Yojijukugo

*Keiten-aijin* (敬天けいてん愛人あいじん), meaning "revere heaven, love people". Calligraphy by Saigō Takamori.

A yojijukugo (Japanese: 四よん字じ熟語じゅくご) is a Japanese lexeme consisting of four kanji (Chinese characters). English translations of yojijukugo include "four-character compound",^[1] "four-character idiom", "four-character idiomatic phrase", and "four-character idiomatic compound". It is equivalent to the Chinese chengyu.^[2]

Definition and classification

Yojijukugo 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.^[3] However, in the narrow or strict sense, the term refers only to four-kanji compounds that have a particular (idiomatic) meaning, which cannot be inferred from the meanings of the components that make them up.

Non-idiomatic yojijukugo

"Spring, summer, autumn and winter" (*Shunkashūtō*) and "season" are almost synonymous words, but the former, which consists of four kanji characters, gives a stronger impression.

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 yojijukugo.

For example, the compound word okunaikin'en (屋内おくない禁煙きんえん, "no smoking indoors") is a non-idiomatic yojijukugo. It is made up of four characters: oku (屋や, building), nai (内うち, inside), kin (禁きん, prohibited), and en (煙けむり, smoking). Alternatively, it can be regarded as consisting of two common two-character compounds: okunai (屋内おくない, indoors), and kin'en (禁煙きんえん, 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:

大学だいがく教育きょういく, daigakukyōiku (daigaku, university + kyōiku, education)
環境かんきょう悪化あっか, kankyōakka (kankyō, environment + akka, deterioration)
日米にちべい関係かんけい, nichibeikankei (nichi, Japan + bei, U.S. + kankei, relations)
歴史れきし小説しょうせつ, rekishishōsetsu (rekishi, history + shōsetsu, novel)
宣伝せんでん効果こうか, sendenkōka (senden, advertisement + kōka, effect).

Note that 四よん字じ熟語じゅくご is itself a non-idiomatic four-character phrase.

Idiomatic yojijukugo

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:

海千山千うみせんやません, 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 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 yojijukugo were adopted from classical Chinese literature.^[4] 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.^[2] Many other yojijukugo, however, are Japanese in origin. Some examples of these indigenous Japanese four-character idioms are:

合縁奇縁あいえんきえん, aienkien (uncanny romantic relationship formed by a quirk of fate)
一期一会いちごいちえ, ichigoichie (once-in-a-lifetime experience)
海千山千うみせんやません, umisenyamasen (sly old dog of much worldly wisdom)
色恋いろこい沙汰さた, irokoizata (romantic entanglement; love affair)
傍目はため八はち目もく, okamehachimoku (a bystander's vantage point)
手前味噌てまえみそ, temaemiso (singing one's own praises; tooting one's own horn)
二股ふたまた膏薬ごうやく, futamatagōyaku (double-dealer; timeserver)

