also: しほん
four (long cylindrical things)
Counter for four long, cylindrical objects such as bottles, pens, trees, or rolled items. The reading よんほん is standard; しほん is rare.
冷蔵庫にビールが四本ある。
There are four bottles of beer in the fridge.
鉛筆を四本ください。
Please give me four pencils.
There are four pencils on the desk.
I bought four bottles of beer.
四本 is used specifically to count long, cylindrical objects like bottles or pens, while 四つ is the general-purpose counter for four items of any shape.
四本 (rarely read しほん) sounds identical to 資本, which means capital or funds, so context alone distinguishes them.
four-legged; four legs
Standard kanji spelling with the common reading よんほん.
Alternate reading しほん is less common and may sound formal or old-fashioned.
Numerical spelling, common in horizontal writing and lists.
Compound of 四 (four) and the counter 本 (ほん), used for long cylindrical objects. The reading よんほん follows regular numeral-counter combination rules.