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1. England
2. Believer
6. Initiative / Proactive / Positive
8. Home of the Auspicious Golden Dragon
9. Destiny
11. Crystal
12. Strike While the Iron is Hot
13. I Miss You
14. Any success can not compensate for failure in the home
15. Gung Ho
17. Inspiration
18. Let Us Try
19. Unity / United / Solidarity / Cooperation
20. Vampire
21. Strong Hearted / Strong Willed
23. Community
24. Seeker
25. Rose
26. Reality
27. Love and Respect
28. Sexy
29. How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the lair of the tiger?
31. Religious Devotion / Faith in God / Religious Faith
32. Sense of Shame / Sense of Honor / Integrity / Modesty
33. Sangha
35. Bonsai / Penzai
36. Hello / Ni Hao
37. Exercise
38. Bruce Lee
39. Fear No Evil
40. Good Good Study, Day Day Up
41. Dojo / Martial Arts Studio
42. Devotion / Dedication / Attentive / Focused
43. Hella
46. Greatest Love
49. Christ
50. Everything Happens for a Reason
51. Devotion / Diligence / Vigorous / Energetic
52. Optimism / Happy With Your Fate
53. Asian Pride / Oriental Pride / AZN Pryde
54. Iron Fist
55. Peace and Love
56. Feel at Ease Anywhere / The World is My Home
57. John 3:16
58. Homosexual Male / Gay Male
60. Kung Fu San Soo / San Shou
63. The Saint
64. Nguyen / Ruan
65. Wing Chun
66. Filial Piety
67. Crisis equals Danger plus Opportunity?
68. Archer
71. Geisha
73. Year-In Year-Out Have Abundance
74. Kenpo / Kempo / Quan Fa / Chuan Fa
75. Hapkido
Can mean: Courage / Bravery
In Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean, 英 can often be confused or read as a short name for England (this character is the first syllable of the word for England, the English language, the British Pound, and other titles from the British Isles).
In some contexts, this can mean “outstanding” or even “flower.” But it will most often read as having something to do with the United Kingdom.
This is not the most common way to say hero, courage or bravery but you may see it used sometimes.
I strongly recommend that you choose another form of courage/bravery.
信徒 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja word for “believer.”
Just as in English, this word can be used for a follower of virtually any religion.
This word can also be translated into English as layman, adherent, follower, laity, disciple, or devotee.
We don't really have a word like 健美 in English, but these two characters create a word that means “strong and beautiful.” It could also be translated as “healthy and beautiful.”
Note: 健美 is a word in Chinese and Korean, but it's also the family name Takemi in Japanese. The characters hold the same meaning in Japanese; however, it's like having the English name Stillwell when few people would perceive the meanings of still and well.
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: 笑愛生活 is not a normal phrase in that it does not have a subject, verb, or object. It is a word list. Word lists are not common in Asian languages/grammar (at least not as normal as 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.
In Korean, this would be 소애생활 or "so ae saeng hwar" but I have not confirmed that this makes sense in Korean.
戰術 can mean “tactics of war,” “battle tactics” or simply “tactics” (being that warfare is implied in that English word).
This word is written in the ancient and traditional form of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
In modern Japan, the first character has been simplified or modified. If you want the modern Japanese Kanji version, just click on that character shown to the right.
This word closely matches the way initiative is often used in English. This word can also mean active, energetic, vigorous, positive (outlook), or proactive in Chinese.
The meaning also includes positive and progressive in Japanese and Korean.
This 金瑞祥龍之家 or “home golden auspicious dragon” title was added by special request of a customer.
The first character means gold or golden.
The second and third characters hold the meaning of auspiciousness and good luck.
The fourth character is dragon.
The fifth is a possessive modifier (like making “dragon” into “dragon's”).
The last character means home (but in some context can mean “family” - however, here it would generally be understood as “home”).
Note: The word order is different than the English title because of grammar differences between English and Chinese. This phrase sounds very natural in Chinese in this character order. If written in the English word order, it would sound very strange and lose its impact in Chinese.
Note: Korean pronunciation is included above, but this has not been reviewed by a Korean translator.
Respect / Loyalty / Honesty
尊重忠誠誠實 is a “word list” consisting of “Respect/Loyalty/Honesty.”
Word lists are not as common in Chinese as they are in English but leaving that concern behind, this has a good meaning.
If you want to customize it more, add an inscription with your wedding date or names (just a small extra fee for translation).
Note: Because these are three separate words, the calligrapher may be inclined to leave a small space between each two-character word. Let us know if you have any preference when you place your order.
This is a common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the names Crystal or Krystal.
Consider also going with the meaning of crystal. The characters shown to the left sound like crystal in Mandarin but do not mean crystal (of course, the word for crystal in Chinese does not sound at all like the English word crystal).
Working Together
工合 is one of those Asian words that is used more in English than in the original Chinese.
Gung Ho was originally used to speak of Carlson's Raiders, a group of “Gung Ho” U.S. Marines who went on an island-hopping campaign of death during WWII.
A movie called Gung Ho came out in the mid-1940s and was later re-released in the 1950s depicting the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, and brought this word to the mainstream.
It is still sometimes used today within the U.S. Marine Corps brotherhood to refer to a unit or group that works well together or is otherwise efficient and motivated (has good morals).
In 1986, there was a movie called Gung Ho about a Japanese company taking over an American automotive factory. They completely ignored the fact that this was a Chinese title.
It should be noted that this title actually means a condition, state, manner, or the health of something in Japanese.
Language and pronunciation notes:
Like many Asian words absorbed into common use in English, this one is drastically mispronounced. The official Romanization is “gong he” but that doesn't tell you enough. The vowel sound on the first character is like the English word “own,” now just add the g-sounds to the beginning and end. The second character is misleading, as you might think it is like the English word “he.” In reality, the vowel sound is more like the “u” in “up.”
It should also be noted that the current generation in China no longer uses or recognizes this as a common word or slogan.
Note: This can be pronounced and is a word in Japanese, though seldom used. Japanese will use a variation of "具合" instead. But still, not common.
迫力 is a Chinese word that is a form of personal strength.
It is a word that describes a person who is willing to take a risk. In English, we might say, “Someone with guts.”
An example might be a person that is not rich but invests a lot of money into something (knowing they could double their money or lose it all). Win or lose, this is a person that knows or pushes their potential.
Tearing this word apart, the first character means “to compel,” urgent, urge, force, imminent, or “spur on.” The second means power, strong, bear, or exert.
Note: 迫力 is also a word in Japanese Kanji and Korean Hanja but with a meaning more like force, intensity, appeal, strength, impact, force, or simply power.
靈感 is the Chinese word closest to hitting the mark for the English word inspiration.
In a more extended context, I have even seen this translated as “brain wave.”
The first character means alert, departed soul, efficacious, quick, effective, or intelligent.
The second character means to feel, to move, to touch, or to affect.
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.
You could describe this word as “the thought that pops into your head just before you patent the greatest widget ever invented that everyone in the world will want.”
At least, that's the idea.
This term can also mean “intelligent thought” if you translate it directly from each character. If you are looking for inspiration or need to be inspired, this is the word for you.
When the first character was absorbed into Japanese from Chinese, an alternate form became the standard in Japan. The Kanji shown to the right is the form currently used in Japan. This is still considered an alternate form in China to this day. it’s readable by both Chinese and Japanese people but if your audience is Japanese, I recommend the Kanji shown to the right - just click on that Kanji to order that version.
Essayons
嘗試 is a close match for the English phrase “let us try” or the French word “Essayons.”
Essayons the motto of Combat Engineers in the U.S. Army.
This word can also be translated as “to try” or “to attempt.”
Even if you're not a Combat Engineer, this word should inspire you to attempt to accomplish difficult things. If you don't try, you are certain to fail; if you do try, at least there is a chance of success.
