Buy a Dream Chinese or Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

This is the two-character version of "dream", which can mean "to dream of [something]", vision, or reverie.

Be careful, as in some context, it can mean to dream of something in vain.

This is the very simple word for dreams in Chinese and Japanese. It can also mean having a vision or simply an illusion.

The first two characters mean "to pursue", "to track down", or "to search for".

The last two mean dreams. This version of dreams refers to those with an element of reality (not the dreams you have when you sleep, but rather your aspirations or goals in life).

This title will tell everyone that you want to make your dreams come true.

See Also...  Pursuit Of Happiness

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This is the Japanese way to express "Follow Your Dreams". If you have dreams that you want to pursue and make true, this is the phrase for you.

The first character is "dream" or "dreams". The rest of the characters establish the idea of chasing or pursuing.

See Also...  Pursuit Of Happiness

This means "dreamer" in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

This Chinese idiom implies that having great ambitions also means that others will not understand your great expectations and ideas. Though the actual words come from a longer saying of Confucius which goes, "The little swallows living under the eaves wouldn't understand the lofty ambitions of a swan (who flies far and wide)".

This Confucius quote has led to this idiomatic expression in China that means "think big". What you'd really be saying is "The lofty ambitions of a swan".

Note that Chinese people sometimes refer to the little swallow, as one who does not "think big", but is, instead, stuck in a rut, or just leading a mundane life. Therefore it's a compliment to be called a swan, but not a good thing to be called a swallow.

This means "high aims", "ambitions", or "aspirations" in Japanese.

This four-character idiom is used in Chinese to mean "realize your ambitions" or "exhibit your ambition and success". It's used to talk about someone with great career ambitions. Almost literally, it expresses the idea of someone unfolding a great career like a map or a set of blueprint plans.

Very literally translated, these four characters mean, "Great unfolding of a huge map" or "Great exhibition of an colossal plan".

This is one of those single characters that is vague, but in that vagueness, in also means many things. This character holds the ideas of ambition, hope, desire, aspiring to, expectations, looking towards, to gaze (into the distance), and in some context full moon rising.

This is a whole word in Chinese and old Korean, but is seldom seen alone in Japanese. Still, it holds the meanings noted above in all three languages.

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This was a sort of motto invoked by William S. Clark, after being hired by the Emperor of Japan in 1876 to establish a university in Hokkaido, Japan.

This phrase is famous across all generations of Japan since that time.

The first character here means to create, genesis, or origin.
The second means to make or build.
Together they mean to create, to bring about, to produce or simply creative or creation.

This Chinese idiom speaks of exploring different styles and not being stuck in conventional thinking. It can also be translated as "not sticking to one pattern" or "not limited to one type (or style)". The most simple translation is "being creative", or "unbridled creativity". Some may also say this means, "not being stuck in a rut", in the context of a designer or artist.

If you literally translate this, the first two characters mean, "not stick to", or "not confine oneself to".
The second two characters mean, "one mode", "one pattern", "one form", "one style", or "one rule".

Creativity is the power of imagination. It is discovering your own special talents. Daring to see things in new ways and find different ways to solve problems. With your creativity, you can bring something new into the world.

The first character means "to create" the second means "to make or build". Together they mean "creative". The third character means "strength". So altogether, these three characters are a word that means "strength of creativity" or sort of "creativity (is your) strength". This can also be translated as "ingenuity".

This Chinese word can mean desirous, wishful, or simply desire.

The first character means to thirst for something, or to be thirsty. The second character means to hope for, to expect, to gaze (into the distance) or to look for something. The combined meaning of these two characters changes a bit, but I think it's nice to know the individual meanings to give you a better understanding of where a word comes from.

Korean definitions of this word include craving, longing and thirst for knowledge.

This character means desire, longing, appetite, wish, covetousness, greed, passion, desire, avarice, and craving.

This word is universal in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja.

The context in which this character is used, determines whether the meaning is good or bad. As a single character on a wall scroll, you get to decide what the definition is to you (hopefully more toward desire than greed).

Please note that Japanese use a simplified version of this character - it also happens to be the same simplification used in mainland China. Click on the character to the right if you want the Japanese/Simplified version of desire.

The first character of this word means desire, longing, hunger, covetousness, greed, passion, desire, craving, or wish. The second character means to hope for, ambition, to desire, to aspire, to expect, to gaze (into the distance) or to look for something.

Together, they create a word that means strong desire, while some might translate it as "lust".

This means desire, wish, or aspiration in Chinese and Japanese.

Besides "to hope" this also means "to wish for" or "to desire". It can also mean expectation or aspiration depending on context.

Note: Also considered to be one of the Seven Heavenly Virtues.

See Also...  Faith | Desire

This means idea or thought in Chinese.

This means idea, thought, opinion, or view in Japanese.

It also has similar meaning in Chinese, just not in very common use in China.

This is a universal word for Illusion in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

The first character means phantasm, vision, dream, illusion, apparition, or fantasy.

The second character means statue, picture, image, figure, portrait, shape, form, appearance, to be like, to resemble, to take after, to seem, or in rare/ancient context: elephant.

Note that the first character can be written without the left-side radical in Chinese. This form is shown to the right. Both forms are acceptable in Chinese, but the character shown to the right is more likely to be read as "elephant".

See Also...  Reality

This is probably the best way to express "imagination" in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. It literally means "your strength to imagine". As the last character means strength or ability, while the first two mean imagine or conceptualize. My Japanese dictionary defines this as, "The power of imagination". While my Korean dictionary says, "imaginative power".

This encompasses the idea of meditation. It's also a term used to describe a deep form of day-dreaming, exploring one's imagination, the act of contemplating, or the idea of contemplation. This is often associated with Buddhism, however, the word "Zen" in Japanese (or "Chan" in Chinese) is probably more commonly used (or better known in the west).

See Also...  Zen

The first character means "eternal" or "forever", the second means "not" (together they mean "never"). The last two characters mean "give up" or "abandon". Altogether, you can translate this phrase as "never give up" or "never abandon".

Depending on how you want to read this, it is also a statement that you will never abandon your hopes, dreams, family or friends.

See Also...  Undaunted | No Fear | Hope

Characters shown
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This is a Japanese term that informally means "never give up".

See Also...  Tenacity | Perseverance | Hope

The first two characters mean "to pursue", "to track down", or "to search for".

The last two mean happiness, happy, or blessed.

This is the best way to translate the English phrase "pursuit of happiness" into Chinese.

See Also...  Follow Your Dreams

This is a Chinese word that expresses the idea of reality or coming to understand what is true and real.

The first character means to wake up, awaken, comprehend, introspect, or visit.

The second character means to comprehend or understand (be enlightened).

The meanings of Chinese words are not necessarily the sum of their parts. In this case, at best, you can derive that the characters express "understanding what is real" or "knowing what is real". Any Chinese person will perceive this word in a similar way to how we use "reality" in English.

Note that there is a variant form of the first character. The calligrapher will probably use the character shown above, but might use the one shown to the right. If you have a preference, please let us know when you place your order.

See Also...  Illusion

This is a specifically Buddhist term that means, "reality and illusion". Out of Buddhist context, it might be read as, "The real and the absurd".

Separately, the first character means real, true, and genuine, and the second character means absurd, fantastic, or related to fantasy.

This means thought, thinking, or idea in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. Sometimes it can mean ideology, depending on context.

This can refer to someone's personality - like saying, "he is a thinker".