[For Seniors] Four-character idioms that include numbers. How many do you know?

to struggle desperately; to have a hard time; to be in dire straits (shiku-hakku)

Struggling in every possible way #Shorts #four-character idioms #proverbs

Shiku-hakku is a four-character idiom that means to struggle greatly.

It is said to originate from Buddhist terminology.

The initial “four sufferings” are birth, aging, sickness, and death; the subsequent “eight sufferings” add separation from loved ones, contact with those one hates, frustration from unfulfilled desires, and the suffering arising from the five aggregates.

In Buddhism, these eight sufferings are considered unavoidable for humans.

An example of usage would be: “Even though I struggled mightily, I finally reached the goal.” Also, be careful not to misread it as “shikku-hakku.”

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sasashina

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Five viscera and six bowels

Five viscera and six bowels #shorts #short #quote #four-character idiom #reading aloud #recitation #for sleep #Japanese #read-aloud #listening #namushino

This four-character idiom originally means “all the internal organs of the human body,” but nowadays it’s used in the sense of “from the depths of one’s being” or “with one’s whole body.” The “five viscera” refer to the liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, while the “six bowels” refer to the gallbladder, small intestine, stomach, large intestine, bladder, and triple burner (san jiao).

This idiom is often used when a drink or food permeates the body, or when one is deeply moved or feels something intensely.

A quiz that uses this idiom while asking questions about body parts could be a fun way to liven things up.

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mayumi

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next to nothing; dirt cheap; worth almost nothing

@yojijyukugo.seizan

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Original Song – Four-character Idioms/Holy Mountain – Four-character Idioms/Holy Mountain

It is often used for things that have little value, or that are treated unfairly cheaply with their value unrecognized.

It applies, for example, when something took a lot of effort to make and is labor-intensive but yields little profit, or when selling unwanted items.

Try using the four-character idiom in sentences like: “I took brand-name goods to a recycle shop, but they were bought for next to nothing,” or “They were vegetables I had worked hard to grow, but the price was a pittance.” If you explain the origin of the term while posing quiz questions, it will make for a deeper, more engaging quiz.

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mayumi

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Once-in-a-lifetime encounter

Ichigo ichie #Shorts #yojijukugo #proverb

Let me introduce the four-character idiom often associated with the tea ceremony: ichigo ichie.

This phrase means that each encounter or opportunity happens only once in a lifetime, and in the tea ceremony one is taught to approach a gathering with that mindset.

When we think, “We’ll meet again,” or “There will surely be another chance,” our attitude and words tend to become careless.

But if we treat it as ichigo ichie, we naturally aim to respond with sincerity and care.

It’s precisely in our task-driven modern era that this is a four-character idiom worth remembering.

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sasashina

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three-legged race

Three-legged race ninin sankyaku #shorts #short #quote #four-character idiom #reading aloud #recitation #for sleep #Japanese #read-aloud #listening in the background #namushino

It’s famous as a sports day event, but this four-character idiom is also often used in everyday life when spouses or families work together, or when you proceed with a task alongside a partner at work.

It’s commonly used when two people combine their efforts to tackle a single task or goal.

Examples include: “Thanks to his support, the new project is progressing smoothly as a two-person, three-legged race,” “Parent and child take on the entrance exams together, like a three-legged race,” and “As a married couple, we joined forces and started the company together, like a three-legged race.” It’s frequently used to describe taking on a long journey while mutually supporting each other.

It’s a good phrase to use when talking about family, too.

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mayumi

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Buddha-lands numbering in the hundreds of billions

A distinctive four-character idiom that uses very large units like ten-thousand and hundred-million, it literally indicates an extremely great distance.

“Soil” here refers to the Buddha’s realm, and by extension “juuman-okudo” (literally “a hundred million times ten thousand lands”) signifies the Buddha-land far, far beyond—namely, the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Pure Land is the realm of the Buddha to which one is guided after death.

Although it is a Buddhist term, this idiom can also be used to describe an endlessly distant journey one could never reach, or an unattainably high goal.

Pronunciation: juuman-okudo.

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sasashina

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Three Thousand Worlds

[Four-character idiom] Sanzensekai | In a world that expands infinitely, what do you think, and what do you believe?

Originally a Buddhist term, it is said to refer to all the worlds that spread out infinitely.

Today, it is often used simply to mean “the whole world” or “everything in this world,” serving as an expression that captures vastness and complexity in a single phrase.

It evokes the layering of human endeavors and ideas, joys and sufferings, lending depth to language.

Its stacked characters create a distinctive atmosphere that leaves a strong impression, and incorporating it into writing can instantly broaden the sense of worldbuilding.

It is a four-character idiom that symbolizes grandeur, combining a vast scale with a spiritual dimension.

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kojifumi

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