The worst thing is not failure, the worst thing is not trying at all.
Join Forces / Rally Together
團結/糰結 means to join forces, unity, united, union, combination, cooperation, or solidarity.
Regarding solidarity, this was part of the Chinese title used for the Solidarity Workers Union in Poland. In some circumstances, this can mean “hold a rally.”
While there's not a perfect match to the English word “unity” in Chinese, this word is pretty close. It contains the idea of joining forces and working as one. It could even mean rallying together to achieve a goal or defeat a common enemy.
There are several variations of these characters such as 团结, 団結, 團結, 糰結, etc. Modern Japanese will write it 団結. Just the first Kanji varies. Click on the image of that modern Japanese first Kanji to the right if you want this version instead of the traditional one.
吸血鬼 is how to say “vampire” in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
Quite literally, this means “Suck Blood Ghost” or, more naturally, in English, “Ghost Who Sucks Blood.” This title is also used for leeches and blood-sucking vermin.
Just like the word “vampire” in English, this title is used in Asian languages colloquially to refer to “cruel exploiters,” and especially in China, it can be used to refer to “capitalists exploiting the workers.”
Alone on a wall scroll, this will be understood with just the “vampire” or “bloodsucker” meaning.
意志堅強 can mean either “strong-hearted,” “strong-willed” or “determination.”
The first two characters can be translated as “will,” “willpower,” “determination,” “volition,” “intention,” or “intent.” But, it should be noted that this first part possesses the element of “heart” in the lower portion of both characters (they also partially carry the meaning “with the whole heart”).
The last two characters mean “strong” or “staunch.”
Chinese word order and grammar are a bit different than English, so in this case, they are in reverse order of English but have the correct meaning in a natural form.
See Also: Strong Willed | Discipline | Will-Power
我的命運我掌握 is a way to write “I control my own destiny” in Chinese.
The direct translation is more like, “My destiny, I'm in control.” The meaning is the same, but Chinese grammar and word order vary a bit from English.
There's a few other variations, and if you want any of these, just email me:
我的命运我做主 (wo3 de ming4 yun4 wo3 zuo4 zhu3) "my destiny, I'm in charge"
我的未来我掌握 (wo3 de wei4 lai2 wo3 zhang3 wo4) "my future, I'm in control"
我的未来我做主 (wo3 de wei4 lai2 wo3 zuo4 zhu3) "My future, I'm in charge"
社區 is how to write community in Chinese.
社區 can mean the neighborhood you live in. It can also be used the same way we use the word community in English.
Examples: African-American community, Christian community, Asian community, etc.
If you need a special calligraphy wall scroll to describe your community, just contact me, and I’ll translate it and make it for you.
醒悟 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: The first character can also be written in a different form as shown to the right. Same meaning in Chinese, either way it’s written.
Love and respect each other
相敬相愛 is an old Chinese proverb that suggests love and respect go together and are to be exchanged between people (especially couples).
The first two characters mean “exchanging respect” or “mutual respect.”
The last two characters create a word that means “to love each other” or “mutual love.”
You'll notice that the first and third characters are the same. So you can read this literally as something like “Exchange respect, exchange love” or “Mutual respect, mutual love.” In English, we'd probably just say, “Mutual love and respect.” Grammar differs in every language - So while the literal translation might sound a bit awkward in English, this phrase is very natural in Chinese.
sex appeal / eroticism / sexuality
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
While perhaps no longer politically correct, this Chinese proverb is a reminder that you must take risks if you want rewards.
不入虎穴焉得虎子 is similar to the English proverb, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
The literal word order of the Chinese is, “If (you) don't enter the tiger's lair/cave, how can (you) get/obtain tiger cubs?.”
印第安 is the Chinese title for (American) Indian or Native American.
For disambiguation, this refers only to the indigenous people of North America.
印第安 is a transliteration, so it is meant to sound like the English word “Indian” using Chinese sounds.
This is not a common selection for a calligraphy wall scroll.
信仰 means firm belief, faith, persuasion, conviction, and sometimes religion or creed in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
This clearly fits the religious connotation of the English word “devotion.”
This is often used to refer to a person of faith or a religious person.
This can be directly translated as “firm belief,” “creed,” “conviction,” or simply as “religious,” depending on context.
Some will also use this to mean “trust in God” in Japanese (though the term for God is not actually in this title).
It should be noted that this word is a little strange alone on a wall scroll.
While this can be pronounced in Japanese, it’s not a great selection for a wall scroll if your audience is Japanese.
See Also: Faith | Trust | Devotion | Trust | Trust in God
廉恥 simultaneously means “sense of honor” and “sense of shame” in Korean.
This term is often used as a tenet of Taekwondo, where the English terms “integrity” and “modesty” are applied.
廉恥 is also a Chinese word, though it is usually read with the “sense of shame” meaning, and is a poor choice for a wall scroll if your audience is Chinese.
In Buddhism, 僧伽 refers to a community of monks and/or nuns (one of the “Three Jewels”). In general terms, it can simply mean “all followers of the Buddha.”
Notes: Though there are not vast numbers of Chinese Hindus, in the Hindu faith, this term means “community together.”
The original Sanskrit word is also Romanized as samgha.
The first character means “monk.” The second character means Buddha or Shakyamuni.
僧伽 is a transliteration of the original Sanskrit, but it uses two very profound Chinese characters related to Buddhism.
Some may pronounce this as “seng qie” or “seng jia” in Mandarin (two possible pronunciations for the second character). Note that “qie” sounds like “chee-ah” using typical English pronunciation. Chinese Romanization is not actually designed to match English sounds.
Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write the first character in the form shown to the right. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect this special Kanji form. However, it should also be noted that this is not a common term in Japanese (except by certain sects of Buddhism or perhaps devout Buddhists in Japan).
廣東 is the title of Guangdong province (Kwangtung) in south China.
In English, this place is also known as Canton, and is the root of the word Cantonese for the language, culture, and cooking style of this region.
Beyond Canton, this can be the surname Hirotou or Hiroto in Japanese though often written in the modern form of 広東 in Japan.
Dwarf Tree Culture
盆栽 is the word that refers to the culture, hobby, and to miniature trees themselves that have become popular around the world.
Like many things, this art migrated from China to Japan some time ago, but we tend to associate it with Japanese culture and even use the Japanese word in English.
Granted, in the present day, this hobby seems to be more popular in Japan but still has a great following in China and even a little in Korea as well.
Note: Many people confuse the title of the bonsai tree with “banzai” which is a form of “hooray” in Japanese. I have also seen it misspelled as “bansai.” The correct Romanization (Romaji) is “bonsai.”
你好 is the day-to-day way to say hello in Chinese.
The characters literally mean, “You good?” It's the equivalent of “What's up?” in English, where nobody expects an actual answer.
This explanation is here for educational purposes only. 你好 is an oral word that is not appropriate for a scroll (not a bad meaning, just very odd for a wall scroll).
(for body or mind)
鍛煉/鍛鍊 means to exercise in much the same way we use the word exercise in English.
This can be exercising your body at the gym or exercising your mind in studies. Most of the time, this refers to physical exercise.
This can also be translated as to temper, to toughen, to train, to drill, to forge, or simply discipline.
李小龍 is the real full name of Bruce Lee.
Many people have no idea that Bruce Lee had a “real” Chinese name. In Mandarin and Cantonese, he is known as “Lǐ XiǎoLóng” and “Léi SíuLùng” respectively.
He kept his family name pronunciation (Li = Lee). 李 is a common family name that also means “plum.”
His given name 小龍 (Xiao-Long), literally means “little dragon.” 李小龍 is why you often see the character for dragon associated with Bruce Lee on various posters etc.
