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Personalize your custom “門” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “門” title below...
1. Gate
2. Carmen
3. Dharma Gate
4. Karmen
6. Mensah
7. Monroe
9. Munroe
10. Open Door
11. Yemen
12. Black Flag Gate / Hek Ki Boen
13. Eiseimen
14. Ermen
15. Fumonbon
16. Mendoza
17. Mumonkan / The Gateless Gate
18. Soloman
19. Solomon
20. Trueman
21. Truman
22. Vercammen
25. Clemence
26. Clement
27. Clemente
28. The Great Path has No Gate
30. Jimenez
31. Maricarmen
33. Clemencia
34. Clementine
35. Solomon Islands
36. Tanjiro Kamado
37. Opportunity Knocks Only Once
39. One Who Does Not Do Bad Things, Worries Not of Knocks at His Door
門 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for gate, door, gateway, doorway, opening, entrance, valve, or switch.
Most commonly, this is simply a gate or door.
門 is also a Chinese surname that romanizes as Men.
In Japanese, this can be surnames romanizing as Yuki, Mon, To, or Kado.
In the Buddhist context, beyond meaning a door or gate, this can be a counter for a Buddhist sect, teaching, or school (we might say “slice” of bread, this would be a “gate” of teaching). In this way, it kind of refers to one of several doors that lead to salvation or nirvana.
This is the Dharma Gate, The Gate to Enlightenment, or Dharmaparyāya.
The doctrines, or wisdom of Buddha is regarded as the door to enlightenment.
In modern Japanese, 門主 is the title of a head priest of a temple or monastery.
This can also refer to the spiritual leader of the sect and/or direct descendant of its founder.
In the past, this could refer to the founder of a Buddhist sect.
The literal meaning of 門主 is gatekeeper or keeper of the gate.
In the Chinese Buddhist dictionary, this entry comes up as the controller of a gate or sect. However, this term is not commonly used in Chinese.
開門 means “to open a door,” “opening gate” or figuratively, “to open for business.”
無門関 is the specifically Japanese title for “The Gateless Barrier.”
This has both direct meaning and is the title of a 13th-century collection of koans, compiled by Zen Master Mumon (actually a Chinese Chan Master known as Wumen in China).
The original title is 無門關, but the last Kanji was simplified to 関 in modern Japan.
無門關 is the ancient title for “The Gateless Barrier.”
This has both direct meaning and is the title of a 13th-century collection of koans, compiled by a Chinese Chan Master known as Wumen in China (known in Japan as Zen Master Mumon).
While this is the original title, you may see this written as 無門関 in Japan, where the last character, 關, was simplified to 関 after 1945.
五福臨門 means “five good fortunes arrive [at the] door.”
It is understood to mean “may the five blessings descend upon this home.”
These blessings are known in ancient China to be: longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and natural death (living to old age). This is one of several auspicious sayings you might hear during the Chinese New Year.
大道無門 is a Buddhist proverb that means “The Great Way has no entrance,” “The Great Way is gateless,” or “The Great Path lacks a gate.”
This can be translated in many other ways.
This concept was authored within a long sacred text by 無門慧開 (known as Wúmén Huìkāi in Chinese or Mumon Ekai in Japanese). He was a Chinese Chan Master (in Japanese, a Zen Master) who lived between 1183 and 1260 AD. His most famous work was a 48-koan collection titled “The Gateless Barrier” or “The Gateless Gate” (無門關 Wú Mén Guān in Chinese, or 無門関 Mu Mon Kan in Japanese). This calligraphy title is a notable line from this collection.
I like this reference to the source of this proverb: The Gateless Gate 無門關
在家千日好出门一时难 is a Chinese proverb that literally means “At home, one can spend a thousand days in comfort but spending a day away from home can be challenging.”
Figuratively, this means “There's no place like home,” or roughly a Chinese version of “Home sweet home.”
白天不做亏心事夜半敲门不吃惊 literally translates as: [If one does] not do bad things in the daytime, one need not be alarmed at knocks on the door in the middle of the night.
The meaning is something like, “A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder.” Basically, the message is, “don't commit crimes and you won't be jumpy every time the doorbell rings (so don't do anything wrong and your life will have fewer worries and you can sleep at night).”
This text is the first chapter of the Daodejing / Tao Te Ching.
