Yojijukugo
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
lexeme
consisting of four kanji
, or "Chinese character
s". English translations of yojijukugo include "four-character compound", "four-character idiom", "four-character idiomatic phrase", and "four-character idiomatic compound".
", "idiom
", or "phrase
".
Yojijukugo in the broad sense of the term simply means any Japanese compound words consisting of four kanji
characters. In the narrow or strict sense of the term, however, the term refers only to four-kanji compounds that have a particular (idiomatic) meaning that cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make them up.
For example, the compound word 屋内禁煙 okunaikin'en
"No smoking indoors." is a non-idiomatic yojijukugo. It is made up of four characters: 屋 oku building, 内 nai inside, 禁 kin prohibited, and 煙 en smoking. Alternatively, it can be regarded as consisting of two common two-character compounds: 屋内 okunai indoors, and 禁煙 kin'en prohibition of smoking. 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 yojijukugo:
Note that 四字熟語 is itself a non-idiomatic four-character phrase.
s in the sense that they have a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of the component words. An example of the highly idiomatic compound is:
Ocean-thousand-mountain-thousand means a sly old fox or someone who has had all sorts of experience in life so that s/he 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 an ocean-1000-mountain-1000 person.
Many idiomatic yojijukugo 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 yojijukugo are typically limited to these idiomatic compounds of various origins.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
lexeme
Lexeme
A lexeme is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics, that roughly corresponds to a set of forms taken by a single word. For example, in the English language, run, runs, ran and running are forms of the same lexeme, conventionally written as RUN...
consisting of four kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
, or "Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s". English translations of yojijukugo include "four-character compound", "four-character idiom", "four-character idiomatic phrase", and "four-character idiomatic compound".
Definition and classification
The definition of yojijukugo is somewhat murky since the Japanese word jukugo (熟語, literally "ripe/mature/popular word") can linguistically mean "compoundCompound (linguistics)
In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the word formation that creates compound lexemes...
", "idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
", or "phrase
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
".
Yojijukugo in the broad sense of the term simply means any Japanese compound words consisting of four kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
characters. In the narrow or strict sense of the term, however, the term refers only to four-kanji compounds that have a particular (idiomatic) meaning that cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make them up.
Non-idiomatic yojijukugo
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 yojijukugo.For example, the compound word 屋内禁煙 okunaikin'en
Smoking in Japan
Smoking in Japan is much less restricted than in many other nations, and Japan accounts for much of the tobacco consumption in Asia. Nearly 30 million people smoke in Japan, making the country one of the world's largest tobacco markets...
"No smoking indoors." is a non-idiomatic yojijukugo. It is made up of four characters: 屋 oku building, 内 nai inside, 禁 kin prohibited, and 煙 en smoking. Alternatively, it can be regarded as consisting of two common two-character compounds: 屋内 okunai indoors, and 禁煙 kin'en prohibition of smoking. 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 yojijukugo:
- 大学教育 daigakukyōiku (daigaku university + kyōiku education)
- 環境悪化 kankyōakka (kankyō environment + akka deterioration)
- 日米関係 nichibeikankei (nichi Japan + bei U.S. + kankei relations)
- 歴史小説 rekishishōsetsu (rekishi history + shōsetsu novel)
- 宣伝効果 sendenkōka (senden propaganda + kōka effect).
Note that 四字熟語 is itself a non-idiomatic four-character phrase.
Idiomatic yojijukugo
By contrast, several thousands of these four-character compounds are true idiomIdiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
s in the sense that they have a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of the component words. An example of the highly idiomatic compound is:
- 海千山千 umisenyamasen (umi ocean + sen thousand + yama mountain + sen thousand)
Ocean-thousand-mountain-thousand means a sly old fox or someone who has had all sorts of experience in life so that s/he 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 an ocean-1000-mountain-1000 person.
Many idiomatic yojijukugo 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 yojijukugo are typically limited to these idiomatic compounds of various origins.
Chinese and Japanese origins of idiomatic yojijukugo
The Japanese yojijukugo are closely related to the Chinese chengyu 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 yojijukugo, however, are Japanese in origin. Some examples of these indigenous Japanese four-character idioms are:- 合縁奇縁 aienkien (uncanny relationship formed by a quirk of fate)
- 一期一会 ichigoichie (once-in-a-lifetime experience)
- 海千山千 umisenyamasen (sly old dog of much worldly wisdom)
- 色恋沙汰 irokoizata (romantic entanglement; love affair)
- 傍目八目 okamehachimoku (a bystander's vantage point)
- 手前味噌 temaemiso (singing one's own praises; tooting one's own horn)
- 二股膏薬 futamatagōyaku (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 ichigoichieIchi-go ichi-eIchi-go ichi-e is a Japanese term that describes a cultural concept often linked with famed tea master Sen no Rikyu. The term is often translated as "for this time only," "never again," or "one chance in a lifetime."...
(ichi one + go life + ichi one + e encounter) once-in-a-lifetime encounter (Origin: Japanese tea ceremonyJapanese tea ceremonyThe Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called . The manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is called...
)
- 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 his [her] 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 him/herself (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)
External links
- Kanji Haitani's Yojijukugo 四字熟語 page, with about 3,400 examples translated into English.