For a pronunciation lesson, the “X” in Romanized Mandarin is pronounced like a “sh” sound but with your tongue at the bottom of your mouth. The vowel sound in “Long” is like the English “oh,” not like the “ah” sound in the English word “long.”
If you are a big Bruce Lee fan, you should know this information, and you should have this wall scroll hanging in your room or martial arts studio.
Note: Japanese use these same Chinese characters / Kanji to write Bruce Lee's real name (with different pronunciation - which is a bit like how the name “Bruce Lee” sounds in English).
See Also: Kung Fu | Martial Arts
不怕邪惡 literally means “no fear of evil” in Chinese.
Chinese grammar and word order are a little different than English. 不怕邪惡 is the best way to write something that means “fear no evil” in Chinese.
The first character means “not,” “don't” or “no.”
The second means “fear.”
The last two mean “evil” but can also be translated as sinister, vicious, wickedness, or just “bad.”
好好學習天天向上 is a famous proverb by Chairman Mao Zedong that sounds really strange when directly translated into English.
I include it in our database of phrases to illustrate how different the construction and grammar can be between Chinese and English. The direct translation is “Good Good Study, Day Day Up.” In Chinese, a repeated character/word can often serve to reinforce the idea (like saying “very” or suggesting “a lot of”). So “good good” really means “a lot of good.” While “day day” can be better translated as “day in day out.” The idea of “up” has a meaning in China of “rising above” or “improving.”
After understanding all of this, we come up with a slightly better translation of “With a lot of good study, day in and day out, we raise above.”
The more natural translation of this proverb would be something like, “study hard, and keep improving.”
道場 is the Japanese term for a room or hall in which martial arts are taught.
道場 is often spelled “dojo” which has become a word in the English lexicon. However, the true Romaji is doujou or dōjō.
Please note: The Chinese definition of these characters is quite different. In Chinese, this is a place where Buddhist or Taoist mass is held. It could also be a place where spiritual or psychic events are performed.
專心 makes a word that means “paying attention with your heart.”
It's often translated as “dedication,” as in “be absorbed in” or “concentrate one's efforts.” It's also used to mean “with the single mind,” “whole-heartedly,” “paying attention,” “undivided attention,” “concentration (-ed),” “engrossed,” “devotionally (listening/watching),” and/or “attentive.”
The first character means “for a particular person, occasion, or purpose,” “focused on one single thing,” “concentrated,” and sometimes, “special.”
The second character means “heart” or “mind” by itself.
My favorite translation, which comes from the Oxford Advanced Chinese/English Dictionary, is, “wholehearted devotion.”
If it seems like the meaning of this word is quite open, you are correct. The context in which the word is used matters a lot. It can mean different things depending on how you use it. This makes it kind of nice as you can decide what this means to you (within some limits). This is always positive in meaning, so even if a Chinese person reads it differently than you, it will still have a good meaning.
In Japanese, they tend to use a variation of the second character which has one less stroke. If you want your calligraphy written this Japanese form, please click on the Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Note: Japanese and Chinese people will recognize either form.
We struggled to find a word that encompasses the English, “hella” with a meaning like, “really,” “a lot,” “totally,” and/or “very.”
In Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean, 太 is a character that is often said as an adjective in front of other words, to make “good” into “too good,” or “extremely good.”
The meaning of this character from the dictionary is highest, greatest, too (much), very, extremely, fat, grand, magnificent, excellent, or great.
不屈不撓 means “Indomitable” or “Unyielding.”
不屈不撓 is a long word by Chinese standards. At least, it is often translated as a single word into English. It's actually a proverb in Chinese.
If you want to break it down, you can see that the first and third characters are the same. Both mean “not” (they work as a suffix to make a negative or opposite meaning to whatever character follows).
The second character means “bendable.”
The last means “scratched” or “bothered.”
So this really means “Won't be bent, can't be bothered.” I have also seen it written as “Will not crouch, will not submit.” This comes from the fact that the second character can mean “to crouch” and the last can mean “to submit” (as in “to give in” such as “submitting to the rule of someone else”). This may explain better why these four characters mean “indomitable.”
Notes:
Some will translate this as “indomitable spirit”; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of “spirit” in this word.
Other translations include indefatigability, indomitableness, or unremitting tenacity.
The first two characters can be stand-alone words in Chinese.
In Japanese, this is considered two words (with very similar meanings). It's more common to see the word order flipped to 不撓不屈 in Japanese.
The same characters are used in old Korean Hanja. Just like in Japanese, the words are swapped to 不撓不屈 creating a word pronounced “불요불굴” in Korean.
See 不撓不屈
基督教 is the Chinese, Japanese and Korean word for “Christianity.”
Just as in English, this word is often used to mean “Protestant” but includes Catholics in the true definition.
It is the word used to refer to the whole “Christian religion” or “Christian Faith,” and therefore, it can be translated as “Christianity.” However, used as an adjective in regard to a person, it would translate as “Christian.” But more like saying, “His religion is Christianity,” rather than a noun form.
If you break it apart, the characters mean Base/Foundation Leading/Supervising Religion/Teaching. It makes more sense in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. The first two characters together are translated as “Christ.” So you can also say this means “Christ's Religion” or “Christ's Teachings” when directly translated, or in reverse, “The Religion of Christ” or “The Teaching of Christ.”
Notes: The last character has a slight difference in one stroke - however, in calligraphic form, this will not be apparent. This entry can easily be read by any Korean person who knows Hanja characters (Chinese characters used in Korean).
See Also: Jesus Christ | God of Abraham
最偉大的愛 means “the greatest love” in Chinese.
Keeping in mind that Chinese is different than English, the first character is like “-est” or adding “the most” as a modifier to the next word.
The 2nd and 3rd characters mean great, mighty, and/or large.
The 4th is a possessive article.
The last is the character for love.
When you put it all together, you get a phrase that means the greatest love, enormous love, or the mightiest love.
These two characters mean intelligence or intelligent.
The first character means wisdom, intellect, or knowledge.
The second means ability, talent, skill, capacity, capable, able, and can even mean competent.
Together, 知能 can mean “capacity for wisdom,” “useful knowledge,” or even “mental power.” Obviously, this translates more clearly into English as “intelligence.”
Note: This is not the same word used to mean “military intelligence.” See our other entry for that.
In modern Japan, they tend to use a version of the first character without the bottom radical. If your audience for this artwork is Japanese, please click on the Kanji to the right instead of the button above.
功夫 or Kung Fu is 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 lot of effort to master, 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 it was supposed to sound like a “G.” 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 most Japanese martial artists will recognize these characters, Katakana is more often used to approximate the pronunciation of "Kung Fu" with "カンフー." Some will argue as to whether this should be considered a Japanese word at all.
See Also: Bruce Lee
基督 is how to write “Christ” in Chinese characters, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.
This is the word used in the Chinese Union Bible (the only readily-available translation of the Bible into Chinese that I know of - published about 100 years ago). For Chinese Christians, this is the most common way to refer to Jesus Christ.
This is also the way that “Christ” is written in Japanese. But since the Japanese language is very flexible about the sounds that can be assigned to various Kanji, these characters have been assigned a pronunciation that sounds a lot like “Christ” or actually closer to the original “Christos.” In Japanese (if you don't know how the Romaji shown above in the gray box works), it sounds like “key ree sue toe” using English words/sounds. Say those four words fast, and you'll get it.
It should be noted that only Japanese Christians will be familiar with this word.
This is best defined, read, and understood with the characters together, but if you take this word for Christ apart, the first character means “fundamentals” or “foundation.” The second character can mean “leader” or “boss.”
萬事皆因果 means “Everything happens for a reason” in Chinese.
The first two characters mean “all things” or “everything.”
The middle character kind of means “in all cases.”
The last two characters create a complex word that can be defined in many ways, such as “karma,” “cause and effect,” “fate,” and “every cause has its effect, as every effect arises from a cause.”
