Judgement in Chinese / Japanese...

正思唯 is one of the Noble Eightfold Paths of Buddhism. Right Thought, along with the 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, goodwill, 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 | Noble Eightfold Path

百胜难虑敌三折乃良医 is a Chinese proverb that 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

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.

經驗是智慧之母 is a Chinese proverb that makes the simplest connection between experience and wisdom.

See Also:  Failure is the Mother of Success | Wisdom | Learn From Wisdom

You may learn when everything goes right but the lessons learned when everything goes wrong are more vivid and lead to long-lasting wisdom.

Another way to look at this: One cannot always depend on past successes to guarantee future success but one can always learn from lessons drawn from failure.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

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

見賢思齊 is a pretty long proverb in English, but in Chinese, it's only four characters.
However, in Chinese, the deeper meaning often surpasses 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 learning and seeking wisdom is a non-ending cycle.

See Also:  Knowledge

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

悟性 means the power of understanding and insight in Chinese.

It is often associated with Neo-Confucianism. In that regard, it means to realize, perceive, or have the perception of man's true nature. It can also mean finding 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.

慧 is a single character that can be translated as wisdom but it has more of an “intelligent” flavor. This can also mean cleverness or wit.

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

See Also:  Knowledge | Learning | Read

In Chinese, 纔智 means “ability and wisdom” or “ability and intelligence.”
纔智 can also be defined as brilliance or genius.

In Japanese, 纔智 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.

You can translate this 不经一事不长一智 Chinese proverb in 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.

不經一事 means “You can't gain knowledge without practical experience.”

This is the short form (first half) of a longer Chinese proverb. These 4 characters remind you that wisdom only comes from experience.

智 is the simplest way to write wisdom in Chinese, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.

Being a single character, the wisdom meaning is open to interpretation, and can also mean intellect, knowledge or reason, resourcefulness, or wit.

智 is also one of the five tenets of Confucius.

智 is sometimes included in the Bushido code but is 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

賢明 is a Japanese word that refers to wisdom, intelligence, and prudence.

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

Beyond wisdom, 智慧 can be translated as knowledge, sagacity, sense, and intelligence.

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

Note: 智慧 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

The simple translation of 知惠 is wisdom, but the more expanded version is “to know all things in their entirety.”

The first Kanji represents “to know” or “to realize.” Combined, these two Kanji mean “learn, know, and understand completely.”

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.

賢 is used to refer to being a wise, trustworthy, and virtuous person. But it also contains the ideas of intelligence, genius, scholarship, virtue, sage, saint, good, and excellent in character.

賢 is used in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. Also used in a Buddhist context with the same meaning.

Note: Can also be the male given name, Masaru, in Japanese.