#four character compounds

[tokidokitokyo]

四字熟語

四字熟語 (よじじゅくご) or yojijukugo are what are known as "four-character compounds" or "four-character idioms" in Japanese.

These contain four kanji, and the meanings of the individual kanji don't usually have much to do with the meaning of the idiom as a whole. But the meaning of the idiom often comes from a story which explains the derivation of the four characters used.

Like the rest of kanji, yojijukugo come from China. Yojijukugo come specifically from the Chinese Chengyu. However, there are many Japanese-only yojijukugo as well. Each yojijukugo represent the moral of a Chinese story, a Japanese proverb, Buddhist scripture, or an old Japanese story. Therefore to really understand the yojijukugo meaning, you would need to know the story behind it.

Estimates of the number of existing yojijukugo range upwards to 20,000 which is quite a lot of stories to learn. However, some are fairly straightforward and don't require a lot of information to understand the meaning. You can learn some of the most common ones without having to learn every story behind them.

Some Common 四字熟語

一期一会　いちごいちあい Once-in-a-lifetime encounter

一石二鳥　いっせきにちょう Kill two birds with one stone

一生懸命　いっしょうけんめい With utmost effort

温故知新　おんこちしん Learning from the past

以心伝心　いしんでんしん Without the need for words

花鳥風月　かちょうふうげつ The beauties of nature

初志貫徹　しょしかんてつ Achieving one's original intention

質実剛健　しつじつごうけん Unaffected and sincere

十人十色　じゅうにんといろ To each his own

清浄潔白　せいじょうけっぱく Pure in heart and with a clean conscience

天真爛漫　てんしんらんまん Simple and innocent

日進月歩　にっしんげっぽ Steady progress

臨機応変　りんきおうへん Playing it by ear

These are just a few of the four-compound idioms that Japanese has to offer. What is your favorite yojijukugo?

[chouhatsumimi]

Ouran High School Host Club vol. 3

So many words...  I do not recommend this series for beginners or intermediate learners.  The language used is really fancy and difficult.  Cool, but difficult.

愚姉  gushi  -  older sister 御髪  ogushi  - hair  (sonkeigo, respectful) むっつり  muttsuri  -  sullenly, morosely, silently むっつり助平・助兵衛  muttsuri sukebe  - lecher with a quiet exterior 営み  itonami  - activity, action, (sexual intercourse) 手を出す  te o dasu  - to make a move on / to start a fight; to reach out one’s hand 世話をやける  sewa o yakeru  - to be annoying けりを付ける  keri o tsukeru  - to settle, to bring to an end (this also appeared in OITNB) 案の定  an no jou  - sure enough, just as one thought 崩れ去る  kuzure saru  - to crumble away, to collapse 命に関わる  inochi ni kakawaru  -  to be a matter of life or death 拷問  goumon  - torture 不甲斐ない  fugainai  - disappointing, weak-minded, cowardly 恩着せがましい  onkisegamashii  - patronizing, expecting gratitude in return, acting like one is doing someone a favor, condescending 雛菊  hinagiku  - daisy   (lit. chick chrysanthemum) 手厳しい  tekibishii -  severe, harsh 所望  shomou  - desire, request, wish 歴とした  rekki to shita  - accepted, fully-fledged 俗物  sokubutsu  - worldly-minded person, vulgar person, snob  (I think it means worldly in contrast to heavenly) 軽薄  keihaku  - frivolous, flippant, superficial 取り分け  toriwake  - especially, above all, among others 至上  shijou  - supremacy 集い  tsudoi  - meeting, get-together (among friends) 鈴蘭  suzuran  - lily of the valley 蔑視  besshi  - contempt, derision, disdain うんざり  unzari  - tedious, boring, being fed up with 同志  doushi  - like-mindedness, shared sentiment, comrade 崇高  suukou  - lofty, sublime, noble   弄ぶ  moteasobu  - to play with, to fiddle with 私利私欲  shiri shiyoku  - desire to act only in one’s self-interest あまつさえ  amatsusae  - besides (negative nuance), moreover 幼気  itaike  - innocent, helpless 言語道断  gongo doudan  - outrageous, preposterous 寝る子は育つ  neru ko wa sodatsu  - a well-slept child is a well-kept child しばく  shibaku  - to strike, to hit 掃き溜めに鶴  hakidame ni tsuru  -  a jewel in a dunghill  (lit. a crane [bird] in a garbage dump) 微々  bibi  - slight, insignificant さぞや  sazoya  -  surely, certainly 動揺  douyou  - shaking, trembling  (I always mix this up with 動揺, ‘nursery rhyme’) 形見  katami  - memento, keepsake 粗品  soshina  - inferior goods, low-quality articles 皆の衆  mina no shuu  - everybody 無頓着  mutonchaku  - indifferent, unconcerned  (lit. not concerned about) 腹黒い  haraguroi  - mean, malicious, scheming, black-hearted  (lit. stomach black... used to describe Kyoya) 向き不向き  muki fumuki  - different suitabilities, being cut out for certain things (and not for others) 愚弄  gurou  - mockery, derision, ridicule 奥義  ougi  - secret techniques, inner mysteries (compare to 扇 ougi, ‘fan’) 兎角  tokaku  - (doing) this and that; being apt to; at any rate; all sorts of (negative things); rabbit horns (used as a metaphor for things that do not exist) 寸法  sunpou  - measurement, size; plan, intention 無駄骨  mudabone  - useless, waste of time and effort 言いざま  iizama  - matter of speaking, way of saying something 可憐  karen  - sweet (e.g. young girls, flowers blooming) どことなく  dokotonaku  - somehow, for some reason, vaguely 縺れる  motsureru  - to get entangled; to trip over 目には目を  me ni wa me o  - an eye for an eye ネーム  ne-mu  -  storyboard  (also, name) 有志  yuushi  - voluntary, volunteer, sympathizer たち悪い  tachiwarui  - in bad taste, problematic, of poor character 側から  soba kara  - as soon as, right after 画伯  gahaku  - master painter 臍繰り  hesokuri  - secret savings, stash  (lit. belly button reel) 叩く  hataku  - to use up money  (also, to dust; to slap) なんちゃって  nanchatte  - just kidding!   ばかし  bakashi  - approximately; nothing but 真相  shinsou  - truth, real situation 究明  kyuumei  - investigation (esp. in academic and scientific contexts) お召し物  omeshimono  - clothing  (teineigo, polite language) 作法  sahou  - manners, etiquette 折り入って  oiri itte  - earnestly しょぼい  shoboi  - shabby, dull, gloomy コント  konto  - skit, sketch comedy 素朴  soboku  - simplicity, artlessness, naivete 消え失せろ  kieusero  - get lost, get out of my sight, scram, beat it, buzz off, go away 消え失せる  kieuseru  -  to disappear, to vanish; to die はにかみ屋  hanikamiya  - bashful person, very shy person 社交辞令  shakou jirei  - polite or diplomatic way of putting things そこはかとない  sokohakotonai  - faint, slight, vague 皆目 kaimoku  - entirely 見当  kentou  - estimate, guess どうとでも  dou to demo  - one way or the other 湯飲み  yunomi  - teacup 気をきかせる  ki o kikaseru -  to make the smart move (after taking in the situation); to do the tactful or helpful thing (after considering someone’s feelings) じりじり  jirijiri  - gradually, slowly but steadily 止めなく  todome naku  - endlessly さばく  sabaku   -  to sell out completely  (among other meanings)  (compare to 砂漠 sabaku, desert) 元手  motode  - funds, capital, stock 大胆  daitan  - bold, daring  (lit. large gall bladder) 返上   henjou  - give up, relinquish さぞかし  sazokashi  - certainly, surely 仄々  honobono  - dimly, faintly, heartwarming じたじた  jitajita  - cowering, recoiling, overwhelmed バイ  bai  - bisexual (among other meanings) 威張る  ibaru  - to put on airs, to act big, to brag 美貌  bibou  - beautiful face, good looks 妬む  netamu  - to be jealous of 陰口  kage guchi  - malicious gossip  (lit. shadow mouth) 語尾  gobi  - (inflected) end of a word, end of a sentence   古風  kofuu  - old-fashioned 某  bou  - (a) certain 気長  kinaga  - patient, leisurely 漠然  bakuzen  - obscure, vague

