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See also: Selections of just Japanese Kanji Calligraphy
1. Happiness
12. A Life of Happiness and Prosperity
15. Happiness / Fortune / Lucky
17. Happy
18. Joyful
21. Love
23. Be Happy
24. Happy Marriage
25. Yotsuda / Shida
26. Good Luck
27. Serendipity / Happy Coincidence
28. Brahmavihara - The Four Immeasurables
29. Optimism / Happy With Your Fate
30. Contentment
32. Radiance
33. Happy / Laughter / Cheerful Bliss
34. 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary
35. Prosperity
36. Generosity
幸福 is a general state of happiness that can also be translated as truly blessed, welfare, well-being, or fortunate.
快樂 or 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 hard times even when we are feeling very sad.
快樂 can also mean pleasure, enjoyment, delight, cheerfulness, or merry. In some ways, this is the essence that makes someone perceived as a charming person.
See Also: Happiness
喜 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja for the kind of happiness known in the west as “joy.”
喜 can also be translated as rejoice, enjoyment, delighted, pleased, or “take pleasure in.” Sometimes it can mean “to be fond of” (in a 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 happy marriages.
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 | Happiness | Joy
Because a word list of “Live Laugh Love” is not natural in Japanese, this takes the concept and incorporates it into a proper phrase.
愛と笑いの生活 can be translated as “A life of love and laughter” or “Live life with love and laughter.”
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
永遠の幸福 means “eternal happiness” in Japanese.
永遠 means eternal, eternity, perpetuity, forever, immortality, and permanence.
の is a possessive article which sort of makes this selection mean “happiness, of the eternal kind.”
幸福 means happiness, though this word can be translated as truly blessed, joy, happy, welfare, well-being, or fortunate.
冥福 is an unusual Chinese, Japanese, and Korean term that means afterlife happiness, happiness in the next world, or the happiness of the dead.
幸福を求めて is “Pursuit of Happiness” or “In Search of Happiness” in Japanese.
Here's how the characters break down:
幸福 (koufuku) happiness; blessedness; joy; well-being.
を (o) particle
求め (motome) to want; to seek; to pursue; to request
て (te) particle
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
See Also: Follow Your Dreams
富樂 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for a title meaning prosperity and happiness.
If you have the desire to live in prosperity and happiness, this is for you.
Note: This title is often used in a Buddhist context.
人生謳歌 means “live for what you love” in Japanese.
The first two characters mean “human life” or simply “living.” The last two characters mean “merit,” “prosperity,” or “what you enjoy.” This phrase can suggest working or staying busy for your own goals (in your career).
See Also: Prosperity
滿足 is the kind of happiness that involves being satisfied and content.
This can also suggest the actions of “to satisfy,” and “to meet the needs of.”
Other single-word definitions include satisfaction, contentment, sufficient, enough, adequate, full, or complete.
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
幸福と繁栄の人生 is a Japanese proverb that means “A life of happiness and prosperity” or “A life of happiness and success.”
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
See Also: Prosperity
鼓腹 means happiness and contentment in Japanese Kanji.
The first Kanji represents your internal beat or drum.
The second Kanji represents your mind and body.
Together, it suggests that your internal rhythm or beat is regular, soothing, and at the proper tempo.
See Also: Satisfaction | Pleasure | Well-Being
幸 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.
幸福の七カ条 is the title for the 7 rules of happiness in Japanese.
The rules themselves take up a lot of space:
1. 成功や栄誉や勝ち負けを目的に、ことを行ってはいけない。
2. しないではいられないことをし続けなさい。
3. 他人との比較ではない、あくまで自分の楽しさを追及すべし。
4. 好きの力を信じる。
5. 才能と収入は別、努力は人を裏切ると心得よ。
6. 怠け者になりなさい。
7. 目に見えない世界を信じる。
...so this title is probably all you need.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Katakana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
欣 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. 欣 is more the 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: 欣 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.
See Also: Happiness
歡 means joyous, happy, delightful, and pleased.
歡 represents external happiness that may have you clapping and cheering.
Please note: The other happiness/joyful which looks like "喜" is more popular.
歡 is the ancient/old version in China and Japan. After WWII in Japan, they started using 歓. Just let us know if you want this modern version instead of the ancient one.
See Also: Happiness
夢を追い続ける is the Japanese way to express “pursue your dreams,” “follow your dreams,” or “chase 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.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
See Also: Pursuit of Happiness
結婚 is a word that means wedding or getting married.
In some context, 結婚 can just be read as “marriage.”
See Also: Double Happiness | Partnership: Marriage
愛 universally means love in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, old Korean Hanja, and old Vietnamese.
愛 is one of the most recognized Asian symbols in the West and is often seen on tee shirts, coffee mugs, tattoos, and more.
愛 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.
This can also be a pet name or part of a pet name in the way we say “dear” or “honey” in English.
This can be a girl’s name “Ai” in both Chinese and Japanese.
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
幸せである is a way to express the idea of “be happy” in Japanese.