The text reads:
道可道、非常道。名可名、非常名。 無名天地之始 有名萬物之母。故常無欲以觀其妙、常有欲以觀其徼。此兩者同出而異名。同謂之玄。玄之又玄、衆妙之門。
This classical Chinese passage comes from the Mawangdui (馬王堆帛書) text.
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 門 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
門 门 see styles |
mén men2 men mon(p); kado もん(P); かど |
More info & calligraphy: Gate(n,n-suf) (1) gate; (n,n-suf) (2) (もん only) branch of learning based on the teachings of a single master; (n,n-suf) (3) (もん only) {biol} division; phylum; (counter) (4) (もん only) counter for cannons; (surname) Yuki A door; gate; a sect, school, teaching, especially one leading to salvation or nirvana. |
也門 也门 see styles |
yě mén ye3 men2 yeh men |
More info & calligraphy: Yemen |
卡門 卡门 see styles |
kǎ mén ka3 men2 k`a men ka men |
More info & calligraphy: Karmen |
法門 法门 see styles |
fǎ mén fa3 men2 fa men hōmon |
More info & calligraphy: Dharma Gatedharmaparyāya. The doctrines, or wisdom of Buddha regarded as the door to enlightenment. A method. Any sect. As the living have 84,000 delusions, so the Buddha provides 84,000 methods法門of dealing with them. Hence the法門海 ocean of Buddha's methods. |
澳門 澳门 see styles |
ào mén ao4 men2 ao men makao マカオ |
More info & calligraphy: Macao / Macau(kana only) Macao (China); Macau; (place-name) Macao |
門主 门主 see styles |
mén zhǔ men2 zhu3 men chu monshu もんしゅ |
More info & calligraphy: Monshu / Gate Keepergate keeper |
門羅 门罗 see styles |
mén luó men2 luo2 men lo |
More info & calligraphy: Munroe |
門薩 门萨 see styles |
mén sà men2 sa4 men sa |
More info & calligraphy: Mensah |
開門 开门 see styles |
kāi mén kai1 men2 k`ai men kai men kaimon かいもん |
More info & calligraphy: Open Door(n,vs,vi) opening gate opens the gate |
所羅門 所罗门 see styles |
suǒ luó mén suo3 luo2 men2 so lo men |
More info & calligraphy: Soloman |
無門関 see styles |
mumonkan むもんかん |
More info & calligraphy: Mumonkan / The Gateless Gate |
無門關 无门关 see styles |
wú mén guān wu2 men2 guan1 wu men kuan Mumon kan |
More info & calligraphy: The Gateless Gate |
五福臨門 五福临门 see styles |
wǔ fú lín mén wu3 fu2 lin2 men2 wu fu lin men |
More info & calligraphy: Blessings on this Home |
大智慧門 大智慧门 see styles |
dà zhì huì mén da4 zhi4 hui4 men2 ta chih hui men dai chie mon |
More info & calligraphy: Door of Great Wisdom |
大道無門 大道无门 see styles |
dà dào wú mén da4 dao4 wu2 men2 ta tao wu men daidō mu mon |
More info & calligraphy: The Great Path has No Gate |
所羅門群島 所罗门群岛 see styles |
suǒ luó mén qún dǎo suo3 luo2 men2 qun2 dao3 so lo men ch`ün tao so lo men chün tao |
More info & calligraphy: Solomon Islands |
一門 一门 see styles |
yī mén yi1 men2 i men ichimon いちもん |
(1) family; clan; kin; (2) sect; school; adherents; followers; disciples; (3) {sumo} group of related sumo stables; (surname) Hitokado The one door out of mortality into nirvāṇa, i.e. the Pure-land door. |
丁門 see styles |
choumon / chomon ちょうもん |
(surname) Chōmon |
七門 see styles |
nanakado ななかど |
(surname) Nanakado |
三門 三门 see styles |
sān mén san1 men2 san men sanmon さんもん |
Sanmen county in Taizhou 台州[Tai1 zhou1], Zhejiang {Buddh} large triple gate to temple; (surname) Mimon trividha-dvāra, the three gates; a monastery; purity of body, speech, and thought; idem 三解脫門 also 三業. |