Keep in mind that Chinese grammar is a bit different than English, so trust me that this makes a natural-sounding proverb in Chinese.
vīrya
精進 is a wide-ranging word that is used in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
It can mean devotion, diligence, concentration, aggressive, enterprising, vigorous, energetic, purification, pushing, asceticism, assiduity, or virility. 精進 is deep, and these two characters can express ideas that take a full English phrase to describe, such as “concentration of mind,” “to forge ahead vigorously,” or “to dedicate oneself to progress.”
Used in the context of Buddhism, it means “making earnest efforts to cultivate virtue and get rid of evil” or “zeal in one's quest for enlightenment.”
樂天 is about being optimistic and also making the best of whatever life throws at you.
This is hard to define. One dictionary defines this as “acceptance of fate and happy about it.” There is one English word equivalent, which is sanguinity or sanguinary.
You can also say that this means “Be happy with whatever Heaven provides,” or “Find happiness in whatever fate Heaven bestows upon you.” 樂天 suggests being an optimist in life.
Note: This is sometimes a given name in China.
Please note that Japanese tend to write the first character in a slightly-different form (as seen to the right). Let us know if you have a preference when you place your order.
東方自尊 is the universal way to write “Asian Pride.”
We worked on this one for a long time. The effort involved both Chinese and Japanese translators and lengthy discussions. If you have been searching for this term, there is a reason that it's hard to find the way to write “Asian Pride” in Chinese and Japanese - it's because of the inherent difficulties in figuring out a universal combination of characters that can be read in all languages that use forms of Chinese characters.
This final solution that you see to the left creates a reasonable title in Chinese and an exotic (perhaps unusual) title in Japanese (This could be read as “Eastern Self-Respect” in Japanese”).
Although not as natural, it does have the same meaning as Korean Hanja, and the older generation of Vietnamese people will be able to read it.
The first two characters literally mean “Oriental” and the second two mean “pride,” “self-esteem,” or “self-respect” (we chose the most non-arrogant way to say “pride”). If you have “Asian Pride” (sometimes spelled Asian Pryde) these are the characters for you.
Note: For those who wonder, there is nothing technically wrong with the word “Oriental.” It is a correct word, and any bad meanings were created by so-called “Asian Americans” and Caucasians in the United States. To say “Asian” would not completely correct the intended meaning since that would include people from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, India, and portions of Russia.
For further proof, if you were of East Asian ancestry and born in England, you would be known as a “British Oriental” (The “Oriental stigma” is basically an American creation and, therefore, applies mainly to the American English language - where they get a bit overzealous with political correctness).
Further, since the Chinese and Japanese word for Oriental is not English, they can not be construed as having ill meaning. On one trip to China or Japan, you will find many things titled with these two characters, such as malls, buildings, and business names. These places also use “Oriental” as their English title (much as we do since our Chinese business name starts with these same two characters).
In short, the first two characters have the meaning that Americans attach to “Asian” but is more technically correct.
Tie Quan / Tieh Chuan
鐵拳 is a common theme used by various schools of martial arts.
鐵 means “iron” but, in some cases, can mean “indisputable.”
拳 means fist.
Some schools use the older/Taiwanese way to Romanize the iron fist, so you may have seen it spelled “Tieh Chuan” instead of “Tie Quan.” Neither way is technically incorrect.
Note that in Mandarin, the first part of the first character sounds like the English word “tea,” blending into a soft “-eh” sound. The second character sounds a lot like “chew on” but as if it is one syllable.
After WWII in Japan, the Kanji for iron was simplified. This new Kanji form is shown to the right. If you want this modern Japanese version, please click on the Kanji to the right, instead of the button above. The characters shown to the left would still be considered the old or ancient Japanese version of this title.
和平博愛 is the Chinese and Japanese way to express “Peace and Love.”
These are two separate words, so the calligrapher will put a slight space between the first two characters, which mean peace, and the last two, which represent universal love. This space is not shown on the sample character images for this phrase.
A special note: Word lists may seem okay in English but feel strange in Chinese and Japanese. We don't offer too many of them but this one is often-requested and feels okay in Chinese and Japanese, though a bit uncommon in Korean.
四海為家 literally reads, “Four Seas Serve-As [my/one's] Home.”
Together, 四海 which literally means “four seas” is understood to mean “the whole world” or “the seven seas.” It's presumed to be an ancient word from back when only four seas were known - so it equates to the modern English term, “seven seas.”
This can be translated or understood in a few different ways:
To regard the four corners of the world all as home.
To feel at home anywhere.
To roam about unconstrained.
To consider the entire country, or the world, to be one's own.
神愛世人甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們叫一切信他的不至滅亡反得永生 is the full translation of John 3:16 into Chinese.
This is from the Chinese Union Bible which comes from a revised version of the King James. This Chinese Bible was originally translated and printed in 1919 (several revisions since then).
Because of the origin being the KJV, I'll say that in English, this would be, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
As with any translation, there are interesting cultural and linguistic issues. For instance, the word used for “world” in Chinese can also mean “common people.” So you could say that it means “For God so loved the common people...”
This does not take away from the text, as it will be understood with the same meaning and connotation.
There is no direct Greek-to-Chinese translation in print (that I know of), so this is the best available. Of course, you can ask any Greek person of faith, and they will claim that a bit is lost from the original Greek of the New Testament to any of the English versions of the Bible in print.
You need the male character in front of the word for homosexual in Chinese to create this word.
It's a much nicer way to say “Gay Male” than English words like Fag, Fairy, Sissy, Puff, Poof, Poofster, Swish, or Pansy. Although I suppose it could be used as a substitute for Nancy Boy, Queer, or Queen (for which, last time I checked, my gay friends said were OK in the right context).
For those of you who think China is a restrictive society - there are at least two gay discos in Beijing, the capital of China. It's at least somewhat socially acceptable to be a gay male in China. However, lesbians seem to be shunned a bit.
I think the Chinese government has realized that the 60% male population means not everybody is going to find a wife (every gay male couple that exists means two more women in the population are available for the straight guys), and the fact that it is biologically impossible for men to give birth, may be seen as helping to decrease the over-population in China.
謝謝 is how to say thank you in Chinese. It is pronounced a bit like “shea shea” as in the English word for shea butter. Except you pronounce the X like “sh” but with your tongue firmly at the bottom of your mouth.
Unless you are putting this wall scroll near the exit of your store or restaurant to thank customers for coming, it is a bit of an odd selection. A gift of thanks to another person should be a more personal selection with more meaning than a simple thank you. Although common to write xie xie inside a card or letter of thanks.
Technically, this can be pronounced in Japanese but in Japan, it’s still the Chinese way to say thank you. It’s like an English speaker saying "gracias" (Spanish word for thank you).
功夫散手 is a martial arts title.
Oddly, there are multiple ways two spell/romanize this in English, but in Chinese, it's written exactly the same.
Technically, the Mandarin romanizes as “gong fu san shou,” for which you'll sometimes see it written “kung fu san shou” (k'ung is an old romanization for a word that sounds like gong with a vowel sound like “oh”).
There is another martial arts style that spells this “Kung Fu San Soo.” I guess this was supposed to approximate Cantonese pronunciation for which the scholarly romanization is generally agreed to be “gung fu saan sau.”
起重機 refers to the huge machine that lifts materials high into the air as crews construct huge buildings.
A customer requested this specifically after some confusion over the bird by the same name.
In an odd twist, while they don't know this name in English sounds like a bird; the building crane is jokingly called “The real national bird of China” because of the accelerated level of construction in Beijing and elsewhere ever since preparations began for the 2008 Olympics. As of 2018, construction has barely slowed.
If you want the type of construction crane that drives down the road, please note that the word is totally different for that kind of “vehicle crane.”
