四 — how to write the kanji for “four”

四 is the number 4, a JLPT N5 kanji, taught in first grade in Japan. On its own it is the word shi, “four; 4”. Read shi, it forms 十四 (“fourteen”), 四月 (“April”) and 四球 (“base on balls”); the native reading yo gives 四百 (“400”) and 四つ (“four”). Chinese reads it sì, “four”, at HSK 1.

Strokes: 5
JLPT: N5
Radical: 囗 (“enclosure”)
On: シ
Kun: よ·つ, よっ·つ, よん

Stroke by stroke

Its parts sit one inside another: 囗 (“enclosure”, its radical), strokes 1–2 and 5; 儿 (“legs”), strokes 3–4, with their strokes interleaved.

Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
Left-falling stroke ㇒topdown and left
Vertical-curve-hook ㇟topdownwards → rightwards
Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards

Japanese and Chinese

Japanese and Chinese draw all 5 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.

Japanese · KanjiVG · 5 strokes

Chinese · Make Me a Hanzi · 5 strokes

四 in dates and counts

十四じゅうし — fourteen; 14
四十よんじゅう — forty; 40
四月しがつ — April; fourth month in the lunar calendar
四百よんひゃく — 400; four hundred
四球しきゅう — base on balls; walk

Trace it

Follow the numbers. Tracing help

Readings

On (Chinese-derived): シ shi
Kun (native): よ·つ yo-tsu, よっ·つ yo-ttsu, よん yon, よ yo (rare)
Meanings: four
Read shi: 十四四月四球四半期六十四分音符
Read yo: 四百四つ四千
School year: first grade
Newspaper rank: 47th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
Korean hanja: 사 sa
Common words: 30 in JMdict

On and kun, explained

Words with 四

Word	Reading	Meaning
十四	じゅうし juushi	fourteen; 14
四十	よんじゅう yonjuu	forty; 40
四月	しがつ shigatsu	April; fourth month in the lunar calendar
四百	よんひゃく yonhyaku	400; four hundred
四球	しきゅう shikyuu	base on balls; walk
四つ	よっつ yottsu	four; 4
四千	よんせん yonsen	four thousand; 4,000
四半期	しはんき shihanki	quarter
二十四時間制	にじゅうよじかんせい nijuuyojikansei	around-the-clock system
六十四分音符	ろくじゅうしぶおんぷ rokujuushibuonpu	64th note; hemidemisemiquaver

Most common first (JMdict).

Practice sheet

Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.

Keep going

Same parts:

JLPT N5, in list order: