Sihou Happou (四方八方 – Every Direction)
Sihou Happou
四方八方
In my previous post, I introduced the word ‘happou‘ (八方), which means every direction in the surroundings.
以前の投稿の中で、周囲のさまざまな方向を表す「八方」という言葉を紹介しました。
Of course, ‘happou’ itself makes sense, but if you want to emphasize that directions are diverse, you can use the four-character idiom ‘sihou happou‘ (四方八方).
もちろん「八方」だけでも意味をなしますが、より周囲のさまざまな方向であることを強調したい場合、「四方八方」と言うこともできます。
‘Shi‘ (四) means “four,” ‘ha/hachi‘ (八) means “eight,” ‘hou/pou‘ (方) means “direction,” so the literal meaning of this idioms is “four directions and eight directions.”
「四」は “four”、「八」は “eight”、「方」は “direction” を意味するので、「四方八方」の文字どおりの意味は “four directions and eight directions” となります。
Both ‘sihou‘ (四方) and ‘happou’ (八方) mean every direction, but in the narrow sense, the former means north, south, east and west, and the latter means northeast, northwest, southeast and northeast in addition to ‘sihou’.
「四方」も「八方」もさまざまな方向を表す言葉ですが、狭義において「四方」は「北」「南」「東」「西」、八方はそこに「北東」「北西」「南東」「南西」を加えた方向のことです。
