ALL LEVELS・N1–N5

Four-Character Idioms: Japanese Word List (JLPT N1–N5)

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N1 半信半疑はんしんはんぎ

Refers to a state of half-belief, half-doubt. It is a four-character idiom expressing the hesitant feeling of being unable to judge whether a story is true or false. Used in expressions like 「半信半疑で話を聞く (to listen with half-belief)」「半信半疑のまま試す (to try while remaining doubtful)」「半信半疑だった (was half in doubt)」. It expresses the intermediate psychological state of being unable to fully trust, yet unable to dismiss outright. It is an established expression used in everyday conversation, novels, and news reports.

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N1 傍若無人ぼうじゃくぶじん

Refers to behaving as one pleases as if no one were around, lacking consideration for others. It is a four-character idiom used in expressions like 「傍若無人な振る舞い (high-handed conduct)」「傍若無人に振る舞う (to behave as if no one else exists)」. Read in classical Chinese style as 「傍らに人無きが若し (as if there were no one beside one)」, its literal meaning is "as if there were no one beside you". It is used in contexts strongly criticizing an attitude that pays absolutely no regard to those around.

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N1 本末転倒ほんまつてんとう

Refers to mistaking the essential parts of a matter for trivial ones. It is a four-character idiom that critically describes a state in which means have been substituted for ends, or in which priorities of importance have been reversed. Used in expressions like 「本末転倒な議論 (an argument that puts the cart before the horse)」「健康のためのダイエットで体を壊しては本末転倒だ (ruining one's health on a diet for one's health is putting the cart before the horse)」. 「本」 means the root or essence, 「末」 means the branches or tip, and the word expresses that this relationship has been 「転倒 (inverted)」.

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Vocabulary data on this site is based on the JMdict/EDICT project (© Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0). JLPT level classification is our own assessment using AI (Claude) and is not an official JLPT standard.