four
Came from Chinese. It usually shows up when the kanji is joined to another, forming a compound word.
It is Japanese. It usually shows up when the kanji stands alone or is followed by hiragana.
The order matters: it is what makes handwriting come out legible, and it is how dictionaries index the character.
Visual decomposition, for recognising and comparing — not always the character's origin.
Where it appears is highlighted — the translation doesn't always make that visible.
みんな注目！終電は二十三時四十分発だ。
Minna chuumoku! Shuuden wa nijuusan-ji yonjuppun hatsu da.
Attention, everyone! The last train leaves at twenty-three forty.
仕事では、いつも二十四時間表記を使う。
Shigoto dewa, itsumo nijuuyo-jikan hyouki o tsukau.
At work, we always use the 24-hour clock.
四百五十、プラス五百、プラス…飲み物二つ…
Yonhyaku gojuu, purasu gohyaku, purasu… nomimono futatsu…
Four hundred fifty, plus five hundred, plus... two drinks...
こちらは四百五十円です。
Kochira wa yonhyaku gojuu-en desu.
This one is four hundred and fifty yen.
携帯は七時四十二分を示していました。
Keitai wa shichi-ji yonjuuni-fun o shimeshite imashita.
His phone showed seven forty-two.
Readings and meanings: KANJIDIC2 · Decomposition: KRADFILE · Both from Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0 · data from 2026-09-07 · Strokes: KanjiVG, Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0