KANAE

Four characters

Four characters, one world: inherited from the Chinese classics and made Japanese, yojijukugo hold an entire idea — a conduct, a state of mind — in a formula quoted like a motto.

50 entries

By form All ProverbsFour charactersUntranslatable wordsStories behind wordsHaiku · By theme PatiencePerseveranceWorkDisciplineRelationsCourageHumilityLearningLifeSetback & ReboundNatureTime ·
  1. 016 Warm up the old to understand the new.
  2. 049 Ten people, ten colors.
  3. 068 One life, one meeting.
  4. 069 One stone, two birds.
  5. 080 Great vessels take long to complete.
  6. 096 Skilled at everything, rich in nothing.
  7. 130 Act without announcing.
  8. 131 Carving and polishing one another.
  9. 132 One aim, whole heart.
  10. 133 Carry your first resolve through to the end.
  11. 134 Sleeping on firewood, tasting gall.
  12. 135 Plow when it shines, read when it rains.
  13. 136 Flowers, birds, wind, moon.
  14. 137 Clear mirror, still water.
  15. 138 Beyond the clouds, blue sky.
  16. 139 With whole heart, in full sincerity.
  17. 140 Sincere simplicity, quiet strength.
  18. 147 Getting along like rider and horse.
  19. 148 Friends of the bamboo stilts.
  20. 157 Advance daily, progress monthly.
  21. 185 Bringing back to life what seemed dead.
  22. 186 A full turn of the heart.
  23. 187 Returning in a cloud of dust.
  24. 188 Unbending, unbroken.
  25. 202 Calm and equal to oneself, whatever happens.
  26. 203 Standing on one's own, walking at one's own pace.
  27. 204 Echoing the thunder without an opinion of one's own.
  28. 208 Let the water carry it away.
  29. 235 Answering the moment as it comes.
  30. 236 The right timber in the right place.
  31. 237 One meeting in a thousand years.
  32. 238 The beauty of a completed ending.
  33. 239 Entering alone, blade drawn, straight to the point.
  34. 240 Drawing the water to one's own rice field.
  35. 241 Mistaking the branch for the root.
  36. 242 Writing the praise of one's own painting.
  37. 243 Enemies of Wu and Yue in the same boat.
  38. 244 Suspicion fills the dark with phantoms.
  39. 245 Lost in five leagues of fog.
  40. 246 Dragon's head, snake's tail.
  41. 247 Painting the dragon's pupil.
  42. 250 Three in the morning, four at night.
  43. 251 Grinding one's bones, crushing one's body.
  44. 252 The pen and the sword, both ways.
  45. 253 Two people, three legs.
  46. 254 One single thread, from head to tail.
  47. 255 Praising one's own miso.
  48. 261 Spring wind in a horse's ears.
  49. 262 The flower on the high peak.
  50. 282 A three-day monk.