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Kanji Detail for 四 - "four, four times"

四

  • Meaning

    四 means "four, four times."

    1. Four - The number 4; four units.

    2. Four times - Four occurrences; the fourth time.

    3. Four directions - The four cardinal directions.

    4. Hour - An old way of telling time; 10 AM (hour of the snake) or 10 PM (hour of the boar).

  • Words using 四

    • 十四 じゅうし Listen fourteen; 14
    • 四球 しきゅう Listen base on balls; walk; pass
    • 四つ よっつ Listen four; 4; four years of age
    • 四半期 しはんき Listen quarter (of a year)
    • 二十四時間制 にじゅうよじかんせい Listen around-the-clock system
    • 六十四分音符 ろくじゅうしぶおんぷ Listen 64th note; hemidemisemiquaver; semidemisemiquaver
    • 四季 しき Listen the four seasons
    • 四方 しほう Listen the four cardinal directions; north, east, south and west; all directions

  • Four-character idioms with 四

    • 四六時中 しろくじちゅう Listen around the clock; day and night
    • 四分五裂 しぶんごれつ Listen torn asunder; disrupted and disorganized
    • 四苦八苦 しくはっく Listen being in dire distress; being hard put to it; being hard pressed (for money)
    • 一天四海 いってんしかい Listen the world; the universe
    • 三寒四温 さんかんしおん Listen alternation of three cold and four warm days (usu. in late winter and early spring)
    • 再三再四 さいさんさいし Listen repeatedly

  • Origin of 四

    Originally written as four stacked strokes (亖); the present form was borrowed for its sound — classically explained as a mouth releasing divided breath. The tally gave way to the borrowing by the bronze age.

    How to remember it: A box of breath dividing in two — four, the number that split from the tally marks.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 四

    • Verified meaning: four, four times
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あずま, しのはら, よつ)

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 四

    Surnames 四(あずま)Listen 四(しのはら)Listen 四(よつ)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    four

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    four

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    four; 4

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    four

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    A number name.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    shi(シ) シ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    yo(よ) よ

    yo.tsu(よ-つ) よ-つ

    yo.ttsu(よっつ) よっつ

    yon(よん) よん

  • Strokes

    tip

    5 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    囗 (kunigamae)

  • Related Keywords

    four four times four directions cardinal number quadruple quartet tetrad

Sentences including 四

  • At forty , he does not get as angry as he used to.

  • I went to shikoku to visit my uncle.

  • I go to the movies three or four times a month.

  • Twice two is equal to four.

  • My father died four years ago.

  • We have four seasons in japan.

  • I paid him four dollars.

  • There are four seasons in a year.

  • The meeting closed at four p.m.

  • He will come back at four.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 囗 (kunigamae)

See all kanji with this radical →

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