媽 is the oral way that most Chinese people refer to their mothers. Often, they will put this together twice (two of the same character in a row) to create a word that sounds like “Mama.” That's absolutely what little kids call their mothers in China. This Chinese “Mama” is the rough equivalent of “Mommy” in English. Beyond a certain age, Chinese will start to just say “Ma,” which is like saying “Mom.”
This entry is just here for a language lesson. This would make a strange wall scroll by Chinese standards. In Chinese, there are sometimes oral words that don't seem appropriate when written in calligraphy, and this is one of them. See our entry for “Loving Mother” for a better selection.
See Also: Loving Mother | Family
聖 is the simple, single-character religious form of “saint” in Chinese (also holds the same meaning in Japanese and Korean, though rarely used alone like this).
This can also mean holy, sage, master, or priest.
Note: 聖 is often used in compound words (words of more than one character) to create further meanings. In compounds, it can mean holy, sacred, or divine.
聖 is also used as the first word for Spanish and English place names such as “San Diego” and “St. Louis” in Chinese (not Japanese).
In the Buddhist context, this can represent ārya or sādhu. And mean a sage; wise and good; upright, or correct in all his character; sacred, holy, or saintly.
Surname
阮 is the original Chinese character that represented the Vietnamese surname Nguyễn before Vietnam stopped using Chinese characters and romanized their language. It is probably the most common surname in all of Vietnam. While romanized as Nguyen, it sounds more like the English word “Win” or “When.” 阮 can also represent the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam, which lasted from 1802 to 1945.
阮 is also the Chinese surname Ruan, most Chinese with this surname have ancestors from a small state named Ruan during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) located in the southeast of modern-day Gansu Province.
In Japanese, this can be the rare surnames pronounced Min, Gen, Ken, Gan, or En.
Besides a surname, this character also represents an ancient musical instrument.
詠春 is a martial arts technique that has an oral history (versus a written one) so very little can be said for sure about its origins.
Wing Chun (or Wing Cheun) is a Chinese martial art that emphasizes short combat strokes.
The characters 詠春 literally mean “Singing Spring” (as in springtime).
If you are wondering, the spelling and pronunciation of this martial arts style in English come from the Cantonese pronunciation of these characters. The second character sounds similar in both Mandarin and Cantonese, but the first is quite different.
Note: This title can be pronounced in Japanese, but only a Japanese practitioner of Wing Chun would recognize or understand this title. It is not considered a Japanese word or martial art at all.
孝 represents filial piety.
Some will define this in more common English as “respect for your parents and ancestors.”
孝 is a subject deeply emphasized by the ancient philosophy and teachings of Confucius.
Some have included this in the list for the Bushido, although generally not considered part of the 7 core virtues of the warrior.
Note: 孝 is not the best of meanings when seen as a single character. Some will read the single-character form to mean “missing my dead ancestors.” However, when written as part of Confucian tenets, or in the two-character word that means filial piety, the meaning is better or read differently (context is important for this character).
We suggest one of our other two-character filial piety entries instead of this one.
危機 means crisis in Chinese and Japanese.
Separately, the first character here does mean “danger” or “to endanger,” and the second character can mean “opportunity.”
However, I want to debunk a myth that was propagated by some westerners who did not have a clear understanding of Asian languages...
While often, Chinese/Japanese/Korean compound words (words of two or more characters) are the sum of their parts, this is not always the case. The compound is often understood with a completely different meaning than the two characters individually.
Many have said that the Chinese/Japanese/Korean word for Crisis is made up of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.” 危機 is true when phrased this way.
However, it's not absolutely correct to say that “danger + opportunity = crisis” in Asian cultures.
English example:
If I tell you that...
Bovine creature + Guy behind the plate in baseball = Locomotive train protection
...you would think I was mad. But consider that “cow + catcher = cowcatcher,” which is the device that used to be found on steam engines to protect them if they hit an animal on the tracks. When we hear the word “cowcatcher,” we don't separate the words into their individual meanings (necessarily).
The same is true with the word for crisis in Chinese/Japanese/Korean. While you can separate the characters, few Asian people would automatically do so in their minds.
The final answer:
It is a half-truth to say, “danger plus opportunity equals crisis” in Chinese/Japanese/Korean. Use this statement and concept with caution.
Also, the second character can mean “secret” or “machine,” depending on context so I guess you have to say “a dangerous machine = crisis” or “danger + a secret = crisis.” Both of these are only slightly more ridiculous than the first premise.
PS: 危機 is probably not a great word for a scroll unless you have a special use for it.
射手 means archer, shooter, or marksman in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
Depending on the context, it can also mean “goal-getter” in Chinese. This would also be the word for a bowman.
射手 is modern in Asia, meaning that it's only been in use for a few hundred years. However, the more ancient version of the archer is often not even recognized by the current generation of Chinese and Japanese people.
The first character means “shoot” or “fire” (in the context of a gun or bow). It's also a suffix for radioactive things (in the context of chemistry) - radioactive things “fire off” electrons. In Japanese, the first Kanji is a short name and suffix for archery.
The second character means “hand,” but the hand can also mean a person, in the same way, that a “farmhand” is a person in English.
This can be translated literally as “Praying Mantis Fist.”
螳螂拳 is sometimes called Shandong Praying Mantis after its place of origin. It was created by Wang Lang and was named after the praying mantis, an insect, the aggressiveness of which inspired the style.
Shaolin records document that Wang Lang was one of the 18 masters gathered by the Shaolin Abbot Fu Ju, which dates him and Northern Praying Mantis style to the Song Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.).
The fact that the word “Northern” is used in the English title has more to do with where this style came from (Shandong is in northern China), but “north” is absent from this Chinese title.
Note: 螳螂拳 is also a title in Japanese - however, only a Japanese person who practices or is familiar with the “Praying Mantis Fist” style would recognize it.
Perhaps a pacifist view or perhaps the best kind of victory; 兵不血刃 reflect this idea:
The edges of the swords not being stained with blood.
You could also translate it as: Win victory without firing a shot.
The first character means army or force. The second character means without or none. The last two characters mean bloodstained knives. So it represents a returning victorious army without bloodstained knives. 兵不血刃 is the very literal sense of this Chinese proverb. The title definition is more accurate to the way this proverb is understood.
Asking yourself why the direct or literal translation is different?
...Think of compound words in English such as “nevertheless” if we break it apart to “never the less,” we will have trouble getting the real definition of “in spite of that.” Similar things happen when multiple characters create a compounded word in Chinese.
芸者 is the real basis for the way we spell geisha.
However, there are many more ways to refer to a woman that fills the role that westerners think of when they hear the word geisha.
In Japanese, these characters literally mean “artful person.” But in English, it might be better translated as “a person (woman) highly trained/accomplished in the arts.”
However, my Japanese dictionary says “a singing and dancing girl.”
Many will argue as to whether “geisha” = “prostitute” or not. My Japanese friends seem to have the opinion that a geisha is so highly trained in the art of playing musical instruments and dancing that the fact she might also be a prostitute is secondary to her performance on stage.
芸者 is a “Japanese only” term, they use a slightly different first character to express “geisha” in Chinese. Since this is a Japanese term, I have not included the Chinese version.
柔術 has been somewhat incorrectly spelled and pronounced “Jujitsu” for some time in the English-speaking world. The correct Japanese Romaji is Jujutsu or Juujutsu.
A little background on the word: By combining the Kanji pronounced “Ju” (which means flexible, pliable, gentle, yielding) with the Kanji pronounced “Jutsu” (which means art or technique), we get a meaning that can be translated as “flexible technique,” “gentle art” or “yielding technique.”
柔術 does make sense in Chinese as well, although pronounced “rou shu” in China.
The Jujutsu system has a history in Japan that started well before the 1600s. Some see this style as a variation of the “Empty Hand Method” (Karate-do). Even the samurai of old used some Jujutsu methods in defending themselves with their unarmed hands against weapons that could pierce their heavy armor.
