Yojijukugo

is a Japanese lexeme consisting of four kanji, or "Chinese characters". English translations of "yojijikugo" include "four-character compound", "four-character idiom" (Chinese "chengyu" 成語), or "four-character idiomatic compound".

Definition and classification

The definition of "yojijukugo" is somewhat murky since the Japanese word "jukugo" (, literally "ripe/mature/popular word") can linguistically mean "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.

Note that 四字熟語 is "itself" a (non-idiomatic) four-character phrase, hence it is autological.

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" "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).

Idiomatic yojijukugo

By contrast, several thousands of these four-character compounds are true idioms 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.

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)

*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

See also

*Japanese language
*Japanese proverbs
*Four-character idiom

External links

*Kanji Haitani's [http://home.earthlink.net/~4jword/index3.htm Yojijukugo 四字熟語 page] , with about 3,400 examples translated into English.