This Japanese word refers to wisdom, intelligence, and prudence.

It was originally a Chinese word which refers to a wise person or enlightened ruler. It means wise and able, sagacious now in China.

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In Chinese, this means "ability and wisdom" or "ability and intelligence".
It can also be defined as brilliance, or genius.

In Japanese, it takes on a meaning more of "wit and intelligence".

Note that the ancient/traditional form is shown above. After WWII, in both Japan and China, the first character was simplified. If you want this reformed/simplified version, just click on the characters to the right, instead of the button above. This is a good choice if your audience is Japanese.

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This means the power of understanding and insight in Chinese. It is often associated with Neo-Confucianism. In that regard, it means to realize man's true nature or to find your soul, the soul of others, or the soul of the world. Some will translate this simply as the state of being "savvy".

In Japanese, this is often translated as wisdom and understanding.

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This is a Japanese phrase that means, "coming up with new ideas based on things learned in the past". It can also be defined as, "developing new ideas based on study of the past" or simply, "learning from the past".

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When you meet a wise person, you should learn from them and be inspired to become as wise as they are.

This is a pretty long phrase in English, but in Chinese it's only four characters.
However, in Chinese the deeper meaning often surpass the dictionary definition of each character.

In this case, you should seek wise people to learn from throughout your life...
Always try to learn enough to become equal to them. It also suggests that the process of learning and seeking wisdom is a non-ending cycle.

See Also...  Knowledge

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Characters shown
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This literally translates as: [Even a general who has won a] hundred victories [may be] hard put to see through the enemy's [strategy], [but one who has] broken [his] arm three [times] [will] be a good doctor.

Figuratively, this means: One cannot always depend on past successes to guarantee future success, but one can always learn from lessons drawn from failure.

See Also...  Failure - Mother Of Success | Experience - Mother Of Success | Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 | Hard Knocks

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above are read
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It's been said that wisdom comes from good judgment, and good judgment comes from experience, while experience comes from a series of times when you used bad judgment.

This Chinese proverb makes the simplest connection between experience and wisdom.

See Also...  Failure Is The Mother Of Success | Wisdom | Learn From Wisdom

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This is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Thought, along with Right View constitute the path to Wisdom.

In Buddhism, Right Thought in simple terms means to free yourself from having ill-will towards anyone or anything. It also suggests that you remain harmless to other living creatures.

This can also be defined as, "Resolve in favor of renunciation, good will, and non-harming of sentient beings".

There is an ancient/alternate version of the third character for this selection. You can see that alternation third character to the right. If you want your selection to use that older character, just click on the character to the right, instead of the button above.

Note: This term is exclusively used by devout Buddhists. It is not a common term, and is remains an unknown concept to most Japanese and Chinese people.

See Also...  Buddhism | Enlightenment

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This word is often used to describe the idea of opening the minds of the young or the new generation.

See Also...  Wisdom | Learning Is Eternal | Learn From Wisdom

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This single character can be translated as wisdom, but it has more of an "intelligent" flavor. This can also mean cleverness or wit.

Japanese note: This is understood in Japanese, but seldom seen as a lone Kanji.

See Also...  Knowledge | Learning | Read

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above are read
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You can translate this a couple of ways.
The first is: You cannot gain knowledge without practice.
The second, and perhaps more popular way is: Wisdom comes from experience.

It literally means if you are inattentive to your affairs or situations you encounter, you will not gain or grow any wisdom or intellect.

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This is about doing the right thing or making the right decision, not because it's easy, but because it's ethically and morally correct.
No matter the outcome or result, one does not lose face if tempering proper justice.

This character can also be defined as righteousness, justice, morality, honor, or "right conduct". Occasionally, I have seen it translated as loyalty or patriotism.

This is also one of the five tenets of Confucius doctrine.

This is also a virtue of the Samurai Warrior
See our page with just Code of the Samurai / Bushido here

See Also...  Impartial

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This is the simplest way to write wisdom in Chinese, Korean Hanja and Japanese Kanji.
Being a single character, the meaning is open to interpretation, and can also mean intellect, knowledge or reason.

This character is also one of the five tenets of Confucius.

Beyond the title definitions, this also can mean, resourcefulness, or wit.

This character is sometimes included in the Bushido code, but usually not considered part of the seven key concepts of the code.

See our Wisdom in Chinese, Japanese and Korean page for more wisdom-related calligraphy.

See Also...  Learn From Wisdom | Confucius

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The first character means, "wise" or "smart" and the second character means "intelligence".

I have also seen these two characters translated together as knowledge, sagacity, sense, and intelligence.

Note: This word is used commonly in Chinese and is a less-common word in Japanese and Korean. If your audience is Japanese, I suggest our other Japanese wisdom option.

This means intellect or wisdom in Japanese too, but is a more unusual way to write this word (though both versions are pronounced the same in Japanese).

See Also...  Learn From Wisdom

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The first Kanji represents "to know" or "to realize". Combined, these two Kanji mean "learn, know, and understand completely". Another way to translate this is "to know all things in their entirety".

Note: While vaguely understood in Chinese, this is only a real word in Japanese.

Ancient Japanese/Korean version: This is also a word in old Korean Hanja, with a slight difference in the last character - if you want that version (which is also the ancient Japanese version) please click on the character to the right, instead of the button above.

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This Chinese proverb means:

"Fall into a moat and you will gain wisdom from the experience"

It really suggests that the failures, troubles, and setbacks that you encounter in your life are actually helping you to find wisdom. Some would also translate this proverb as:

"Learn from your mistakes" or "Learn from your experience".

If you are studying Chinese, you will recognize the first character as "eat", but in this case, it means to "experience" (as used in this proverb, it is suggesting that you have fallen into a moat and/or had a hard time crossing it).
Literally translated character by character, this whole proverb is:

"Experience one moat, gain one wisdom/knowledge".

Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly-used phrase.

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