There are convoluted relationships between various schools and systems of martial arts, but it's generally accepted that Jujutsu led to the development of Judo and a few other variations.
年年有餘 is a common proverb or wish of prosperity you'll hear around the time of Chinese New Year.
Directly translated character by character, it means “Year Year Have Surplus.” A more natural English translation including the deeper meaning would be “Every Year may you Have Abundance in your life.”
On a side note, this phrase often goes with a gift of something related to fish. This is because the last character, “yu” which means surplus or abundance, has exactly the same pronunciation in Mandarin as the word for “fish.”
This is also one of the most common titles for traditional paintings that feature koi fish.
In China, this phrase might make an odd wall scroll - a customer asked especially for this common phrase which is why it appears here. See my other abundance-related words if you want a wall scroll that will seem more comfortable in Chinese culture.
Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly used term.
See Also: Prosperity | Good Fortune
拳法 is a form of martial arts that can be translated in several ways.
Some will call it “fist principles,” “the way of the fist,” or even “law of the fist.” The first character literally means fist. The second can mean law, method, way, principle, or Buddhist teaching.
Kempo is really a potluck of martial arts. Often a combination of Chinese martial arts such as Shaolin Kung Fu with Japanese martial arts such as Karate, Jujutsu (Jujitsu), Aikido, and others. You may see the term “Kempo Karate,” which basically means Karate with other disciplines added. In this way, Kempo becomes an adjective rather than a title or school of martial arts.
These facts will long be argued by various masters and students of Kempo. Even the argument as to whether it should be spelled “kenpo” or “Kempo” ensues at dojos around the world (the correct Romaji should actually be “kenpou” if you precisely follow the rules).
The benefit of Kempo is that the techniques are easier to learn and master than pure Kung Fu (wu shu). Students are often taught basic Karate moves, kicks, and punches before augmenting the basic skills with complex Kung Fu techniques. This allows students of Kempo to achieve a level where they can defend themselves or fight in a relatively short amount of time (a few years rather than a decade or more).
Because the definition of this word is so fluid, I should make some notes here:
1. Purists in Okinawa will claim that “Okinawa Kenpo” or “Ryukyu Hon Kenpo” is the original and true version of this martial art from the old kingdom. It is actually little or no connection between Okinawa Kenpo and the way the word is used elsewhere.
2. In Chinese, where these characters are pronounced “quan fa” (sometimes Romanized as “chuan fa” because the Chinese-pinyin “q” actually sounds like an English “ch” sound), these characters do not hold the connotation of being a mixed martial art. It is simply defined as “the law of the fist.”
3. My Japanese dictionary oddly defines Kenpo as the “Chinese art of self-defense.” I personally don't feel this is the most common way that people perceive the word but just something you should know.
Korean Martial Art of re-directing force
Hapkido or 合氣道 is a mostly-defensive martial art in Korea.
Hapkido has some connection to the Aikido of Japan. They are written with the same characters in both languages. However, it should be noted that the Korean Hanja characters shown here are the traditional Chinese form - but in modern Japan, the middle character was slightly simplified.
Note: You can consider this to be the older Japanese written form of Aikido. Titles on older books and signs about Aikido use this form.
The connection between Japanese Aikido and Korean Hapkido is muddled in history. The issue is probably due to the difficult relationship between the two countries around WWII. Many Koreans became virtual slaves to the Japanese during that period. After WWII, many things in Korea were disassociated from having any Japanese origin. The relationship has greatly mellowed out now.
Looking at the characters, the first means “union” or “harmony.”
The second character means “universal energy” or “spirit.”
The third means “way” or “method.”
One way to translate this into English is the “Harmonizing Energy Method.” This makes sense, as Hapkido has more to do with redirecting energy than fighting strength against strength.
More Hapkido info
More notes:
1. Sometimes Hapkido is Romanized as “hap ki do,” “hapki-do” “hab gi do” or “hapgido.”
2. Korean Hanja characters are actually Chinese characters that usually hold the same meaning in both languages. There was a time when these characters were the standard and only written form of Korean. The development of modern Korean Hangul characters is a somewhat recent event in the greater scope of history. There was a time when Chinese characters were the written form of many languages in places known in modern times as North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and a significant portion of Malaysia. Even today, more people in the world can read Chinese characters than English.
3. While these Korean Hanja characters can be pronounced in Chinese, this word is not well-known in China and is not considered part of the Chinese lexicon.
鼈 refers to a species of turtle.
鼈 is Trionyx Sinensis.
鼈 refers to different turtles in different languages. See individual language notes below:
Japanese: 鼈 means “snapping turtle” or “mud turtle.” But rarely used as a single Kanji like this in Japanese.
Chinese: 鼈 means soft-shelled turtle. A specific species, Trionyx Sinensis is native to Asia.
In China, this species is related to the “wang ba,” a soft-shelled turtle sometimes known in English as a banjo turtle (due to its long neck, and general shape). Unfortunately, there is a word, “wang ba dan” which means the egg of this species of turtle. That term has come to mean “bastard” in Chinese (a turtle hatches from an abandoned egg, and does not know who his mother or father is). 鼈 is not a good selection for a wall scroll if your audience is Chinese.
In Korean, this character can be pronounced (though most Koreans would have to look it up in a dictionary). It has not been in common use in Korea for at least a few hundred years.
General notes: You may notice that the bottom half of this character is the same as some other turtle-related titles. That bottom half is actually an ancient character that means “toad.” Though not seen in this way today, most turtle-related characters hold the meaning of “a toad with a shell” in their ancient origin. That toad character is rarely used alone anymore but you can see what it looks like in the image to the right.
Persistence to overcome all challenges
百折不撓 is a Chinese proverb that means “Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks.”
More directly translated, it reads, “[Overcome] a hundred setbacks, without flinching.” 百折不撓 is of Chinese origin but is commonly used in Japanese and somewhat in Korean (same characters, different pronunciation).
This proverb comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan, and he never stooped to flattery but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose the corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.
Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and the common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.
Near the end of his career, a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest, he resigned from his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.
His tombstone reads “Bai Zhe Bu Nao” which is now a proverb used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strong will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.
My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as “keep on fighting despite all setbacks,” “be undaunted by repeated setbacks,” and “be indomitable.”
Our translator says it can mean “never give up” in modern Chinese.
Although the first two characters are translated correctly as “repeated setbacks,” the literal meaning is “100 setbacks” or “a rope that breaks 100 times.” The last two characters can mean “do not yield” or “do not give up.”
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people will not take this absolutely literal meaning but will instead understand it as the title suggests above. If you want a single big word definition, it would be indefatigability, indomitableness, persistence, or unyielding.
