Yojijukugo


A yojijukugo is a Japanese lexeme consisting of four kanji. 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, from which it is derived.

Definition and classification

in the broad sense refers to Japanese compound words consisting of four kanji characters, which may contain an idiomatic meaning or simply be a compound noun. However, in the narrow or strict sense, the term refers only to four-kanji compounds that have a particular meaning, which cannot be inferred from the meanings of the components that make them up.

Non-idiomatic

There are 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 definitions 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 :
  • 大学教育,
  • 環境悪化,
  • 日米関係, nichibeikankei
  • 歴史小説,
  • 宣伝効果, .
Yojijukugo 四字熟語 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:
  • 海千山千,
"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. 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:
  • 合縁奇縁,
  • 一期一会,
  • 海千山千,
  • 色恋沙汰,
  • 傍目八目,
  • 手前味噌,
  • 二股膏薬,

    Examples of idiomatic yojijukugo

;一攫千金
;美人薄命
;酔生夢死
;羊頭狗肉
;悪因悪果
;会者定離
;Ichi-go ichi-e
;一石二鳥
;異体同心
;順風満帆
;十人十色
;自画自賛
;我田引水
;唯我独尊
;電光石火
;一日一歩
;弱肉強食
;喜怒哀楽
;已己巳己