This is the word most often used in Chinese, Korean and Japanese to mean accomplishment or achievement. This word can also be used to mean success, attain a result, fulfillment, realization, or completion.

Score: 100/100

If you've taken even a single karate class in your life, you know this term. This is sensei, which is associated in the west with a master or instructor of karate, aikido, judo, and other Japanese martial arts.

In reality, this is a term of respect for almost any professional or skilled person (doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc). In some cases, it is used for musicians and artists who have achieved a certain level of fame, skill, or accomplishment.

It should be noted that this is also a courtesy title in Chinese, but more like calling someone "mister" or "gentleman". It doesn't really have the "master" or "teacher" meaning in Chinese - see our Chinese "Master / Sifu / Shi Fu" entry if your audience is Chinese.

In Korean Hanja, this means teacher, instructor, schoolmaster, or schoolmistress.

This entry is more for educational purposes. This is kind of a strange thing to put on a wall scroll. It's a title that is used more orally to show respect, rather than something written in calligraphy. If you feel that it is appropriate in your circumstances, we are very willing to create a piece of sensei Japanese calligraphy artwork for you.

Score: 2/100

These are the Kanji for "Black Belt" in Japanese.

This would be the gift to buy someone who is about to achieve the rank of black belt, or perhaps for yourself, like a certificate on the wall to subtly show your accomplishment.

Note: with a tiny stroke difference on the second character, this also means black belt in Korean Hanja. Let me know if you need the exact Korean version (though any Korean who can read Hanja will know this is black belt).

Score: 2/100

One of the most famous types of martial arts in the world - and not just because of Bruce Lee.

Some translate the meaning as "Accomplishment by Great Effort". I think this is partially true, but directly translated it literally means "Merit/Achievement/Accomplishment Man". The word "fu" can sometimes mean "husband" or "porter", but in this case, it can only mean "man". However, few in China will think "man" when they hear the word "Gong Fu" spoken.

This term is also used for things other than martial arts. In fact, it's used to refer to a person with excellent skills in crafts that require a great deal of effort such as cooking, tea ceremonies, and calligraphy.

What a lot of people don't know is that the spelling of "Kung Fu" was actually taken from the old Wade Giles form of Romanization. Using this method, the sounds of the English "G" and "K" were both written as "K" and an apostrophe after the "K" told you whether it was supposed to sound like a "G" or not. Nobody in the west knew this rule, so most people pronounce it with a "K-sound". And so Gong Fu will always be Kung Fu for most westerners.

Also, just to educate you a little more, the "O" in "Gong" has a sound like the English word "oh".

The popular Chinese dish "Kung Pao Chicken" suffers from the same problem. It should actually be "Gong Bao Chicken".

Historical note: Many will claim that Kung Fu was invented by the monks of the Shaolin monastery. This fact is argued in both directions by scholars of Chinese history. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the Shaolin Monks brought the original fame to Kung Fu many generations ago.

Japanese note: While this does mean Jung Fu in Japanese, in most cases, Japanese will use Katakana to approximate the pronunciation of "Kung Fu". However, virtually any Japanese person who is into martial arts will recognize and understand these characters.

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This is a word used to describe someone that is very proud, and holds themselves above others, but with a valid (earned) reason to do so. This is what you would use to describe the way a mighty general of ancient China like Cao Cao acted or a more modern person like General Patton carried himself.

If you hang this word on your wall it suggests that you hope to achieve that same level of pride from accomplishment.

Score: 2/100