See Also: Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance | Persistence
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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
England | 英 | ei | yīng / ying1 / ying | |
Believer | 信徒 | shinto | xìn tú / xin4 tu2 / xin tu / xintu | hsin t`u / hsintu / hsin tu |
Strong and Beautiful | 健美 | takemi | jiàn měi / jian4 mei3 / jian mei / jianmei | chien mei / chienmei |
Live Laugh Love | 笑愛生活 笑爱生活 | xiào ài shēng huó xiao4 ai4 sheng1 huo2 xiao ai sheng huo xiaoaishenghuo | hsiao ai sheng huo hsiaoaishenghuo |
|
Tactics of War | 戰術 / 戦術 战术 | senjutsu | zhàn shù / zhan4 shu4 / zhan shu / zhanshu | chan shu / chanshu |
Initiative Proactive Positive | 積極 积极 | sekkyoku / sekyoku | jī jí / ji1 ji2 / ji ji / jiji | chi chi / chichi |
Love Loyalty Respect | 愛忠敬 | ài zhōng jìng ai4 zhong1 jing4 ai zhong jing aizhongjing | ai chung ching aichungching |
|
Home of the Auspicious Golden Dragon | 金瑞祥龍之家 金瑞祥龙之家 | jīn ruì xiáng lóng zhī jiā jin1 rui4 xiang2 long2 zhi1 jia1 jin rui xiang long zhi jia jinruixianglongzhijia | chin jui hsiang lung chih chia | |
Destiny | 黛絲蒂妮 黛丝蒂妮 | dài sī dì nī dai4 si1 di4 ni1 dai si di ni daisidini | tai ssu ti ni taissutini |
|
Pillars of Marriage | 尊重忠誠誠實 尊重忠诚诚实 | zūn zhòng zhōng chéng chéng shí zun1 zhong4 zhong1 cheng2 cheng2 shi2 zun zhong zhong cheng cheng shi | tsun chung chung ch`eng ch`eng shih tsun chung chung cheng cheng shih |
|
Crystal | 克里斯托 | kè lǐ sī tuō ke4 li3 si1 tuo1 ke li si tuo kelisituo | k`o li ssu t`o kolissuto ko li ssu to |
|
Strike While the Iron is Hot | 乘勢 乘势 | chéng shì cheng2 shi4 cheng shi chengshi | ch`eng shih chengshih cheng shih |
|
I Miss You | 我想你 | wǒ xiǎng nǐ wo3 xiang3 ni3 wo xiang ni woxiangni | wo hsiang ni wohsiangni |
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Any success can not compensate for failure in the home | 所有的成功都無法補償家庭的失敗 所有的成功都无法补偿家庭的失败 | suǒ yǒu de chéng gōng dōu wú fǎ bǔ cháng jiā tíng de shī bài suo3 you3 de cheng2 gong1 dou1 wu2 fa3 bu3 chang2 jia1 ting2 de shi1 bai4 suo you de cheng gong dou wu fa bu chang jia ting de shi bai | so yu te ch`eng kung tou wu fa pu ch`ang chia t`ing te shih pai so yu te cheng kung tou wu fa pu chang chia ting te shih pai |
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Gung Ho | 工合 | guai | gōng hé / gong1 he2 / gong he / gonghe | kung ho / kungho |
Gutsy Daring Bold | 迫力 | hakuryoku | pò lì / po4 li4 / po li / poli | p`o li / poli / po li |
Inspiration | 靈感 灵感 | reikan | líng gǎn / ling2 gan3 / ling gan / linggan | ling kan / lingkan |
Let Us Try | 嘗試 尝试 | cháng shì chang2 shi4 chang shi changshi | ch`ang shih changshih chang shih |
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Unity United Solidarity Cooperation | 團結 / 糰結 团结 / 団结 | dan ketsu / danketsu | tuán jié / tuan2 jie2 / tuan jie / tuanjie | t`uan chieh / tuanchieh / tuan chieh |
Vampire | 吸血鬼 | kyuu ketsu ki kyuuketsuki kyu ketsu ki | xī xuě guǐ xi1 xue3 gui3 xi xue gui xixuegui | hsi hsüeh kuei hsihsüehkuei |
Strong Hearted Strong Willed | 意志堅強 意志坚强 | yì zhì jiān qiáng yi4 zhi4 jian1 qiang2 yi zhi jian qiang yizhijianqiang | i chih chien ch`iang ichihchienchiang i chih chien chiang |
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I Control My Own Destiny | 我的命運我掌握 我的命运我掌握 | wǒ de mìng yùn wǒ zhǎng wò wo3 de ming4 yun4 wo3 zhang3 wo4 wo de ming yun wo zhang wo wodemingyunwozhangwo | wo te ming yün wo chang wo wotemingyünwochangwo |
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Community | 社區 社区 | shè qū / she4 qu1 / she qu / shequ | she ch`ü / shechü / she chü | |
Seeker | 找尋著 找寻着 | zhǎo xún zhě zhao3 xun2 zhe3 zhao xun zhe zhaoxunzhe | chao hsün che chaohsünche |
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Rose | 羅斯 罗斯 | luó sī / luo2 si1 / luo si / luosi | lo ssu / lossu | |
Reality | 醒悟 / 省悟 醒悟 | xǐng wù / xing3 wu4 / xing wu / xingwu | hsing wu / hsingwu | |
Love and Respect | 相敬相愛 相亲相爱 | xiāng jìng xiāng ài xiang1 jing4 xiang1 ai4 xiang jing xiang ai xiangjingxiangai | hsiang ching hsiang ai hsiangchinghsiangai |
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Sexy | 性感 | seikan | xing gǎn / xing gan3 / xing gan / xinggan | hsing kan / hsingkan |
How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the lair of the tiger? | 不入虎穴焉得虎子 | bú rù hǔ xué yān dé hǔ zǐ bu2 ru4 hu3 xue2 yan1 de2 hu3 zi3 bu ru hu xue yan de hu zi buruhuxueyandehuzi | pu ju hu hsüeh yen te hu tzu pujuhuhsüehyentehutzu |
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Native American Indian | 印第安 | yìn dì ān yin4 di4 an1 yin di an yindian | yin ti an yintian |
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Religious Devotion Faith in God Religious Faith | 信仰 | shin kou / shinkou / shin ko | xìn yǎng / xin4 yang3 / xin yang / xinyang | hsin yang / hsinyang |
Sense of Shame Sense of Honor Integrity Modesty (Korean) | 廉恥 廉耻 | ren chi / renchi | lián chǐ / lian2 chi3 / lian chi / lianchi | lien ch`ih / lienchih / lien chih |
Sangha | 僧伽 | sougya / sogya | sēng qié / seng1 qie2 / seng qie / sengqie | seng ch`ieh / sengchieh / seng chieh |
Canton Guangdong | 廣東 广东 | hirotou / hiroto hiroto / hiroto | guǎng dōng guang3 dong1 guang dong guangdong | kuang tung kuangtung |
Bonsai Penzai | 盆栽 | bon sai / bonsai | pén zāi / pen2 zai1 / pen zai / penzai | p`en tsai / pentsai / pen tsai |
Hello Ni Hao | 你好 | nǐ hǎo / ni3 hao3 / ni hao / nihao | ||
Exercise | 鍛煉 / 鍛鍊 锻炼 | duàn liàn duan4 lian4 duan lian duanlian | tuan lien tuanlien |
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Bruce Lee | 李小龍 李小龙 | bu ruu su ri buruusuri bu ru su ri | lǐ xiǎo lóng li3 xiao3 long2 li xiao long lixiaolong | li hsiao lung lihsiaolung |
Fear No Evil | 不怕邪惡 不怕邪恶 | bú pà xié è bu2 pa4 xie2 e4 bu pa xie e bupaxiee | pu p`a hsieh o pupahsieho pu pa hsieh o |
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Good Good Study, Day Day Up | 好好學習天天向上 好好学习天天向上 | hǎo hǎo xué xí tiān tiān xiàng shàng hao3 hao3 xue2 xi2 tian1 tian1 xiang4 shang4 hao hao xue xi tian tian xiang shang | hao hao hsüeh hsi t`ien t`ien hsiang shang hao hao hsüeh hsi tien tien hsiang shang |
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Dojo Martial Arts Studio | 道場 道场 | dou jou / doujou / do jo | dào cháng dao4 chang2 dao chang daochang | tao ch`ang taochang tao chang |
Devotion Dedication Attentive Focused | 專心 / 専心 / 耑心 专心 | sen shin / senshin | zhuān xīn zhuan1 xin1 zhuan xin zhuanxin | chuan hsin chuanhsin |
Hella | 太 | tai | tài / tai4 / tai | t`ai / tai |
