四
四 — Four
four
On’yomiシ (shi)
Kun’yomiよ (yo)
Kun’yomiよつ (yotsu)
Kun’yomiよっつ (yottsu)
Kun’yomiよん (yon)
Stroke order (5 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 四
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 四月 | しがつ shigatsu | April; fourth month in the lunar calendar |
| 四 | し shi | four; 4 |
| 十四 | じゅうし juushi | fourteen; 14 |
| 四十 | よんじゅう yonjuu | forty; 40 |
| 四百 | よんひゃく yonhyaku | 400; four hundred |
| 四球 | しきゅう shikyuu | base on balls; walk; pass |
Study notes
四 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 5 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 1), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #47 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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