The name Wisdom Korean in old Korean Hanja...

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

To get to the correct view of the world, you must first understand and follow Four Noble Truths.

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

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

覺 can mean to feel; to figure out; thinking; awake; aware; bodhi; knowing; understanding; enlightenment; illumination; apprehend; perceive; realize.

覺 is a character that is impossible to define in a single word.

This term is often associated with Buddhism where it's understood to be: Illumination, enlightenment, or awakening in regard to the real in contrast to the seeming. However, it can also refer to enlightenment in regard to morality and evil.

Notes:

In Japanese, this can be the personal name Satoru.

In certain context, and only when pronounced as "jiao" in Chinese, it can refer to a nap, sleep or the state of sleeping. However, as a single character on a wall scroll, everyone will read this with the awareness or enlightenment context.

By no means is this the only way to write enlightenment. In fact, you should only choose this character if you are looking more for a word meaning awareness.

See Also:  Enlightenment | Wisdom | Knowledge

The Bodhi or 菩提 is the moment of completion in Buddhism.

It is when all things become known and you have completed your journey to enlightenment.

The reference is to the Bodhi tree where Siddhartha Gautama (the legendary man who established the Buddhist religion) achieved enlightenment. Sometimes this is referred to as “the tree of enlightenment,” but if you want the full version with the character for a tree at the end, please see the Bodhi Tree entry.

See Also:  Buddhism | Buddha | Nirvana | Enlightenment

仁義禮智信 are the core of Confucius's philosophy.

Simply stated:
仁 = Benevolence / Charity
義 = Justice / Rectitude
禮 = Courtesy / Politeness / Tact
智 = Wisdom / Knowledge
信 = Fidelity / Trust / Sincerity

Many of these concepts can be found in various religious teachings. It should be clearly understood that Confucianism is not a religion but should instead be considered a moral code for a proper and civilized society.

This title is also labeled “5 Confucian virtues.”

If you order this from the Japanese calligrapher, expect the middle Kanji to be written in a more simple form (as seen to the right). This can also be romanized as "jin gi rei satoshi shin" in Japanese. Not all Japanese will recognize this as Confucian tenets but they will know all the meanings of the characters.

See Also:  Confucius Teachings | Ethics

This Chinese philosophy tells of how we continue to learn throughout our lives.

This proverb can be translated in a few ways such as “Study has no end,” “Knowledge is infinite,” “No end to learning,” “There's always something new to study,” or “You live and learn.”

The deeper meaning: Even when we finish school we are still students of the world gaining more knowledge from our surroundings with each passing day.

See Also:  An Open Book Benefits Your Mind | Wisdom | Learn From Wisdom

失败是成功之母 is a Chinese and Korean proverb that means “Every failure that you experience is a chance to learn from it and find success.”

Knowing what does not work is just as important as finding out what does work.

See Also:  Experience is the Mother of Wisdom

珠玉 is a Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja word meaning gem.

Beyond just the word gem, this can refer to pearls and jades, jewels, clever remarks, beautiful writing, gems of wisdom, genius, or an outstanding person.

If your name is Gem, this is a nice way to represent your name in 3 Asian languages. Though the pronunciation will be far from Gem, the meaning of gem is really nice.

Note: In Japanese, this is sometimes used as the female given name, Tama.

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.

知識 has the very strong meaning of “knowledge” and, in some contexts, “learning.”

The first character represents “to know” or “to realize.”

The second character alone refers to the ability to “recognize” or “realize” and can also be used to mean “knowing.”

See Also:  Wisdom | Learn From Wisdom

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

光明 is a nice way to say “light” in Chinese and old Korean Hanja.

This is because the word also suggests a bright future or refers to someone who is very promising (great future potential).

The first character means light or bright.

The second character means bright and clear (in this context).

This word appears in most Japanese dictionaries, but it is not the most common Japanese Kanji word for light (more commonly used for the name Mitsuharu).

In old Korean Hanja, this can also mean brightness or brilliance.

In the context of Buddhism, this means “Light emanating from a Buddha or Bodhisattva, symbolizing their wisdom and compassion.”

明 means light, bright, clear, clarity, to understand, or wise.

In Chinese, this can refer to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) where it can also be the surname Ming.