Indomitable Unyielding | 不屈不撓 不屈不挠 | fu kutsu fu tou fukutsufutou fu kutsu fu to | bù qū bù náo bu4 qu1 bu4 nao2 bu qu bu nao buqubunao | pu ch`ü pu nao puchüpunao pu chü pu nao |
Christianity Christian | 基督教 | kirisutokyou kirisutokyo | jī dū jiào ji1 du1 jiao4 ji du jiao jidujiao | chi tu chiao chituchiao |
Greatest Love | 最偉大的愛 最伟大的爱 | zuì wěi dà de ài zui4 wei3 da4 de ai4 zui wei da de ai zuiweidadeai | tsui wei ta te ai tsuiweitateai |
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Intelligence Intellect | 智能 / 知能 智能 | chinou / chino | zhì néng / zhi4 neng2 / zhi neng / zhineng | chih neng / chihneng |
Kung Fu Gong Fu | 功夫 | kan fu / ku fu kanfu / kufu | gōng fu / gong1 fu / gong fu / gongfu | kung fu / kungfu |
Christ | 基督 | kirisuto | jī dū / ji1 du1 / ji du / jidu | chi tu / chitu |
Everything Happens for a Reason | 萬事皆因果 万事皆因果 | wàn shì jiē yīn guǒ wan4 shi4 jie1 yin1 guo3 wan shi jie yin guo wanshijieyinguo | wan shih chieh yin kuo wanshihchiehyinkuo |
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Devotion Diligence Vigorous Energetic | 精進 精进 | shoujin / shojin | jīng jìn / jing1 jin4 / jing jin / jingjin | ching chin / chingchin |
Optimism Happy With Your Fate | 樂天 / 楽天 乐天 | raku ten / rakuten | lè tiān / le4 tian1 / le tian / letian | le t`ien / letien / le tien |
Asian Pride Oriental Pride AZN Pryde | 東方自尊 东方自尊 | tou hou zi son touhouzison to ho zi son | dōng fāng zì zūn dong1 fang1 zi4 zun1 dong fang zi zun dongfangzizun | tung fang tzu tsun tungfangtzutsun |
Iron Fist | 鐵拳 铁拳 / 鉄拳 | tekken / teken | tiě quán / tie3 quan2 / tie quan / tiequan | t`ieh ch`üan / tiehchüan / tieh chüan |
Peace and Love | 和平博愛 和平博爱 | wahei hakuai waheihakuai | hé píng bó ài he2 ping2 bo2 ai4 he ping bo ai hepingboai | ho p`ing po ai hopingpoai ho ping po ai |
Feel at Ease Anywhere The World is My Home | 四海為家 四海为家 | sì hǎi wéi jiā si4 hai3 wei2 jia1 si hai wei jia sihaiweijia | ssu hai wei chia ssuhaiweichia |
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John 3:16 | 神愛世人甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們叫一切信他的不至滅亡反得永生 神爱世人甚至将他的独生子赐给他们叫一切信他的不至灭亡反得永生 | shén ài shì rén shèn zhì jiāng tā de dú shēng zǐ cì gè tā mén jiào yí qiè xìn tā de bú zhì miè wáng fǎn dé yǒng shēng shen2 ai4 shi4 ren2 shen4 zhi4 jiang1 ta1 de du2 sheng1 zi3 ci4 gei3 ta1 men2 jiao4 yi2 qie4 xin4 ta1 de bu2 zhi4 mie4 wang2 fan3 de2 yong3 sheng1 shen ai shi ren shen zhi jiang ta de du sheng zi ci gei ta men jiao yi qie xin ta de bu zhi mie wang fan de yong sheng | shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang t`a te tu sheng tzu tz`u kei t`a men chiao i ch`ieh hsin t`a te pu chih mieh wang fan te yung sheng shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang ta te tu sheng tzu tzu kei ta men chiao i chieh hsin ta te pu chih mieh wang fan te yung sheng |
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Homosexual Male Gay Male | 男同性戀 男同性恋 | nán tóng xìng liàn nan2 tong2 xing4 lian4 nan tong xing lian nantongxinglian | nan t`ung hsing lien nantunghsinglien nan tung hsing lien |
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Thank You Xie Xie | 謝謝 / 謝々 谢谢 | shie shie / shieshie | xiè xie / xie4 xie / xie xie / xiexie | hsieh hsieh / hsiehhsieh |
Kung Fu San Soo San Shou | 功夫散手 | gōng fu sǎn shǒu gong1 fu san3 shou3 gong fu san shou gongfusanshou | kung fu san shou kungfusanshou |
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Construction Crane | 起重機 起重机 | kijuuki / kijuki | qǐ zhòng jī qi3 zhong4 ji1 qi zhong ji qizhongji | ch`i chung chi chichungchi chi chung chi |
Mama Mother Mommy | 媽 妈 | mā / ma1 / ma | ||
The Saint | 聖 圣 | sei | shèng / sheng4 / sheng | |
Nguyen Ruan | 阮 / 阮 阮 | Min / Gen | ruǎn / ruan3 / ruan | juan |
Wing Chun | 詠春 咏春 | ei haru / eiharu | yǒng chūn yong3 chun1 yong chun yongchun | yung ch`un yungchun yung chun |
Filial Piety | 孝 | kou / ko | xiào / xiao4 / xiao | hsiao |
Crisis equals Danger plus Opportunity? | 危機 危机 | kiki | wēi jī / wei1 ji1 / wei ji / weiji | wei chi / weichi |
Archer | 射手 | i te / sha shu ite / shashu | shè shǒu / she4 shou3 / she shou / sheshou | |
Northern Praying Mantis | 螳螂拳 | tou rou ken tourouken to ro ken | táng láng quán tang2 lang2 quan2 tang lang quan tanglangquan | t`ang lang ch`üan tanglangchüan tang lang chüan |
Bloodless Victory | 兵不血刃 | bīng bù xuè rèn bing1 bu4 xue4 ren4 bing bu xue ren bingbuxueren | ping pu hsüeh jen pingpuhsüehjen |
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Geisha | 芸者 | geisha | yún zhě / yun2 zhe3 / yun zhe / yunzhe | yün che / yünche |
Jujitsu Jujutsu | 柔術 柔术 | juu jutsu / juujutsu / ju jutsu | róu shù / rou2 shu4 / rou shu / roushu | jou shu / joushu |
Year-In Year-Out Have Abundance | 年年有餘 年年有馀 | nián nián yǒu yú nian2 nian2 you3 yu2 nian nian you yu niannianyouyu | nien nien yu yü niennienyuyü |
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Kenpo Kempo Quan Fa Chuan Fa | 拳法 | kenpou / kenpo | quán fǎ / quan2 fa3 / quan fa / quanfa | ch`üan fa / chüanfa / chüan fa |
Hapkido | 合氣道 合气道 | ai ki do / aikido | hé qì dào he2 qi4 dao4 he qi dao heqidao | ho ch`i tao hochitao ho chi tao |
Japanese Snapping Turtle Chinese Soft Shell Turtle | 鼈 | suppon / supon | biē / bie1 / bie | pieh |
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks | 百折不撓 百折不挠 | hyaku setsu su tou hyakusetsusutou hyaku setsu su to | bǎi zhé bù náo bai3 zhe2 bu4 nao2 bai zhe bu nao baizhebunao | pai che pu nao paichepunao |
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as English Word in Chinese Calligraphy Kanji, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy Characters, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy in Mandarin Chinese, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy Characters, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy in Chinese Writing, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy in Japanese Writing, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy in Asian Writing, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy Ideograms, Chinese English Word in Chinese Calligraphy symbols, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy Hieroglyphics, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy Glyphs, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy in Chinese Letters, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy Hanzi, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy in Japanese Kanji, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy Pictograms, English Word in Chinese Calligraphy in the Chinese Written-Language, or English Word in Chinese Calligraphy in the Japanese Written-Language.