Happiness Chinese & Japanese Wall Scrolls

This is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja for the kind of happiness known in the west as "joy".

This character can also be translated as rejoice, enjoyment, delighted, pleased, or "take pleasure in". Sometimes it can mean, "to be fond of" (in certain context).

If you write two of these happiness/joy characters side by side, you create another character known in English as "double happiness", which is a symbol associated with weddings and a happy marriage.

There is another version of this character that you will find on our website with an additional radical on the left side (exactly same meaning, just an alternate form). The version of happiness shown here is the commonly written form in China, Japan and South Korea (banned in North Korea).

See Also...  Contentment

This is simple "happiness" which can also be translated as blessed, welfare, well-being, or fortunate.

This can mean happiness, good fortune, good luck, and in the old days, good harvest or bounty.

Note: From Japanese, this character is sometimes romanized as "sachi", and is often pronounced "kou" or sometimes "rei" when used in compound words with other Kanji.

This is the kind of happiness that involves being satisfied and content. This can also suggest the actions of "to satisfy" or "to meet the needs of".

In Japanese, the Kanji for this word is an alternate Chinese form. You can see and select this version at the right (recommended only if your audience is specifically Japanese).

See Also...  Satisfaction | Contentment | Pleasure | Well-Being

This is the type of happiness known in the west as "joy". The radical on the right side of this character is often seen alone (with the same meaning - and we do recommend that version because it's more universal). If you write two of those radicals side by side, you create another character known in English as "double happiness", which is associated with weddings and a happy marriage.

In Chinese, "xi" is pronounced like "she" but with your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth and your teeth slightly open (there is no sound in English exactly like this).

This is a common gift for Chinese couples getting married or newly married couples.

As we say in the west, "Two heads are better than one" Well, in the east, two "happinesses" are certainly better than one.

Some will suggest this is a symbol of two happinesses coming together. Others see it as a multiplication of happiness because of the union or marriage.

This is not really a character that is pronounced very often - it's almost exclusively used in written form. However, if pressed, most Chinese people will pronounce this "shuang xi" (double happy) although literally there are two "xi" characters combined in this calligraphy (but nobody will say "xi xi").

If you select this character, I strongly suggest the festive bright red paper for your calligraphy. Part of my suggestion comes from the fact that red is a good luck color in China, and this will add to the sentiment that you wish to convey with this scroll to the happy couple.

Joyfulness is an inner sense of peace and happiness. You appreciate the gifts each day brings. Without joyfulness, when the fun stops, our happiness stops. Joy can carry us through the hard times even when we are feeling very sad.

This word can also mean pleasure, enjoyment, delight, cheerful, or merry. In some ways, this is the essence that makes someone to be perceived as a charming person.

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This means, "A life of happiness and prosperity" or "A life of happiness and success". It's a great and very positive and inspirational wall scroll selection.

See Also...  Prosperity

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 word is hard to define. One dictionary defines this as, "acceptance of fate and happy about it". There is one rare English word equivalent which is sanguinity.

You can also say that this means, "Be happy with whatever Heaven provides", or "Find happiness in whatever fate Heaven bestows upon you". This is kind of a way to suggest being an optimist in life.

Note: This is sometimes used as a given name in China.

Even if you are poor, you should still feel satisfied in your life...

...Satisfaction, happiness, and the meaning of your life come from within yourself and not from money or riches of the world.

In Chinese, there are a lot of four-character idiomatic phrases which express some very old philosophies.
Though there are only four characters on this scroll, in Chinese the meanings often surpasses the dictionary definition of each character.

In this case, you should not set your expectations too high for the amount to money or riches you wish to have. One who sets their expectations too high, is almost always disappointed. Instead, you should cherish what you have, and seek to improve yourself from within, and not measure your personal worth by the size of your bank account.

See Also...  A Sly Rabbit Will Have Three Openings To Its Den

This is a single-character form of happiness that holds the ideas of laughing and having a good time. It can also be translated as happy, glad, enjoyable, and sometimes, music.

This a really good character if your audience is Chinese.

This is not a word seen alone very often in Korean.

In Japanese, this character is written like the image shown to the right. If you order this from the Japanese master calligrapher, it will look like this instead of the character shown above.
Note: In Japanese, this has a meaning of comfort, ease, and enjoyment.

See Also...  Joyfulness

This is how to write "Happy Birthday" in Chinese. The first two characters mean "birthday", and the second two characters mean "happiness", or rather a wish for happiness.

Because a birthday only lasts one day per year, we strongly suggest that you find an appropriate and personal calligraphy gift that can be hung in the recipient's home year round.

This is how to write "Happy Birthday" in Japanese. The first Kanji means "wish" or "express good wishes", and the last three characters mean "birthday".

Because a birthday only lasts one day per year, we strongly suggest that you find an appropriate and personal calligraphy gift that can be hung in the recipient's home year round.

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This is how to write "Happy Birthday" in Japanese. The first part says "birthday" and the last 5 Kanji mean "congratulations".

This can be literally translated as "happy laughter". The first character means "happy" or "happiness" and the second means "laugh" or "laughter".

If you want to wish someone a happy new year this is the way. You can hang this up during western New Years (Dec 31st - Jan 1st) and keep it up until after Chinese New Years which happens in either January or February of each year (it changes from year to year because China uses a lunar calendar).

Note: For 2007, the date of Chinese New Years is February 18th.

This is the type of happiness that you feel on the inside. It is the feeling of being released and delighted as well as being in a state of contentment. This is a more internal happiness that perhaps only shows by the smile on your face. It can also be translated as "to take pleasure in" or "to rejoice".

