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Kotomora

四

four

JLPTN5StatusJōyō · grade 1FrequencyTop 100Strokes5

Readings

On'yomi

  • シ

Kun'yomi

  • よ
  • よ.つ
  • よっ.つ
  • よん

Nanori

  • あ
  • つ
  • よつ

Meaning

四 represents the number four, a basic numeral with no extended abstract meanings.

Most common words using 四

23 of 409
  • 四し
    N5

    four; 4

  • 四国しこく

    Shikoku (smallest of the four main islands of Japan)

  • 四季しき
    N3

    the four seasons

  • 四つよっつ
    N5

    four; 4

  • 四球しきゅう

    base on balls; walk; pass

  • 四方しほう
    N1

    the four cardinal directions; north, east, south and west; all directions

  • 四角いしかくい
    N2

    square; rectangular

  • 四半期しはんき

    quarter (of a year)

  • 四角しかく
    N3

    quadrilateral; square

  • 四肢しし

    the (four) limbs; arms and legs

  • 四畳半よじょうはん

    four and a half tatami mats; four-and-a-half-mat room

  • 四捨五入ししゃごにゅう
    N2

    rounding (off; a number); rounding half away from zero

  • 四隅よすみ

    four corners

  • 四死球ししきゅう

    bases on balls and pitches striking the batsmen

  • 四重奏しじゅうそう

    instrumental quartet

  • 十四じゅうし

    fourteen; 14

  • 二十四時間制にじゅうよじかんせい

    around-the-clock system

  • 六十四分音符ろくじゅうしぶおんぷ

    64th note; hemidemisemiquaver; semidemisemiquaver

  • 四本よんほん

    four (long cylindrical things)

  • 四輪車よんりんしゃ

    automobile; car

  • 四人よにん
    N5

    four people

  • 四つ角よつかど
    N2

    four corners

  • 真四角ましかく
    N1

    square

Explore all words using 四 →

Study

Etymology

四 originally depicted a different shape, possibly related to breath or division, but was borrowed early as the numeral four. The modern form is a stylized simplification.

Meaning mnemonic

Picture a closed fist with four fingers curled inside a box shape: the enclosure 囗 holds the four strokes of 儿, making four.

Reading mnemonic

For シ, imagine the number four written on a sheet of paper: sheet -> シ, and the four is right there.