How many four-character idioms related to horses can you think of? From familiar ones like “horse’s ear, east wind” (bajitōfū: turning a deaf ear) and “Saiō losing his horse” (saiō shitsu ba: a blessing in disguise) to lesser-known expressions, there’s a wealth of idioms featuring horses.
Horses have long been close to people’s lives, and their form and nature have been etched into many words.
In this article, we highlight common four-character idioms that you can use in everyday conversation and business settings.
Once you learn their meanings and usage, you’ll find yourself nodding in agreement at the depth of the language.
Put them to use to boost your vocabulary!
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unconstrained and imaginative; freewheeling like a heavenly steed (soaring imagination)
@yoji_niki Four-character idiom: Tenma Kōkū (Heavenly Horse Gallops Through the Sky) Knowledge Kirishima Hikaru VOICEVOX: Sayo/ SAYO VOICEVOX: Sayo/ SAYO
♪ Original Song – Four-Character Idiom Master – Hikaru Kirishima
The four-character idiom “天馬行空” (tenba kōkū or tenma kōkū) depicts a celestial steed galloping freely across the sky.
By extension, it has come to refer to people whose writing or behavior is uninhibited and unconstrained by anything.
You might use it like this: “That person who lives tenma kōkū—so free and unbound—looks very happy.” Depending on the person, the phrase can be taken positively or negatively, but there are probably more people than you’d expect who wish to live in a tenma kōkū way.
Even a slow horse can reach its destination with ten days’ travel. (Meaning: Steady effort over time can compensate for a lack of talent.)
It sounds like an encouraging phrase suggesting that even someone without natural talent can stand alongside the talented if they put in the effort.
“Numa” refers to a slow horse, and it expresses the idea that even such a slow horse can catch up to a fast one if it keeps running for ten days.
The use of specific numbers is also key, conveying the message that effort will surely bear fruit.
It’s exactly the kind of saying you want to recall when you feel your efforts aren’t paying off—words that support your resolve to keep going.
Seven Sheets While Leaning on a Horse
“Yima Qizhi” refers to an exceptional talent for producing brilliant writing in no time at all.
“Yima” means standing by a horse, and “Qizhi” indicates a text so long it would fill seven sheets of paper.
The term comes from a story in the Chinese classic Shishuo Xinyu: in ancient China, during the Eastern Jin, Huan Wen ordered Yuan Hu to draft a proclamation, and Yuan completed it while Huan Wen was still leaning against his horse.
It’s a talent one can’t help but wish to have at least once.
This four-character idiom is the kind of compliment you’d love to hear from someone.
like the east wind to a horse (an admonition goes unheeded; words fall on deaf ears)
The expression “馬耳東風” (bajitōfū) describes letting others’ opinions or evaluations go in one ear and out the other.
It is said to originate from a line in Li Bai’s poem “Answer to Wang Twelve on a Cold Night”: “People hear this and all shake their heads; it is like the east wind shooting past a horse’s ears.” The “east wind” refers to the spring wind—just as a horse feels nothing when the spring breeze brushes its ears, it means not being affected no matter what anyone says.
It’s a four-character idiom generally used with a negative nuance.
Wisdom of an old horse
A four-character idiom that means the superior wisdom and knowledge possessed by someone with long experience, and by extension conveys the message that one should heed the opinions of those with experience.
It originates from an episode involving the Chinese figure Guan Zhong, who was able to find his way back from a confusing road by following an old horse.
It tells us that long experience stores solid knowledge, and that following it can have a positive impact on ourselves.
It encourages us to first follow those with experience, and from there resolve to steadily accumulate our own experience.
To drink water, throw a coin (into the well).
It is a phrase that expresses an attitude of doing even small things with sincerity, and from that, it conveys purity and righteousness in both heart and actions.
There is an episode in which a person throws money into the water each time his horse drinks, as payment, and from his sense of responsibility toward the horse, his sincerity comes through.
The way he conscientiously does kindnesses he is not obligated to do strongly communicates his character.
It’s a word that makes you want to live like the person depicted by this idiom—handling even small matters with sincerity and a sense of responsibility.
seasoned veteran; someone with vast experience (literally: a thousand armies and ten thousand horses)
It’s a term used to describe someone with extensive combat experience, either as part of a large army or as a person seasoned by life.
The “thousand” and “ten thousand” are not literal figures, but signify a number so large it can’t be readily counted, conveying the vast scale of troops or horses.
While it expresses sheer magnitude, the use of characters related to warfare strongly evokes the idea of experience.
It suggests that countless experiences will be useful in one’s path ahead, and carries the message that it’s good to keep accumulating such experience.
Kanchu follows the horse
These words express an attitude of respecting the experiences of people from the past and borrowing the wisdom of sages.
The phrase is said to be based on the experience of a man named Guan Zhong, and is told alongside an episode in which he found his way home by following a horse after getting lost.
It teaches that he was saved by the horse’s experience of having traveled many roads, and that following those with experience leads to good outcomes.
It suggests that rather than trying to handle everything on your own, it’s sometimes important to listen to the opinions of those with experience.
Saiō loses his horse (a blessing in disguise).
@tanetam33 Saiō-shitsu-ba (The Old Man at the Frontier Loses His Horse). “Saiō-shitsu-ba” means that an event which appears to be misfortune or failure at first may later lead to good fortune. This idiom suggests that, in unpredictable times, effective leadership embraces adversity with flexibility and turns it into opportunity.A blessing in disguise.Turn adversity into opportunitytranslationWisdom of ManagementReverse thinkingLeadershipEra of Change
♪ Original song – Soala – Soala
This four-character idiom expresses that a person’s good fortune and misfortune change with time and that neither can be predicted.
“Saiō” refers to an old man living on the frontier, and the saying originates from a story about him and a horse, in which good and bad fortune repeatedly trade places.
His horse runs away; later, it returns with a better horse; then his son falls off the horse; but because of that injury, the son avoids conscription—good and bad arrive in turn.
Even without such dramatic swings, it’s a phrase that encourages us not to lament misfortune but to believe in future happiness and keep moving forward.
A long whip cannot reach a horse’s belly. (Meaning: Even with great power or skill, there are limits to what one can affect.)
This is a four-character idiom that expresses the fact that there are things that cannot be changed no matter how great one’s power may be.
It can also be used to mean that something too powerful or too long can, conversely, become useless.
The phrase comes from the idea that if a whip is too long, it won’t strike the horse’s belly, and is said to have been a remark by Bokuzō when looking at the relationships among Jin, Chu, and Song during China’s Spring and Autumn period.
It conveys the message that even if one possesses great power, one should not overestimate it and should proceed with caution.