In Japanese, this can be romanized many different ways when used as surnames or given names. 明 is a partial list of those names: Meishuu, Mei, Min, Myoujin, Myou, Hinata, Haru, Toshi, Tooru, Sayaka, Saya, Satoshi, Asumi, Akera, Akemine, Akesaki, Ake, Akuru, Akiraka, and Akira.

In the Buddhist context, this represents vidyā (knowledge). To expand that, Buddhists understand this to mean bright, clear, enlightenment, wisdom, or to understand. It represents Buddha-wisdom and its revelation; also the manifestation of a Buddha's light or effulgence.

溫故知新 is a proverb from Confucius that is used in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cultures.

It can be translated in several ways:
Coming up with new ideas based on things learned in the past.
Examine things of the past, and obtain new knowledge.
Developing new ideas based on the study of the past.
Gain new insights through restudying old issues.
Understand the present by reviewing the past.
Learning from the past.
Review the old and know the new.
Taking a lesson from the past.
Taking a lesson from the wisdom of the ancients.
Follow the old ways.

The direct translation would be, “By asking old things, know new things.”
The Character meanings breakdown this way:
溫故 = ask old
知新 = know new

Explained: To learn new things that are outside of your experience, you can learn from old things of the past. You can find wisdom in history.

VS.

Note: Japanese use a variant of the first Kanji in modern times.
Therefore if you order this from a Japanese calligrapher, expect the first Kanji to look like 温 instead of 溫.

In addition to 温故知新 as mentioned above, this is sometimes written as 温古知新 in Japan.

There are several ways to translate this ancient proverb. Translated literally and directly, it says, “Open roll has/yields benefit.”

To understand that, you must know a few things...

First, Chinese characters and language have deeper meanings that often are not spoken but are understood - especially with ancient texts like this. Example: It's understood that the “benefit” referred to in this proverb is to the reader's mind. Just the last character expresses that whole idea.

Second, Chinese proverbs are supposed to make you think and leave a bit of mystery to figure out.

Third, for this proverb, it should be noted that roll = book. When this proverb came about (about two thousand years ago), books were rolls of bamboo slips strung together. The first bound books like the ones we use today did not come about until about a thousand years after this proverb when they invented paper in China.

開卷有益 is a great gift for a bookworm who loves to read and increase their knowledge. Or for any friend that is or wants to be well-read.

Some other translations of this phrase:
Opening a book is profitable
The benefits of education.

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.

般若 means great wisdom or wondrous knowledge.

In the Buddhist context, this is prajna or prajñā, to know, to understand, to have the wisdom required to attain enlightenment.

Since this is a wisdom that transcends the realm of logic, the pure, absolute wisdom beyond the reach of words and concepts, it is not obtained through learning but is realized for the first time through a religious experience.

哲 is a Japanese name that is often romanized as Tetsu.

The meaning of the character can be: philosophy; wise; sage; wise man; philosopher; disciple; sagacity; wisdom; intelligence.

哲 can also be romanized as: Yutaka; Masaru; Hiroshi; Tooru; Tetsuji; Choru; Satoru; Satoshi; Akira; Aki.

三人行必有我师 means “when three people meet, one becomes the teacher.”

This famous Chinese philosophy suggests that when people come together, they can always learn from each other.

One person must be the teacher and others learn. And in turn, the others become the teachers of the knowledge they possess.

It is important to remember that we all have something to teach, and we all have something to learn as well.

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

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.

吃一塹長一智 is a Chinese proverb that means “Fall into a moat, and you will gain wisdom from the experience.”

It really suggests that the failures, troubles, frustrations, 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).
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.

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.

知 means realization or true knowing.

This can also translate as to know, to be aware, wisdom, or higher knowledge.

From older Buddhist ideas, this can represent विद्या (Vidyā or Vidya) or ज्ञान (Jñāna or Jnana) and even the combination Sanskrit word विज्ञान (Vijñāna or Vijnana) which can translate as wisdom arising from perception or knowing.

However, 知 should be distinguished as true knowing versus having a relative understanding or 會.

This is the Dharma Gate, The Gate to Enlightenment, or Dharmaparyāya.

The doctrines, or wisdom of Buddha is regarded as the door to enlightenment.