“I want to express my goals with a four-character idiom!” Many elementary school students and educators probably feel the same way.
Four-character idioms are full of wonderful words that can motivate us in all kinds of situations—studies, daily life, club activities, and more.
In this article, we’ll introduce four-character idioms that are perfect for setting goals, along with clear explanations of their meanings.
Please use this as a reference to help children encounter empowering words that inspire them to strive toward their dreams and goals!
Work hard toward your goals! Ideas for four-character idioms that resonate with elementary school students (1–10)
complete combustionNEW!
“Complete combustion” is one of the expressions often used in sports.
It means giving everything you’ve got until the very end.
If you hold back and end up losing, you’ll be left with regrets.
To secure victory and to avoid regrets, it’s necessary to go all out.
If you pour out all your strength, do everything you possibly can, and still lose, you can accept the defeat—and it will be easier to reset your mindset and move on to the next step to get even stronger.
The four-character idiom “icchi danketsu” is often used as a slogan at events like sports festivals.
It means becoming one and cooperating together.
Even walls that can’t be overcome by one person can sometimes be surmounted when everyone combines their strength.
Acting with one heart toward the same goal brings friends closer and deepens relationships.
Since each person has a different way of thinking and a different personality, it’s not easy, but when your class is working toward a single goal, please remember this phrase.
In baseball, when a pitcher throws the ball with all their strength, it’s called “zenryoku-tōkyū,” meaning a full-power pitch.
In other words, it means facing something by using all of your strength.
Don’t you also have moments when you need to give it your all? For example, before a sports match or a test.
You cut back on time for games or videos to practice or study, right? When we see that kind of dedication, we say, “That’s zenryoku-tōkyū.” Putting your whole heart into something and aiming higher is truly wonderful.
Living and succeeding by helping one another is called “coexistence and mutual prosperity.” It can be difficult in situations where there are winners and losers, but it’s wonderful when everyone can get along and work hard together.
That way, we can inspire each other, and by learning ways of thinking we ourselves don’t have, we may even increase our chances of success.
Instead of thinking only about yourself, please try to spend your days with kindness, keeping others in mind as well.
I’m sure that, in the end, it will come back around and benefit you too.
If you have goals and are working hard, be sure to remember this phrase.
Seeing through what you decided at the beginning to the very end—that is shoshi-kantetsu (carrying out one’s original intention).
If you’ve decided, “I’ll be top of the class on the test!” or “I’ll become a baseball player!”, then follow through to the end! When you feel you’re not getting closer to your goal, you might be tempted to just give up.
In moments when you feel like you’re about to lose to yourself, recall the four-character idiom shoshi-kantetsu and take a moment to reconsider why you’re pursuing that goal in the first place.
This is a four-character idiom that means different groups or parties overcome their differences, join forces, and unite for a common purpose.
Because of the Daidō Danketsu (Great Unity) movement in mid-Meiji Japan, the term also carries a strong political nuance.
Still, the idea of a large number of people advancing toward a goal conveys a sense of strength.
Moving forward together toward a major objective also entails seeking understanding from those around you, and within this brief phrase you can feel the resolve to win their acceptance.
Since the word presupposes many people combining their strength, it clearly conveys the sense of striving toward a grand ideal.
