四
four, 4 (yon reading)
Pattern visualization
Examples
- 四時に休憩します。I break at four.
- 四人家族です。Were a family of four.
Collocations
Mnemonic
Yon (四) is the Yamato reading for four; the on-yomi is shi. Among Japanese 1-10, only 4 and 7 keep dual conversational readings (nana entry explained the split — shi for four collides with shi 死 death, so yon becomes the default to dodge). Fixed splits: shigatsu (April, shi survives because the month name is far from death imagery), yo-ji (4 oclock, special yo variant for time), yonin (4 people), yonjuu (40), yokka (4th of month, Yamato — already covered). Cultural compounds: shiki (the four seasons spring summer autumn winter), shiki-oriori (each season different), shimen soka (besieged on all sides — Chinese classical idiom carried over via on-yomi), shisha gonyuu (rounding off, lit. discard four, round up five). The four-equals-death aversion is uniquely strong in Japan because the kanji 死 dominates funerary vocabulary, so the homophone bleeds into everyday usage. Korea shares sa-4 / sa-death homophony but avoids less aggressively. Chinese si-4 vs si-death differs in tone yet drives intense avoidance — Hong Kong buildings often skip floors 4, 14, 24, 34, sometimes more aggressively than Japan.
Quick check
Fixed Japanese reading patterns for four?