Japanese grammar is far different than English, so the word order is the opposite of English. If you translated directly, you'd have something like “Happiness henceforth” or “Happiness hereafter.” The idea is to be happy from this moment on.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
幸運 can be translated as “good luck,” fortunate, lucky, and/or “good fortune” in Chinese, Korean and Japanese.
Occasionally, this is also translated as a type of happiness or a short way to write serendipity.
幸せな偶然 is one of many ways to express serendipity in Japanese.
The first two characters mean happiness, good fortune, luck, or blessing.
In the middle is a Japanese Hiragana character connecting these words/ideas.
The last two Kanji mean incidentally, by chance, randomly, unexpectedly, suddenly, accident, fortuity, or by coincidence.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
四無量心 is the cattāri brahmavihārā or catvāri apramāṇāni.
The four immeasurables, or infinite Buddha-states of mind. These four dhyānas include:
1. 慈無量心 boundless kindness, maitrī, or bestowing of joy or happiness.
2. 悲無量心 boundless pity, karuṇā, to save from suffering.
3. 喜無量心 boundless joy, muditā, on seeing others rescued from suffering.
4. 捨無量心 limitless indifference, upekṣā, i.e., rising above these emotions or giving up all things.
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.
知足 means content with one's situation or to know contentment (hence happiness).
From the Zen Buddhist context, Chisoku or 知足 (knowing what’s enough) means always to know and be
satisfied with one’s lot.
Human pain and suffering are born of greed, and that greed arises because we do not know what’s enough.
The Chinese philosopher, Menzi (372-289 BCE) said, “to nourish the mind, there is nothing better than to make the desires few.”
This relays the idea that the best method to cultivate the mind is to have little desire.
福 is pronounced “fu” in Chinese.
The character “fu” is posted by virtually all Chinese people on the doors of their homes during the Spring Festival (closely associated with the Chinese New Year).
One tradition from the Zhou Dynasty (beginning in 256 B.C.) holds that putting a fu symbol on your front door will keep the goddess of poverty away.
福 literally means good fortune, prosperity, blessed, blessedness, happiness, and fulfillment.
You'll also see this character in Vietnam (where Chinese characters were the written form until a romanization reform) where it is pronounced Phúc - a word commonly used in Vietnamese names because of its good meaning.
See Also: Lucky
光彩 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for radiance.
Other meanings include luster, splendor/splendour, and brilliance.
光彩 is the radiance you see when a person's arrival brings happiness and joy to the room. Or the radiance on the face of a new bride etc.
If you delve into the dictionary, other forms of radiance will refer to isotopes emitting radiation. 光彩 is not related to radiation and is not the kind that causes cancer.
In Japanese, this can be several female given names such as Misa, Hikari, Hiiro, Teresa, or Arisa. And a more unisex given name of Kousai or Kosai.
樂 is a single-character form of happiness or bliss that holds the ideas of laughing and having a good time.
This can also be translated as happy, glad, enjoyable, fun, 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
幸福金婚 means “Happy Golden Anniversary” and is a great gift for a couple who is celebrating 50 years together.
The first two characters mean happy, blessed, or happiness.
The last two characters mean “couple's golden anniversary.” It means “golden wedding” or “golden marriage,” but this is only used for the 50-year-mark of a marriage (the same way we use gold to represent 50 years in the west).
幸福金婚 is a nice title to use with an inscription. You could request something like, “Happy 50th Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” to be written down the side of this title in smaller Chinese characters.
Please note: This can be pronounced and understood in Japanese but not as commonly used in Japan. Japanese people who read this will understand it but might tend to feel it’s of Chinese origin.
(also means salary)
祿 is occasionally used in China to mean prosperity or good fortune.
祿 once meant the “official's salary” in old feudal China and Korea (obviously, the officials lived well, so you can imagine how this was associated with the idea of being prosperous).
祿 is only used in Korean historical documents for “salary.” In old Japanese, this means fief, allowance, stipend, reward, pension, grant, and sometimes happiness depending on context. It's very obscure in modern Japanese.
We have other entries that are better suited for a prosperity wall scroll. This entry just addresses “the coffee cup issue” where this character has been used on coffee cups and tee-shirts. However, without context, the meaning is ambiguous to some.
寬大 is a Chinese, Japanese, and Korean word that means Generosity.
Generosity is giving and sharing. You share freely, not with the idea of receiving something in return. You find ways to give others happiness and give just for the joy of giving. Generosity is one of the best ways to show love and friendship.
寬大 can also be translated as charitable, magnanimity, liberality, or in some contexts, broad-mindedness.
