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Level: Yojijukugo

Do you use 4 letter words? Well, the Japanese love them! 4 kanji words, usually taken from Chinese Classics are called yojijukugo. In this series, we’ll learn some of the most common and interesting 4 kanji words and the contexts in which to use them! Today we’ll look at ichinenhokki and ichimokuryōzen. Whether you’re an advanced Japanese student or want to start learning Japanese, this series is the perfect place to begin learning kanji or refine your use of kanji. Perfect for Japanese learners of all levels!

Learn Japanese at JapanesePod101.com!

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 14th, 2008 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Yojijukugo . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

20 Responses to “Yojijukugo #2 - Obvious Decisions”

JapanesePod101.com says:

Mina-san, these are two great words to add to your arsenal of erudite vocabulary! Hope you enjoyed this one!

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プチクレア says:

Love the 四字熟語! :kokoro:

How often do they actually appear in japanese texts, and in what context ? Because I don’t remember coming into contact with many 四字熟語, at least in the (few) novels I’ve read. Is it more often used in speech, 漫画, newspapers … ?

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Christmas Burger says:

Hehehehe, you said “erudite.” Nice word choice! :cool:

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maxiewawa says:

このレッソンはどうもありがとう!

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Eric says:

great lesson ! :dogeza:

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Alain says:

In the kanji kentei, yojijukugo questions begin at 5 kyuu, which is the latest level of shougaku (6th year).
In the 5kyu ’s renshuu dictionaey, there is 700 yojijukugo you have to know the writing ! Only for that level !

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stephen says:

um, you might want to change 3008 to 2008
cheers :wink:

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HighBridge says:

:dogeza: :dogeza: :dogeza:

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マイク says:

Fantastic podcast, as always. I like how deep you delved into these words and expressions, including their ancient Buddhist origins!

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bshock says:

The question of 四字熟語 use frequency is interesting to me. I watch a certain amount of downloaded Japanese tv, and I occasionally hear expressions such as 一石二鳥 or 七転八起. I have also seen various expressions (such as 一世一代) as slogans on the walls of schoolrooms or offices in these shows.

However, I am not at all clear about the appropriate instances to use 四字熟語. In English, such expressions might be considered cliches to avoid, and frequent use of them might mark you as a boring writer or speaker. But I have read that the Japanese consider stock expressions to be comfortingly familiar and perhaps wise, sort of like “cultural code words.”

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Mayumi says:

bshock-san,

We read yojijukugo in newspapers or novels, rather than hearing them in conversation. We use some very popular yojijukugo in our daily conversation, like 一石二鳥 as you said. I think when you use 四字熟語 too often, it might sounds like talking with a knowing look. But, when we want to say something in short, or when we want to make your writing look more sophisticated, we sometimes use 四字熟語.

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jenny says:

i always listen two or more times to ensure i get them down pat :mrgreen:
:kokoro: :nihon:

stop by my blog if you have time!
http://lunchmaniac.blogspot.com/

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Peter says:

プチクレアさん、Jenny-san, thanks for listening, and nice pics! :grin:

Bshock-san, I love using them, as the listening party always seems to get a kick out them. :grin:

マイクさん, yes. Mayumi did the research for these. They are really something! And they get better. :grin:

Stephen-san, thx!

Highbridge-san, :grin:

Christmas Burgerさん、久々! Who said that word? :wink:

Eric-san, ありがとう!

Alainさん、 as always, thanks for that great info!

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トム says:

Wow. I just came across 一目瞭然 while reading a blog entry! I thought to myself, “I’m sure I remember that from JapanesePod101.com” and sure enough, here it is. In case anyone is interested, here’s the link - it’s a technical blog but it’s very short and no special knowledge should be needed to read this part:

http://blogs.wankuma.com/rti/archive/2008/09/26/157515.aspx

It’s such a pleasure to come across recently learned things in the real world.

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JKid says:

トム-san,
Neat! :)

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タネ says:

私は一念発起して四字熟語を勉強したいと思います。 :mrgreen:

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Mayumi says:

タネさん
がんばってください! :kokoro:

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ミンソ says:

私わ漢字が難しくで大変です。
でも, その四字熟語わでても面白いですね。
あれがとう~

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Lanie says:

I am a kid listening to this, and I have been doing this for quite a while! Yojijukugo is so fun, and easy (so are all of the other lessons)! :mrgreen: the most detailed lessons I have ever come across! I’d like to say thank you for the best lessons ever! :smile:

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JapanesePod101.com says:

Lanie-san,

Thank YOU for your lovely comments! We really appreciate your positive feedback, and we’re really glad you’re enjoying the lessons and finding them useful. :smile: これからもがんばってくださいね!

Kat/JapanesePod101.com

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