四
し · shi · JLPT N5 · noun
four
🍀 shi sounds like she: she found a four-leaf clover
The on-reading shi is a homophone of 死 (death), which is why four is an unlucky number in Japan and many speakers prefer the native reading yon. Sound link: she = shi = four.
四 — enclosure 囗 + divide 八
Originally 四 was written as four horizontal strokes (亖), a simple tally for the number four. The current form, showing 八 (divide) inside an enclosure 囗, was borrowed during the Zhou dynasty and gradually replaced the older tally form. The shape is unrelated to its meaning today.
よん · yon · JLPT N3 · noun
four
🍀 Say yon, not shi: shi sounds like 死 (death), so four goes by yon
四 has two readings, shi and yon. Shi sounds the same as 死, death, so speakers often use the native yon instead, especially in counting, times and prices. A four-leaf clover 🍀 is lucky, so it gets the safe word, yon.
四 — enclosure 囗 + divide 八
Originally 四 was written as four horizontal strokes (亖), a simple tally for the number four. The current form, showing 八 (divide) inside an enclosure 囗, was borrowed during the Zhou dynasty and gradually replaced the older tally form. The shape is unrelated to its meaning today.