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A dangerous character in every way
危 means danger, peril, or “to endanger” in Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean.
If you live a dangerous life or want to subtly warn others that you are a dangerous person, this may be the selection for you.
This also means “danger” and sometimes “fear” in Japanese and Korean but is seldom seen outside of compound words in those languages (as a single character, it's kind of like an abbreviation for danger in Japanese and Korean). 危 is also a rather odd selection for a wall scroll anyway. It's only here because people search for danger on our website.
危機 means crisis in Chinese and Japanese.
Separately, the first character here does mean “danger” or “to endanger,” and the second character can mean “opportunity.”
However, I want to debunk a myth that was propagated by some westerners who did not have a clear understanding of Asian languages...
While often, Chinese/Japanese/Korean compound words (words of two or more characters) are the sum of their parts, this is not always the case. The compound is often understood with a completely different meaning than the two characters individually.
Many have said that the Chinese/Japanese/Korean word for Crisis is made up of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.” 危機 is true when phrased this way.
However, it's not absolutely correct to say that “danger + opportunity = crisis” in Asian cultures.
English example:
If I tell you that...
Bovine creature + Guy behind the plate in baseball = Locomotive train protection
...you would think I was mad. But consider that “cow + catcher = cowcatcher,” which is the device that used to be found on steam engines to protect them if they hit an animal on the tracks. When we hear the word “cowcatcher,” we don't separate the words into their individual meanings (necessarily).
The same is true with the word for crisis in Chinese/Japanese/Korean. While you can separate the characters, few Asian people would automatically do so in their minds.
The final answer:
It is a half-truth to say, “danger plus opportunity equals crisis” in Chinese/Japanese/Korean. Use this statement and concept with caution.
Also, the second character can mean “secret” or “machine,” depending on context so I guess you have to say “a dangerous machine = crisis” or “danger + a secret = crisis.” Both of these are only slightly more ridiculous than the first premise.
PS: 危機 is probably not a great word for a scroll unless you have a special use for it.
敵を知り己を知れば百戦危うからず is the longer/full Japanese version of this proverb. This means “Know your enemy, know yourself, and you will not fear a hundred battles.”
Others will translate this as “Know thy enemy, know thyself, yields victory in one hundred battles.”
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 危 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
危 see styles |
wēi wei1 wei ki き |
More info & calligraphy: Danger(1) danger; (2) {astron} (See 危宿,二十八宿,玄武・げんぶ・2) Chinese "rooftop" constellation (one of the 28 mansions) Perilous. |
危機 危机 see styles |
wēi jī wei1 ji1 wei chi kiki きき |
More info & calligraphy: Crisis equals Danger plus Opportunity?crisis; critical situation; emergency; pinch; (female given name) Kiki |
危地馬拉 危地马拉 see styles |
wēi dì mǎ lā wei1 di4 ma3 la1 wei ti ma la |
More info & calligraphy: Guatemala |
敵を知り己を知れば百戦危うからず see styles |
tekioshirionooshirebahyakusenayaukarazu てきをしりおのをしればひゃくせんあやうからず |
More info & calligraphy: Know Your Enemy, Know Yourself, and Win 100 Battles |
傾危 倾危 see styles |
qīng wēi qing1 wei1 ch`ing wei ching wei |
in danger of collapse; in a parlous state; (of person) treacherous |
危ぐ see styles |
kigu きぐ |
(noun/participle) apprehensions; misgivings; uneasiness; anxiety; fear |
危亡 see styles |
wēi wáng wei1 wang2 wei wang kimō |
at stake; in peril indolence |
危及 see styles |
wēi jí wei1 ji2 wei chi |
to endanger; to jeopardize; a danger (to life, national security etc) |
危困 see styles |
wēi kùn wei1 kun4 wei k`un wei kun |
grave situation |
危地 see styles |
kichi きち |
dangerous position; peril |
危坐 see styles |
wéi zuò wei2 zuo4 wei tso kiza きざ |
(noun/participle) sitting up straight to sit without support |
危城 see styles |
wéi chéng wei2 cheng2 wei ch`eng wei cheng kijō |
A perilous citadel, i. e. the body. |
危境 see styles |
wēi jìng wei1 jing4 wei ching |
dangerous situation; venerable old age |
危害 see styles |
wēi hài wei1 hai4 wei hai kigai きがい |
to harm; to jeopardize; to endanger; harmful effect; damage; CL:個|个[ge4] injury; harm; danger endangering |
危宿 see styles |
umiyameboshi うみやめぼし |
{astron} (See 危・2) Chinese "rooftop" constellation (one of the 28 mansions) |
危局 see styles |
wēi jú wei1 ju2 wei chü kikyoku ききょく |
perilous situation crisis |
危岩 see styles |
kigan きがん |
steep, towering rock |
危峰 see styles |
kihou / kiho きほう |
high, steep peak |
危巌 see styles |
kigan きがん |
steep, towering rock |
危座 see styles |
kiza きざ |
(noun/participle) sitting up straight |
危弁 see styles |
kiben きべん |
(noun - becomes adjective with の) sophistry; sophism; chicanery; play on words |
危徑 危径 see styles |
wēi jìng wei1 jing4 wei ching |
steep and perilous path |
危急 see styles |
wēi jí wei1 ji2 wei chi kikyuu / kikyu ききゅう |
critical; desperate (situation) (1) emergency; crisis; imminent danger; (2) (obsolete) (See 絶滅危惧) Vulnerable (conservation status); VU |
危性 see styles |
wēi xìng wei1 xing4 wei hsing |
risk |
危惧 see styles |
kigu きぐ |
(noun/participle) apprehensions; misgivings; uneasiness; anxiety; fear |
危懼 危惧 see styles |
wēi jù wei1 ju4 wei chü kiku きく |
afraid; apprehensive (noun, transitive verb) (rare) (See 危惧) apprehension; misgivings; uneasiness; fear; anxiety |
危房 see styles |
wēi fáng wei1 fang2 wei fang |
decrepit house |
危極 see styles |
kikyoku ききょく |
crisis; grave danger; serious depression |
危樓 危楼 see styles |
wēi lóu wei1 lou2 wei lou |
dangerous housing; building that is about to collapse |
危殆 see styles |
wēi dài wei1 dai4 wei tai kitai きたい |
grave danger; in jeopardy; in a critical condition danger; jeopardy; distress |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Danger | 危 | ki | wēi / wei1 / wei | |
Crisis equals Danger plus Opportunity? | 危機 危机 | kiki | wēi jī / wei1 ji1 / wei ji / weiji | wei chi / weichi |
Guatemala | 危地馬拉 危地马拉 | wēi dì mǎ lā wei1 di4 ma3 la1 wei di ma la weidimala | wei ti ma la weitimala |
|
Know Your Enemy, Know Yourself, and Win 100 Battles | 敵を知り己を知れば百戦危うからず | teki o shi ri o no o shi re ba hya ku sen aya u ka ra zu | ||
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
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!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
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.