Note: This character is often used in compound words - especially in Korean Hanja.
As Japanese Kanji, this is so rare, that most Japanese people are not aware of its existence.

This is yet another way to express the idea of happiness. This character means joyous, happy, delight, and pleased. This is an external happiness that may have you clapping and cheering.

Please note: The other happiness/joyful which looks like is more popular.

The above left Kanji is the ancient/old version in Japan. After WWII, they started using the version shown at the right. Just let us know if you want this modern version instead of the ancient one.

This is a Chinese phrase that means "Enjoy Life".

The first two characters mean "to enjoy" and the last two mean "life" or "living".

This is the same as the translation of "Passion for a cause" in Chinese. Enthusiasm is being cheerful, happy, and full of spirit. It is doing something wholeheartedly and eagerly. When you are enthusiastic, you have a positive attitude.

In some context, this could have a meaning of being extremely fond of something, or having fondness for a cause or person.

This Chinese word can also be translated as "sincere and warm" or literally "warm sentiment / affection".

See Also...  Motivation | Passion | Commitment | Tenacity

This is the Japanese word that means enthusiasm, or "passion for a cause".

In some context, this could have a meaning of being extremely fond of something, or having fondness for a cause or person.

Can also be translated as passion, zeal, ardour, or fervor.

See Also...  Motivation | Passion | Commitment | Tenacity

This is another version of Enthusiasm in Chinese, Japanese Kanji and old Korean Hanja. This literally means "warm-hearted" (can also mean warm-spirited or warm-souled).

This word is also used to express the ideas of earnestness or eagerness.

Can mean "zeal" in Japanese.

The story goes that Mr. Feng and Mr. He were both senior officials in the Song Dynasty (about a thousand years ago). One day, Mr. Feng walked into their shared office wearing a new pair of boots. The boots caught the eye of Mr. He who said, "New boots! - how much were they?". Mr. Feng lifted one of the boots off the ground as if to show it off and responded, "900 coins". Astonished, Mr. Feng explained, "900? How can that be? - I paid 1800 coins for my boots!". Mr. Feng then lifted his other foot off the ground and said, "This boot was also 900 coins".

It is said that the whole room was shaking from the laughter of all that heard Mr. Feng's joke on Mr. He.
br> Currently in China, this phrase is used in response to a good joke or witty comment.

This character simply means to laugh or smile.

Notes: In some context, it can mean "ridicule" in Korean Hanja. This character is not often seen alone in Japanese, though it is understood.

This is the title for a Martial Arts studio (custom-made at by request of the owner of the studio).

In English, the word order shown in the title is the most natural or popular. In Chinese, the natural order is a little different:

The first character means laugh (sometimes means smile).

The second character means love.

The last two characters mean "live" as in "to be alive" or "pursue life".

Please note: This is not a normal phrase, in that it does not have a subject, verb, and object. It is a word list. Word lists are not common in Asian languages/grammar (at least not as normal as they are in English). We only added this entry because so many people requested it.

We put the characters in the order shown above, as it almost makes a single word with the meaning, "A life of laughter and love". It's a made-up word, but it sounds good in Chinese.

We removed the Japanese pronunciation guide from this entry, as the professional Japanese translator deemed it "near nonsense" from a Japanese perspective. Choose this only if your audience is Chinese and you want the fewest-possible characters to express this idea.

This is a very universal character. It means love in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, old Korean Hanja, and old Vietnamese.

This is one of the most recognized Asian symbols in the west, and is often seen on tee-shirts, coffee mugs, tattoos, and more.

This character can also be defined as affection, to be fond of, to like, or to be keen on. It often refers to romantic love, and is found in phrases like, "I love you". But in Chinese, one can say, "I love that movie" using this character as well.

It's very common for couples to say "I love you" in Chinese. However, in Japanese, "love" is not a term used very often. In fact, a person is more likely to say "I like you" rather than "I love you" in Japanese. So this word is well-known, but seldom spoken.

More about this character:

This may be hard to imagine as a westerner, but the strokes at the top of this love character symbolize family & marriage.

The symbol in the middle is a little easier to identify. It is the character for "heart" (it can also mean "mind" or "soul"). I guess you can say that no matter if you are from the East or the West, you must put your heart into your love.

The strokes at the bottom create a modified character that means "friend" or "friendship".

I suppose you could say that the full meaning of this love character is to love your family, spouse, and friends with all of your heart, since all three elements exist in this character.

See Also...  I Love You | Caring | Benevolence | Friendliness | Double Happiness Happy Marriage Wall Scroll

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Because a word list of "Live Laugh Love" is not natural in Japanese, this takes the concept and incorporates it into a proper phrase.

This can be translated as, "A life of love and laughter" or "Live life with love and laughter".

This character can be defined as pleasure, well-pleased, contented, and happy.

Note: This character is no longer in common use in Japanese.

See Also...  Passion

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

Characters shown
above are read
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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 can be translated as "roar of laughter", "loud laughter", "hearty laugh" or "cachinnation".

The first character means big or great, and the second character means laugh or smile.

If you like humor, this is a great wall scroll to hang in your home.

See Also...  The Whole Room Rocks With Laughter

This character is related to the ideas of getting married, being in a marriage, or taking a wife (could also mean take a husband, as "take a wife" is a western term, and this is just a general Chinese term regarding a wedding).

See Also...  Double Happiness

These two characters create a word that means wedding, or getting married. In some context, it can just be read as "marriage".

See Also...  Double Happiness | Partnership: Marriage