[chouhatsumimi]

words from Ouran High School Host Club, vol. 4 (part 2/3)

抜け抜け [ぬけぬけ (nukenuke), ヌケヌケ (nukenuke)] - freely, impudently, brazenly, shamelessly, however one wishes

危める, 殺める [あやめる (ayameru)] - to wound, to murder

如何様 [いかさま (ikasama), イカサマ (ikasama)] - fraud, trickery, counterfeit, swindle

不可解 [ふかかい (fukakai)] - mystery, baffling, inexplicable, incomprehensible

暴く, 発く [あばく (abaku)] - to disclose, to divulge, to expose I distinctly recognized this word from hearing it in the song Lacrimosa by Kalafina. Even when I don’t look up what words in songs mean, if I memorize them, I always seem to remember them when they come up later. 

振るう, 揮う, 振う [ふるう (furuu)] - to swing, to wield (physically), to exert Ok, first of all, there’s an u on the end of this ru verb. Where did that come from?!  And not only that, there are four different verbs written ‘furuu’. Weird.

春爛漫 [はるらんまん (haruranman)] - spring in full bloom, spring at its height

精霊 [せいれい (seirei)] - spirit, soul, ghost

逢瀬 [おうせ (ouse)] - rendezvous, tryst, (lover's) meeting, (secret) date

如何わしい [いかがわしい (ikagawashii)] - suspicious, dubious, unreliable; indecent, unseemly A great word for the host club, haha.

慈愛 [じあい (jiai)] - affection, kindness, love

面持ち, 面もち, 面持 [おももち (omomochi)] - expression, look, countenance, face

蹴鞠 [けまり (kemari), しゅうきく (shuukiku)] - kemari, type of football played by courtiers in ancient Japan

源氏名 [げんじな (genjina)] - "professional name" used by hostesses and geisha I think I looked this one up incorrectly, though, they were referring to Hikaru Genji, protagonist of The Tale of Genji.  It was a great pun since one of the host club boys is named Hikaru. 

ノーコン (nōkon) - poor control (pitcher), no control From ‘No control’. 

日夜 [にちや (nichiya)] - day and night, around the clock, always, constantly

奔走 [ほんそう (honsou), ほんそ (honso)] - running about, making every effort, being busily engaged (in something), good offices

潔い, 潔よい, いさぎ良い [いさぎよい (isagiyoi)] - manly, sportsmanlike, gracious, gallant, resolute, brave

羨望 [せんぼう (senbou)] - envy

顧問 [こもん (komon)] - adviser, advisor, consultant

紛い, 擬い, 贋い [まがい (magai)] - imitation, sham, -like

傍若無人 [ぼうじゃくぶじん (boujakubujin)] - arrogance, audacity, (behaving) outrageously as though there were no one around, insolence, defiance, overbearing

逸らかす [はぐらかす (hagurakasu)] - to dodge (e.g. a question), to evade, to sidestep

誇示 [こじ (koji)] - ostentation, display