A while back, we had a lesson about 四字熟語 (よじじゅくご), which are "four-character (idiomatic) (kanji) compounds."

Put simply, that's: "words made up of 4 kanji characters in a row."

There are tons of 四字熟語, and studying them can be a lot of fun.

Although they get less attention, there are also many 3-character compounds, several of which we'll be looking at... in this lesson!

Be joyful, kanji nerds.

Hang in there, everybody else...

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三文字熟語
さんもじ　じゅくご
3-character compounds
Note: Although 四字熟語 (よじじゅくご // four-character compounds) is a common word that everyone knows, I don't think you'll come across the word 三文字熟語 much, if ever. You will, however, come across many of the words that fall under the category 三文字熟語. Also, note that the term listed in dictionaries is 三字熟語 (without 文), but Japanese people use both.

By the way, since we're nerding out on kanji, note the word 文字 (もじ) up above, which means "letter (of the alphabet; character."

You may know the English word "emoji." This actually comes from 絵文字 (えもじ).

絵 (え) means "picture; drawing," and 文字 (もじ) means "letter; character."

絵文字 = picture/drawing character = emoji.

OK. Let's get started...

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悪循環
あくじゅんかん
vicious cycle
Kanji: “bad + sequential + ring / circle”

I love this word because it can be used just like the English phrase "a vicious cycle."

かゆくてもかいちゃだめ！悪循環になるよ。
かゆくても　かいちゃ　だめ！　あくじゅんかん　に　なる　よ。
Even if it's itchy, don't scratch it! You'll get caught in a vicious cycle.
Literally: “even if it’s itchy + scratch (and) + no good! + vicious cycle + に + become + よ.”

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紙一重
かみひとえ
paper-thin difference
Kanji: “paper + one + heavy / layer”

バカと天才の違いは紙一重。
バカ　と　てんさい　の　ちがい　は　かみひとえ。
There's a thin line [a paper-thin difference] between being a fool and being a genius.
Literally: “idiot / fool + と + genius + の + difference + は + paper-thin difference.”

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修羅場
しゅらば
pandemonium; scene of carnage; fight scene; a difficult [emotional] ordeal (in a relationship)
Kanji: “discipline + gauze + location”

A:
彼女と無事に別れられた？
かのじょ　と　ぶじに　わかれられた？
Were you able to break up with your girlfriend without any problems?
Literally: “she / girlfriend + と + safely / peacefully / without problems + could separate?”

B:
いや、修羅場だったよ...。
いや、　しゅらば　だった　よ...。
No, it was a huge ordeal.
Literally: “nah, + pandemonium / fight scene + was + よ...”
Note: The speaker is saying that breaking up with his girlfriend was not easy. There was probably lots of crying, yelling, etc.

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星条旗
せいじょうき
the Stars and Stripes (i.e. the US flag)
Kanji: “star + stripe / article + flag”

Rei taught me this word a couple of years ago.

At the time, I remember thinking that it was really strange that there's a word in Japanese just to describe the US national flag.

「星条旗よ永遠なれ」が流れている。
「せいじょうき　よ　えいえん　なれ」　が　ながれている。
“Stars and Stripes Forever” is playing.
Literally: “Stars and Stripes Forever + が + is playing (lit. flowing).”

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千鳥足
ちどりあし
drunken staggering; tottering steps
Kanji: “thousand + bird + feet / legs”

When anime lovers hear the word 千鳥 (ちどり), they probably think of this move from Naruto:

But you may be happy to know that there are other (arguably more useful) uses of the word 千鳥, such as in 千鳥足：

ベロベロのお父さんが千鳥足で帰ってきた。
ベロベロ　の　おとうさん　が　ちどりあし　で　かえってきた。
My drunk father came staggering home. // My father came home drunk and staggering.
Literally: “drunken + の + father + が + drunken staggering + で + came home.”

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登竜門
とうりゅうもん
gateway to success; a narrow opening to highly‐prized membership (e.g. a profession)
Kanji: “ascend + dragon + gates”

This is, I would say, the coolest kanji-compound in this lesson.

I wish we could say things like, "This is my chance to ascend to the dragon doors of [whatever]."

Instead, we're left with lame translations like this:

このコンクールは、プロのバレエダンサーになるための登竜門だ。
この　コンクール　は、　プロ　の　バレエダンサー　に　なる　ため　の　とうりゅうもん　だ。
This competition can open the doors to becoming a professional ballet dancer.
Literally: “this + competition + は, + pro + の + ballet dancer + に + become + in order to + の + gateway to success.”

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不死身
ふじみ
invulnerability; immortality
Kanji: “negative / non- + death + somebody / body”

あの格闘家はまるで不死身だ。
あの　かくとうか　は　まるで　ふじみ　だ。
That fighter is practically invincible.
Literally: “that + martial artist + は + just like / just as if+ immortal / invulnerable+ だ.”

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万華鏡
まんげきょう
kaleidoscope
Kanji: “ten thousand + splendor + mirror”

Again with the Naruto references!

Many years ago, when I was terrible at Japanese and searching for anything I could find out about Japan or Japanese culture, I stumbled across my first anime, which happened to be Naruto.

I gave up on watching it eventually (it just kept going and going for so long!!), but I did have time before that to learn the names of many violent attacks which, it turns out, can help me learn other words.

Take the following move, for example:

万華鏡写輪眼！！
まんげきょうしゃりんがん！！
Mangekyō Sharingan!!
Literally: "kaleidoscope + copy + wheel + eye!!"

Yelling that out is probably not the best way to hold a conversation in Japanese, so let's look at a more socially acceptable phrase with our target word:

綺麗な万華鏡だね。
きれいな　まんげきょう　だ　ね。
It’s a pretty kaleidoscope, isn’t it?
Literally: “pretty + kaleidoscope + is + ね.”

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Finished!

You might have noticed this after reading through the lesson, but 三文字熟語 tends to refer to 3-kanji compounds that are somewhat idiomatic.

Some might argue that, technically speaking, 3-kanji words like 交差点 (こうさてん // intersection) and 洗濯機 (せんたくき // washing machine [for laundry]) are also 三文字熟語, but you would be less likely to see them showing up in a list of "common 三文字熟語."

By the way, if you're a kanji nerd, you may want to check out these lessons, too:
- [NDL #253] - Enter the Kanji Combo Game
- [NDL #283] - Electric Kanji
- [NDL #110] - Different Kanji for the Same Words
- [NDL #153] - Four Character Compounds

If you'd like to study more 3-character compounds in particular, this page has a comprehensive list containing some of the most common ones.

To make your life easier, I extracted those words and put them into this Google spreadsheet. You're on your own for translations, though... sorry.