四字熟語 Life

The main four character compounds (jukugo) on the theme of making your way through life.

The list is arranged according to the number of Japanese Google hits (marked G; in thousands), providing a very rough guide to current levels of usage. A number of jukugo are not very IME friendly, in other words they can be somewhat difficult to type in, which perhaps results in lower instances on internet than might otherwise be the case. Even so, the top ten or so compounds return such a higher number of hits than the others that I'm pretty confident they at least are worth learning.

Some of the readings are quite difficult, so I have blanked out the kana in order to test myself. Simply double-click between the brackets if you want to check the readings for yourself.


悠々自適　"Lead a leisurely life"
【ゆうゆうじてき】 G:638

Cut yourself off from the world and live as you please.


弱肉強食　"The strong prey on the weak"
【じゃくにくきょうしょく】 G:627


晴耕雨読　"Work in the field in fine weather and stay at home reading when it is wet
【せいこううどく】 G:614


諸行無常　"All things must pass"
【しょぎょうむじょう】 G:614


贅沢三昧　"Indulgence"
【ぜいたくざんまい】 G:515
Elements: Extravagant + Devoted

贅沢 is a very common word and only poses a problem when it comes to remembering how to write the first character. 三昧 is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word samadhi; a state of concentration achieved through intense meditation. It can be found in Buddhist writing as in the following example: 念仏三昧の生活を送る (lead a life devoted to praying to the Buddha). It is possible to attach it to other nouns such as 読書三昧 (absorbed in reading), or 自由三昧（な） (do as you please); but I think its use is limited.

贅沢三昧 would appear to be seen most as a noun modifier, with a tendency towards travel and food. Common examples are ・・・の旅, ・・・のコース, ・・・の料理, ・・・の日々, 昼の・・・, 高級の・・・


共存共栄　"Co-existence and co-prosperity"
【きょうぞんきょうえい】 G:436


前途多難　"Many difficulties lie in store"
【ぜんとたなん】 G:379

な adjective


因果応報　"Karma - what goes around comes around"
【いんがおうほう】 G:367


栄枯盛衰　"Ups and downs of life"
【えいこうせいすい】　G:320


用意周到　"Meticulous in everything"
【よういしゅうとう】 G:269

な adjective




一世一代　"Once in a lifetime" 【いっせいいちだい】 G:224
自然淘汰　"Natural Selection" 【しぜんとうた】 G:219
212　先手必勝　【せんてひっしょう】 Victory goes to the one who makes the first move
210　天涯孤独　【てんがいこどく】 Being all alone in the world
188　良妻賢母　【りょうさいけんぼ】 A good wife and a wise mother
183　立身出世　【りっしんしゅっせ】 Success in life
172　行雲流水　【こううんりゅうすい】 Go with the tide / Take life as it comes
161　前途洋洋　【ぜんとようよう】 Great prospects ahead
135　頑固一徹　【がんこいってつ】 Stubborn
122　盛者必衰　【じょうしゃひっすい】 All who prosper must decline
109　金科玉条　【きんかぎょくじょう】 Golden rule


99　海千山千　【うみせんやません】　Hard-bitten
84　滅私奉公　【めっしほうこう】 Selfless devotion
85　小人閑居　【しょうじんかんきょ】 Small minds left idle make mischief
77　一陽来復　【いちようらいふく】　Favourable turn of fortune
73　和魂洋才　【わこんようさい】 Japanese spirit with Western learning
63　夢幻泡影　【むげんほうよう】 An illusion
62　敬天愛人　【けいてんあいじん】 "Revere heaven, love people" (motto of Saigo Takamori, 1827-1877)
58　適者生存 【てきしゃせいぞん】　Survival of the fittest
56　優勝劣敗　【ゆうしょうれっぱい】 Survival of the fittest
52　天網恢恢　【てんもうかいかい】 Heaven's vengeance is slow but sure
51　出処進退　【しゅっしょしんたい】　Intentions for the future
49　酔生夢死　【すいせいむし】　Idling your life away

47　知行合一 【ちこうごういつ】 Knowledge must be accompanied by action, and action must be based on knowledge (Chinese philosopher Wang Yang-mig, 1472-1529)
44　岡目八目　【おかめはちもく】 An outsider's better grasp of the situation
36　生々流転　【せいせいるてん】 The constant birth, growth, and change of all things under the sun
36　有為転変　【ういてんぺん】 Shifts and changes of human life
34　一竿風月　【いっかんふうげつ】 Forget worldly affairs
28　無為徒食　【むいとしょく】 Idling your life away
21　則天去私　【そくてんきょし】 Give yourself to the providence of nature (Natsume Soseki towards the end of his life, 1867-1916)
21　多事多難　【たじたなん】 Suffering one hardship after another
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21　悪事千里　【あくじせんり】 Bad news travels fast

19　会者定離　【えしゃじょうり】 We meet only to part
18　和光同塵　【わこうどうじん】 Mingling with the world by hiding one's true talent or knowledge (Lao-tzu
17　生者必滅　【しょうじゃひつめつ】 All living things must die
16　閑雲野鶴　【かんうんやかく】 Life in a natural setting / Free from worldly cares
15　一視同仁　【いっしどうじん】 Love every human being with impartiality
12　運否天賦　【うんぷてんぷ】 Trust to chance
11　天罰覿面　【てんばつてきめん】 Swift is Heaven's vengeance
10　阿諛追従　【あゆついしょう】 Excessive flattery