yujikokugo

四字熟語

よじじゅくご

The definition of よじじゅくご from wwwjdict is:
四字熟語【よじじゅくご】 (n) four-character idiomatic compounds .

My first encounter was on a mailing list from about.com about two weeks ago. A 四字熟語 is a 4 character Kanji expression, and they seem to be used a lot in the language. They seem to be a condensation of the language. For instance, 一石二鳥 is literally “1 stone 2 birds” and means the same as the western expression “Killing two birds with one stone.”

Wikipedia talks about two kinds of 四字熟語: idiomatic and non-idiomatic expressions. For instance, the term 屋内禁煙 means “No smoking indoors. It goes on to say that there are perhaps tens of thousands of these in common use. It goes on to give a few examples: 大学教育 means “university education” and 日米関係 means simply. relations between the U.S.A and Japan.

For me, the idiomatic expressions hold much more interest. 海千山千 (うみせんやません) means literally 1,000 oceans, 1,000 mountains. It derives from the saying that a snake lives in the ocean for a thousand years and the mountains for another thousand years before becoming a dragon. wwwjdic has this in it's collection of example sentences using this phrase:

あいつは海千山千だから、取り引き相手としてはかなり手強いぞ
All those tricks he's got up his sleeve make him a formidable client.

It seems the Japanese use these a lot in their everyday speech, so they're interesting. Like 諺 (ことわざ), they're also fun and my own experience is that in speaking with Japanese, they're surprised and interested when you use them in your own speech.

The table below has several example sentences from wwwjdic and from the about.com list and examples of 字熟語 from the about.com pages. Links to various web resources are found at the very bottom, including one link that will take you to a dictionary of じじゅくご with about 30,000 examples in a downloadable format

これは一朝一夕に解決できる問題ではない	これ　は　いっちょう　いっせき　に　かいけつ　できる　もんだいでわ　ない。	This is not a problem that can be solved overnight.
この計画はどれも一長一短がある	この　けいかく　は　どれも　いっちょ　いったん　が　ある	Each of these plans has its merits and demerits.
あなたに会えてて一刻千金のときが過ごせた。	あなた　に　あえて　いっこく　せんきん　とき　を　すごせた。	I had precious little time to see you.
彼の病状は一進一退を繰り返している。	かれ　の　びょじょう　は　いっしん　いったい　を　くりかえしている。	Sometimes he gets a little better, but then he gets worse again.
そんなことに一喜一憂するのは意味がない。	そんあ　こと　に　いっき　いちゆう　する　の　わ　いみ　が　ない	There is no point in letting your self be affected by such a thing.

一石二鳥	いっせきにちょう	killing two birds with one stone;
一日千秋	いちじつせんしゅう	Literally means, "one day, a thousand autumns." A wider translation is, "to look forward to something eagerly." When you are waiting for something, one day seems to be as long as a thousand years.
危機一髪	ききいっぱつ	Literally means, "danger, one hair." It is similar to English expressions "by the skin of one's teeth" or "a close call" etc. This word came from the situation that one is pulling something heavy with one hair, and it is nearly broken.
自業自得	じごうじとく	Literally means, "self-deed, self-gain." A wider translation is, "to suffer for doing wrong." It is similar to English expressions "you deserve what you get" or "you asked for it" etc.
前代未聞	ぜんだいみもん	Literally means, "before time, never heard." A wider translation is, "unheard of" or "unusual."
一朝一夕	いっちょういっせき	Literally means, "one morning, one evening." A wider translation is, "in a day" or "in a short time." This expression is always followed by a negative clause.
一長一短	いっちょういったん	Literally means "one long, one short." A wider　translation is, "to have both merits and demerits."
一喜一憂	いっきいちゆう	Literally means "one joy, one sorrow." A wider translation is, "to be glad and sad by turn."
一刻千金	いっこくせんきん	Literally means, "one moment, thousand gold."
一進一退	いっしんいったい	Literally means, "one forward, one back." A wider translation is, "back and forth" or "to fluctuate."

First article on 四字熟語 and the one that perked my interest.
About.com 四字熟語 (2)
About.com 四字熟語 (3)
About.com 四字熟語 (4)
Wikitopia entry on 四字熟語
英訳　湯自国語　辞典　English Translation Dictionary of Yujikukogo