Note: There is a tiny deviation in the first character when written in Japanese. If you choose our Japanese master calligrapher, the little dot on the lower right of the first character will be omitted. With or without the dot, this can be read in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
See Also: Benevolence | Altruism | Charity
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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 | |
Happiness | 幸福 | koufuku / kofuku | xìng fú / xing4 fu2 / xing fu / xingfu | hsing fu / hsingfu |
Joyfulness Happiness | 快樂 快乐 | kai raku / kairaku | kuài lè / kuai4 le4 / kuai le / kuaile | k`uai le / kuaile / kuai le |
Happiness Joyful Joy | 喜 | ki / yorokobi | xǐ / xi3 / xi | hsi |
Live Laugh Love | 愛と笑いの生活 | ai to warai no seikatsu aitowarainoseikatsu | ||
Eternal Happiness | 永遠の幸福 | ei en no kou fuku eiennokoufuku ei en no ko fuku | ||
Happiness in the Afterlife | 冥福 | mei fuku / meifuku | míng fú / ming2 fu2 / ming fu / mingfu | |
Pursuit of Happiness | 幸福を求めて | koufuku o motome te koufukuomotomete kofuku o motome te | ||
Prosperity and Happiness | 富樂 富乐 | furaku | fù lè / fu4 le4 / fu le / fule | |
Live for What You Love | 人生謳歌 | jin sei ou ka jinseiouka jin sei o ka | ||
Peace, Love, Happiness | 平和, 愛, 幸福 | heiwa ai koufuku heiwaaikoufuku heiwa ai kofuku | ||
Happiness Contentment | 滿足 / 満足 满足 | man zoku / manzoku | mǎn zú / man3 zu2 / man zu / manzu | man tsu / mantsu |
A Life of Happiness and Prosperity | 幸福と繁栄の人生 | kou fuku to ha nei no jin sei koufukutohaneinojinsei ko fuku to ha nei no jin sei | ||
Happiness Contentment | 鼓腹 | ko fuku / kofuku | ||
School of Happiness | 幸福の學校 幸福の学校 | koufuku no gakkou koufukunogakkou kofuku no gako | ||
Happiness Fortune Lucky | 幸 | saki / sachi / rei / rē | xìng / xing4 / xing | hsing |
Seven Rules of Happiness | 幸福の七カ條 幸福の七カ条 | kou fuku no nana ka jou koufukunonanakajou ko fuku no nana ka jo | ||
Happy | 欣 | kin | xīn / xin1 / xin | hsin |
Joyful | 歡 欢 / 歓 | kan | huān / huan1 / huan | |
Pursue Your Dreams | 夢を追い続ける | yume wo oi tsudukeru yumewooitsudukeru | ||
Wedding Getting Married | 結婚 结婚 | kettukon / kekkon kettukon / kekon | jié hūn / jie2 hun1 / jie hun / jiehun | chieh hun / chiehhun |
Love | 愛 爱 | ai | ài / ai4 / ai | |
Dharma Gate of Bliss | 安樂の法門 | an raku no hou mon anrakunohoumon an raku no ho mon | ||
Be Happy | 幸せである | Shiawa se de a ru Shiawasedearu | ||
Happy Marriage | 夫婦円満 | fuufuenman / fufuenman | ||
Yotsuda Shida | 四田 | yotsuda / shida | sì tián / si4 tian2 / si tian / sitian | ssu t`ien / ssutien / ssu tien |
Good Luck | 幸運 幸运 | kou un / kouun / ko un | xìng yùn / xing4 yun4 / xing yun / xingyun | hsing yün / hsingyün |
Serendipity Happy Coincidence | 幸せな偶然 | shiawa se na guu zen shiawasenaguuzen shiawa se na gu zen | ||
Brahmavihara - The Four Immeasurables | 四無量心 四无量心 | shi mur you shin shimuryoushin shi mur yo shin | sì wú liàng xīn si4 wu2 liang4 xin1 si wu liang xin siwuliangxin | ssu wu liang hsin ssuwulianghsin |
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 |
Contentment | 知足 | chisoku | zhī zú / zhi1 zu2 / zhi zu / zhizu | chih tsu / chihtsu |
Good Luck Good Fortune | 福 | fuku | fú / fu2 / fu | |
Radiance | 光彩 | kousai / kosai | guāng cǎi guang1 cai3 guang cai guangcai | kuang ts`ai kuangtsai kuang tsai |
Happy Laughter Cheerful Bliss | 樂 / 楽 乐 | raku | lè / le4 / le | |
50th Golden Wedding Anniversary | 幸福金婚 / 倖福金婚 幸福金婚 | kou fuku kin kon koufukukinkon ko fuku kin kon | xìng fú jīn hūn xing4 fu2 jin1 hun1 xing fu jin hun xingfujinhun | hsing fu chin hun hsingfuchinhun |
Prosperity | 祿 禄 | fuchi | lù / lu4 / lu | |
Generosity | 寬大 宽大 | kandai | kuān dà / kuan1 da4 / kuan da / kuanda | k`uan ta / kuanta / kuan ta |
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. |
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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!
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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 Happiness in Japanese Kanji, Happiness in Japanese Characters, Happiness in Japanese in Mandarin Chinese, Happiness in Japanese Characters, Happiness in Japanese in Chinese Writing, Happiness in Japanese in Japanese Writing, Happiness in Japanese in Asian Writing, Happiness in Japanese Ideograms, Chinese Happiness in Japanese symbols, Happiness in Japanese Hieroglyphics, Happiness in Japanese Glyphs, Happiness in Japanese in Chinese Letters, Happiness in Japanese Hanzi, Happiness in Japanese in Japanese Kanji, Happiness in Japanese Pictograms, Happiness in Japanese in the Chinese Written-Language, or Happiness in Japanese in the Japanese Written-Language.