousand + , mountain + , thousand) "Ocean-thousand, mountain-thousand" means "a sly old fox" or someone who has had all sorts of experience in life so that they can handle, or wiggle out of, any difficult situations through cunning alone. This meaning derives from an old saying that a snake lives in the ocean for a thousand years and in the mountains for another thousand years before it turns into a

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

. Hence a sly, worldly-wise person is referred to as one who has spent "a thousand years in the ocean and another thousand in the mountains". Many idiomatic were adopted from classical Chinese literature. Other four-character idioms are derived from Buddhist literature and scriptures, old Japanese customs and proverbs, and historical and contemporary Japanese life and social experience. The entries in the published dictionaries of are typically limited to these ''idiomatic'' compounds of various origins.

Chinese and Japanese origins of idiomatic

The Japanese are closely related to the Chinese , in that a great many of the former are adopted from the latter and have the same or similar meaning as in Chinese. Many other , however, are Japanese in origin. Some examples of these indigenous Japanese four-character idioms are: *, (uncanny romantic relationship formed by a quirk of fate) *, (once-in-a-lifetime experience) *, (sly old dog of much worldly wisdom) *, (romantic entanglement; love affair) *, (a bystander's vantage point) *, (singing one's own praises; tooting one's own horn) *, (double-dealer; timeserver)

Examples of idiomatic yojijukugo

;一攫千金 ''ikkakusenkin'' (''ichi'' one + ''kaku'' grasp + ''sen'' thousand + ''kin'' gold) :making a fortune at a stroke. (Origin: Chinese classics) ;美人薄命 ''bijinhakumei'' (''bi'' beauty + ''jin'' person + ''haku'' thin + ''mei'' life) :A beautiful woman is destined to die young.; Beauty and fortune seldom go together. (Origin: Chinese classics) ;酔生夢死 ''suiseimushi'' (''sui'' drunken + ''sei'' life + ''mu'' dreamy + ''shi'' death) :idling one's life away; dreaming away one's life accomplishing nothing significant (Origin: Chinese classics) ;羊頭狗肉 ''yōtōkuniku'' (''yō'' sheep + ''tō'' head + ''ku'' dog + ''niku'' meat) :crying wine and selling vinegar; extravagant advertisement (Origin: Chinese classics) ;悪因悪果 ''akuin'akka'' (''aku'' bad/evil + ''in'' cause + ''aku'' bad/evil + ''ka'' effect) : An evil cause produces an evil effect; Sow evil and reap evil. (Origin: Buddhist scriptures) ;会者定離 ''eshajōri'' (''e'' meeting + ''sha'' person + ''jō'' always + ''ri'' be separated) :Every meeting must involve a parting; Those who meet must part. (Origin: Buddhist scriptures) ; 一期一会 ''ichigoichie'' (''ichi'' one + ''go'' life + ''ichi'' one + ''e'' encounter) :(Every encounter is a) once-in-a-lifetime encounter (Origin:

Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is se ...

) ;一石二鳥 ''issekinichō'' (''ichi'' one + ''seki'' stone + ''ni'' two + ''chō'' bird) :killing two birds with one stone (Origin: English proverb) ;異体同心 ''itaidōshin'' (''i'' different + ''tai'' body + ''dō'' same + ''shin'' mind) :Harmony of mind between two persons; two persons acting in perfect accord.　 ;順風満帆 ''junpūmanpan'' (''jun'' gentle/favorable + ''pū'' wind + ''man'' full + ''pan'' sails） : smooth sailing with all sails set; everything going smoothly ;十人十色 ''jūnintoiro'' (''jū'' ten + ''nin'' person + ''to'' ten + ''iro'' color) : to each their own; So many people, so many minds. ;自画自賛 ''jigajisan'' (''ji'' own/self + ''ga'' painting + ''ji'' self/own + ''san'' praise/an inscription written on a painting) : a painting with an inscription or poem written by the artist themselves (as a non-idiomatic compound) : singing one's own praises; blowing one's own horn; self-admiration (as an idiomatic compound) ;我田引水 ''gaden'insui'' (''ga'' own/self + ''den'' field + ''in'' draw + ''sui'' water) : self-seeking; feathering one's own nest ;唯我独尊 ''yuigadokuson'' (''yui'' only + ''ga'' self + ''doku'' alone + ''son'' respect/honor) : I alone am honored; holier-than-thou; Holy am I alone (Origin: Buddhist scriptures) ;電光石火 ''denkōsekka'' (''den'' electricity + ''kō'' light + ''seki'' stone + ''ka'' fire) : as fast as lightning ;一日一歩 ''ichinichiippo'' (''ichi'' one + ''nichi'' day + ''ichi'' one + ''po'' step) : one step each day ;弱肉強食 ''jakunikukyōshoku'' (''jaku'' weak + ''niku'' meat + ''kyō'' strong + ''shoku'' meal) : law of the jungle; stronger supersede weaker

References

Japanese writing system terms Japanese vocabulary

External links

{{Wiktionary, yojijukugo, 四字熟語
四字熟語 - Yojijukugo
- a list of about 5,800 yojijukugo being developed by The Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group. Japanese words and phrases