A simple way to express the state of being lucky. Also used in conversation to hope that all is well with someone. This is more often seen as part of a compound word with a lucky association (especially in Korean).

Not as often used in Japanese, but still means "good luck" but can also mean "joy" in Japanese.

See Also...  Good Luck

This 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.

This 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.

This Character 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 Years).

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.

This character literally means good fortune, prosperity, blessed, happiness, and fulfillment.

This is often seen at weddings and other celebrations in China. It suggests that he dragon and phoenix will bring you auspicious tidings.

The first character is dragon.
The second is phoenix.
The third is presents or brings.
And the last means auspicious, propitious, or luck.

This is the kind of opportunity that comes via good luck or good fortune.

This word is sometimes translated as "stroke of good luck".

While there are other ways to express "opportunity", I think this version is best for a calligraphy wall scroll or portrait.

Note: In Korean Hanja, this would also mean "Meeting someone under strange circumstances".

See Also...  Good Luck

This is the most common way to express "survivor" in Chinese. It literally means "lucky/fortunate surviving person".

This is kind of an odd selection for a wall scroll, but there is no better way to say survivor in Chinese calligraphy.

This is "soldier of fortune" in Japanese. It can also be read as, "lucky adventurer" or "adventurer who takes advantage of troubled times".

This is kind of a play on words in Chinese because of some homophones.

The first thing you need to know is that the word for bat, 蝠, sounds exactly like the word for good fortune, 福. Thus, bats are often associated with good luck and good fortune in Chinese culture.

Five bats (五福 / 五蝠) means "five fortunes" referring to luck, prosperity, wealth, happiness, and longevity.

The word red, 红, has the same sound as 宏 meaning vast, great, or magnificent. Therefore a red bat means "vast fortune".

Altogether, five red bats represents vast reaches of the five fortunes.

This is the character for boar, pig, or swine in Chinese and old Korean.

If you were born in the year of the boar / year of the pig, you...

Are optimistic.
Have good luck with wealth and money.
Are honest, generous, and warm-hearted.

The character shown to the right is the Japanese Kanji for "wild boar".
It's an alternate/simplified form of pig/boar in Chinese (can be read by both Chinese and Japanese people). Click on that character instead of the button above if you want this version.

See also our Chinese Zodiac page.

These two characters can be reversed (written in either order) and yield roughly the same meaning. Either way it's about your "fate", "destiny", "fortune" and "luck".

This character order happens to be more common in old Korean and less common in modern Chinese.

See Also...  Good Fortune | Good Luck

This is a common gift for Chinese couples getting married or newly married couples.

As we say in the west, "Two heads are better than one" Well, in the east, two "happinesses" are certainly better than one.

Some will suggest this is a symbol of two happinesses coming together. Others see it as a multiplication of happiness because of the union or marriage.

This is not really a character that is pronounced very often - it's almost exclusively used in written form. However, if pressed, most Chinese people will pronounce this "shuang xi" (double happy) although literally there are two "xi" characters combined in this calligraphy (but nobody will say "xi xi").

If you select this character, I strongly suggest the festive bright red paper for your calligraphy. Part of my suggestion comes from the fact that red is a good luck color in China, and this will add to the sentiment that you wish to convey with this scroll to the happy couple.

See Also...  Happiness

These two characters contain the ideas of "fate", "destiny", "fortune" and "luck" in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. This is often defined as "a person's fate" in various dictionaries.

See Also...  Good Fortune | Good Luck

This is the Chinese, Korean and Japanese word for "Gospel" or "Word of God". This is a specifically Christian word in Asia (not used for any other religion).

The first character means "blessing", "good fortune" or "good luck". This first character is a special character used throughout China to bring good tidings and fortune - especially during Chinese New Years. The second character means "sound", "noise" or "news".

Together, these characters create a word that means "The Good News" or "The Sound of Good Fortune".

When read by a Chinese or Japanese person, this word is always perceived as "The Christian Gospel", "Word of God", or even "The Voice of God".

See Also...  Christianity | Jesus Christ | God Of Abraham

These two characters contain the ideas of "fate", "destiny", "fortune" and "luck". You can also say that it means "what life throws at you" or "your lot in life" because the first character contains the idea of "life" or "living".

This version is really only used in Chinese. There's another version with just the characters reversed that is more universal. In fact, just skip this one. The opposite character order is better.

Perhaps the Chinese equivalent of "This blessed house" or perhaps "home sweet home". This phrase literally means "Good fortune house" or "Good luck household". It makes any Chinese person who sees it feel that good things happen in the home in which this calligraphy is hung.

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.

This is just what you think it means. It suggests that you are on a trouble-free voyage through life, or literally on a sailing ship or sail boat. It is often used in China as a wish for good luck on a voyage or as you set out on a new quest or career in your life. Some may use this in lieu of "bon voyage".

The literal meaning is roughly, "Once you raise your sail, you will get the wind you need, and it will take you where you want to go". Another way to translate it is "Your sail and the wind follow your will".

This is a great gift for a mariner, sailor, adventurer, or someone starting a new career.

Note: Can be understood in Korean Hanja, but rarely used.

See Also...  Bon Voyage | Adventure | Travel

This is a single character that means red in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

The perceived meaning of this character can be ambiguous. Most will see it as the color red, but it can also mean Communist (just like it can in English). In Japanese, it can be a female given name "Rena", or refer to red silk lining. In Chinese, red is a good luck color, and can refer to a bonus or revolutionary.