Examples of idiomatic yojijukugo

一攫千金いっかくせんきん ikkakusenkin (ichi one + kaku grasp + sen thousand + kin gold): making a fortune at a stroke. (Origin: Chinese classics)
美人びじん薄命はくめい 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)
酔生夢死すいせいむし 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)
羊頭ようとう狗いぬ肉にく yōtōkuniku (yō sheep + tō head + ku dog + niku meat): crying wine and selling vinegar; extravagant advertisement (Origin: Chinese classics)
悪因悪果あくいんあっか 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)
会者定離えしゃじょうり eshajōri (e meeting + sha person + jō always + ri be separated): Every meeting must involve a parting; Those who meet must part. (Origin: Buddhist scriptures)
一期一会いちごいちえ ichigoichie (ichi one + go life + ichi one + e encounter): (Every encounter is a) once-in-a-lifetime encounter (Origin: Japanese tea ceremony)
一石二鳥いっせきにちょう issekinichō (ichi one + seki stone + ni two + chō bird): killing two birds with one stone (Origin: English proverb)
異体いたい同心どうしん itaidōshin (i different + tai body + dō same + shin mind): Harmony of mind between two persons; two persons acting in perfect accord.　
順風じゅんぷう満まん帆ほ junpūmanpan (jun gentle/favorable + pū wind + man full + pan sails): smooth sailing with all sails set; everything going smoothly
十人十色じゅうにんといろ jūnintoiro (jū ten + nin person + to ten + iro color): to each their own; So many people, so many minds.
自画じが自賛じさん 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 themselves (as a non-idiomatic compound); singing one's own praises; blowing one's own horn; self-admiration (as an idiomatic compound)
我田引水がでんいんすい gaden'insui (ga own/self + den field + in draw + sui water): self-seeking; feathering one's own nest
唯我独尊ゆいがどくそん yuigadokuson (yui only + ga self + doku alone + son respect/honor): I alone am honored; holier-than-thou; Holy am I alone (Origin: Buddhist scriptures)
電光石火でんこうせっか denkōsekka (den electricity + kō light + seki stone + ka fire): as fast as lightning
一いち日にち一いち歩ほ ichinichiippo (ichi one + nichi day + ichi one + po step): one step each day
弱肉強食じゃくにくきょうしょく jakunikukyōshoku (jaku weak + niku meat + kyō strong + shoku meal): law of the jungle; stronger supersede weaker
喜怒哀楽きどあいらく kidoairaku (ki joy + do anger + ai sorrow + raku pleasure): basic human emotions

References

^ Dobrovol'skij, Dmitrij; Piirainen, Elisabeth (2021-11-08). Figurative Language: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Linguistic Perspectives. De Gruyter. p. 48. ISBN 978-3-11-070253-8.
^ ^a ^b 兪, 鳴な蒙こうむ (2018). "日び中ちゅう四よん字じ熟語じゅくご・成語せいごに関かんする調査ちょうさ研究けんきゅう". The Setsudai Review of Humanities and Social Sciences (in Japanese) (25): 117–136. 日にち中ちゅう両国りょうこくは千せん年ねん以上いじょうにわたる文化ぶんか交流こうりゅうがあり、日本語にほんごの四よん字じ熟語じゅくご・中国ちゅうごく語ごの成語せいご（大だい部分ぶぶんが漢字かんじ四よん文字もじで構成こうせいされている）も共通きょうつうあるいは類似るいじのものも少すくなくない。
^ Garrison, Jeffrey G. (2002). Kodansha's Dictionary of Basic Japanese Idioms. Kodansha International. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-4-7700-2797-9.
^ Ito, Junko; Mester, Armin (2015). "Sino-Japanese phonology". In Kubozono, Haruo (ed.). Handbook of Japanese Phonetics and Phonology. De Gruyter Mouton. p. 302.

External links

四よん字じ熟語じゅくご - Yojijukugo - a list of about 5,800 yojijukugo being developed by The Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group.

[1] Dobrovol'skij, Dmitrij; Piirainen, Elisabeth (2021-11-08). Figurative Language: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Linguistic Perspectives. De Gruyter. p. 48. ISBN 978-3-11-070253-8.

[:0-2] 兪, 鳴な蒙こうむ (2018). "日び中ちゅう四よん字じ熟語じゅくご・成語せいごに関かんする調査ちょうさ研究けんきゅう". The Setsudai Review of Humanities and Social Sciences (in Japanese) (25): 117–136. 日にち中ちゅう両国りょうこくは千せん年ねん以上いじょうにわたる文化ぶんか交流こうりゅうがあり、日本語にほんごの四よん字じ熟語じゅくご・中国ちゅうごく語ごの成語せいご（大だい部分ぶぶんが漢字かんじ四よん文字もじで構成こうせいされている）も共通きょうつうあるいは類似るいじのものも少すくなくない。

[3] Garrison, Jeffrey G. (2002). Kodansha's Dictionary of Basic Japanese Idioms. Kodansha International. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-4-7700-2797-9.

[4] Ito, Junko; Mester, Armin (2015). "Sino-Japanese phonology". In Kubozono, Haruo (ed.). Handbook of Japanese Phonetics and Phonology. De Gruyter Mouton. p. 302.

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