Four-character idioms that help you achieve goals! Phrases you can use in everyday situations
Four-character idioms like “united as one” (icchi danketsu) and “fall down seven times, get up eight” (shichiten hakki) are familiar parts of our everyday language.
Simple yet powerfully persuasive, these idioms can support us when we set goals.
Among the commonly used idioms, some even contain hints for achieving your dreams and ideals.
In this article, we’ll introduce four-character idioms that are helpful for people working toward their goals, along with their meanings and example sentences.
Let these resonant words help you take steady steps toward the future you envision.
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Four-Character Idioms That Help You Achieve Goals! Phrases You Can Use in General Situations (31–40)
Late bloomer
“Taiki-bansei” (literally, “a great vessel matures late”) is a four-character idiom meaning that even if talent or ability doesn’t show right away, it will grow over time and eventually blossom greatly.
If you adopt it as a New Year’s resolution, it helps you keep striving without rushing, even when results don’t come immediately.
Whether it’s studying, sports, art, or music—whatever you’re challenging yourself with—even if things don’t go well at first, daily efforts accumulate and lead to significant achievements in the future.
It’s a phrase that teaches the importance of continuing small efforts and ingenuity, fostering a mindset that enjoys your growth over the long run.
It’s a practical resolution that helps you stay aware of the value of developing your abilities from a long-term perspective.
just cause
Taigi-meibun refers to the justification or grounds for taking an action.
It’s fine when something can be completed by yourself, but when your words and actions affect those around you, you need a clear, convincing reason.
By making this word your New Year’s resolution, it may prompt you to question the legitimacy of your actions when you’re about to act impulsively or emotionally.
Before you end up regretting it—“I shouldn’t have done that…”—adopt this word as your resolution and take a fresh look at your words and actions.
By aiming to speak with legitimacy, you can be more confident when expressing your opinions, and you may also earn greater trust from those around you.
consistency
This four-character idiom is perfect for those who want to live guided by their own compass and pursue goals they set for themselves.
“Shubi-ikkan” (consistency from start to finish) means that one’s direction and thinking remain unchanged from beginning to end, with a coherent throughline.
As you work toward your goals, you’ll likely encounter troubles and obstacles, but why not make it your resolution this year to maintain unwavering determination to achieve the goals you’ve chosen? It’s a mindset that applies both to work and to your personal life.
the finishing touch
When you complete something, I’d like you to remember the phrase “gairyō tensei.” It means the crucial final touch and is considered one of the idioms from a Chinese anecdote.
You often hear it in the form “lacking gairyō tensei,” meaning that a key element is missing or the finishing touches are sloppy.
Even when we think something is perfect, we sometimes realize it’s incomplete after someone else points it out—an experience everyone has had.
To reduce such failures and to gain a broader perspective through reviewing your work, why not adopt this phrase as a New Year’s resolution?
A fresh start
You couldn’t study hard last year, you didn’t perform well in sports, and you kept getting into fights with your friends.
If that sounds like your child, write this four-character idiom and make a fresh start—reset your mindset! It’s a waste of time to keep regretting what you couldn’t do in the past.
If studying, sports, and relationships with friends didn’t go well, just work hard from the new year! As a declaration of your determination to do your best in the year ahead, try writing these characters.
Note that the characters “機” and “転” contain small components and require fine spacing, so be careful when doing your first calligraphy of the year.
Four-character idioms that help you achieve your goals! Commonly usable expressions (41–50)
work in the fields on sunny days, read books on rainy days
This phrase means: on sunny days, thoroughly till the rice fields and vegetable patches to prepare the soil, and on rainy days, spend time indoors reading at a relaxed pace.
While such an unhurried lifestyle may differ a bit from that of an elementary school child, try changing the way you think about it.
For example, consider sunny days as important days for challenges and put in your best effort on those days.
See rainy days as days for storing up—sometimes taking a break and taking time to absorb knowledge is important, too.
Try shifting your perspective to your everyday life and incorporating this mindset into the new year through your first calligraphy of the year.
with all one’s might
If your child has something they want to work hard at in the new year, how about writing this four-character idiom? Isshōkenmei expresses the idea of tackling things earnestly and with full effort.
It’s a phrase that can encourage children who want to devote themselves to something—whether it’s studying, sports, lessons, or anything they want to try harder at or achieve better results in.
The character “ken” (懸) is a bit tricky, so when writing it for the first calligraphy of the year, be careful not to let the finer details get smudged!