上門 上门 see styles |
shàng mén shang4 men2 shang men joumon / jomon じょうもん |
to drop in; to visit; to lock a door; (of a shop) to close; to go and live with one's wife's family, in effect becoming a member of her family (See 門・もん・3) superphylum; (surname) Jōmon |
下門 see styles |
shimon しもん |
(surname) Shimon |
両門 see styles |
ryoumon / ryomon りょうもん |
(surname) Ryōmon |
中門 see styles |
chuumon / chumon ちゅうもん |
(1) (See 寝殿造り,対の屋,釣り殿) gate in the middle of the corridor connecting an annex to a pond-side building (in traditional palatial-style architecture); (2) central gate (between the main gate and main hall of a temple); (3) central gate (separating the inner and outer gardens of a teahouse); (surname) Nakakado |
串門 串门 see styles |
chuàn mén chuan4 men2 ch`uan men chuan men |
to call on sb; to drop in; to visit sb's home |
丸門 see styles |
marumon まるもん |
(surname) Marumon |
久門 see styles |
hisamon ひさもん |
(surname) Hisamon |
乙門 see styles |
okkado おっかど |
(place-name) Okkado |
九門 九门 see styles |
jiǔ mén jiu3 men2 chiu men kumon くもん |
(surname) Kumon v. 九有情居. |
乾門 see styles |
inuimon いぬいもん |
(place-name) Inuimon |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Gate | 門 门 | mon | mén / men2 / men | |
Carmen | 卡門 卡门 | kǎ mén / ka3 men2 / ka men / kamen | k`a men / kamen / ka men | |
Dharma Gate | 法門 法门 | hou mon / houmon / ho mon | fǎ mén / fa3 men2 / fa men / famen | |
Karmen | 卡門 卡门 | kǎ mén / ka3 men2 / ka men / kamen | k`a men / kamen / ka men | |
Macao Macau | 澳門 澳门 | ào mén / ao4 men2 / ao men / aomen | ||
Mensah | 門薩 门萨 | mén sà / men2 sa4 / men sa / mensa | ||
Monroe | 門羅 门罗 | mén luó / men2 luo2 / men luo / menluo | men lo / menlo | |
Monshu Gate Keeper | 門主 门主 | monshu | mén zhǔ / men2 zhu3 / men zhu / menzhu | men chu / menchu |
Munroe | 門羅 门罗 | mén luó / men2 luo2 / men luo / menluo | men lo / menlo | |
Open Door | 開門 开门 | kai mon / kaimon | kāi mén / kai1 men2 / kai men / kaimen | k`ai men / kaimen / kai men |
Yemen | 也門 也门 | yě mén / ye3 men2 / ye men / yemen | yeh men / yehmen | |
Black Flag Gate Hek Ki Boen | 黑旗門 黑旗门 | hēi qí mén hei1 qi2 men2 hei qi men heiqimen | hei ch`i men heichimen hei chi men |
|
Eiseimen | 艾塞門 艾塞门 | ài sāi mén ai4 sai4 men2 ai sai men aisaimen | ||
Ermen | 埃爾門 埃尔门 | āi ěr mén ai1 er3 men2 ai er men aiermen | ai erh men aierhmen |
|
Fumonbon | 富門本 富门本 | fù mén běn fu4 men2 ben3 fu men ben fumenben | fu men pen fumenpen |
|
Mendoza | 門多薩 门多萨 | mén duō sà men2 duo1 sa4 men duo sa menduosa | men to sa mentosa |
|
Mumonkan The Gateless Gate | 無門関 | mu mon kan / mumonkan | ||
Soloman | 所羅門 所罗门 | suǒ luó mén suo3 luo2 men2 suo luo men suoluomen | so lo men solomen |
|
Solomon | 所羅門 所罗门 | suǒ luó mén suo3 luo2 men2 suo luo men suoluomen | so lo men solomen |
|
Trueman | 杜魯門 杜鲁门 | dù lǔ mén du4 lu3 men2 du lu men dulumen | tu lu men tulumen |
|
Truman | 杜魯門 杜鲁门 | dù lǔ mén du4 lu3 men2 du lu men dulumen | tu lu men tulumen |
|
Vercammen | 佛卡門 佛卡门 | fó kǎ mén fo2 ka3 men2 fo ka men fokamen | fo k`a men fokamen fo ka men |
|
The Gateless Gate | 無門關 无门关 | mu mon kan / mumonkan | wú mén guān wu2 men2 guan1 wu men guan wumenguan | wu men kuan wumenkuan |
Blessings on this Home | 五福臨門 五福临门 | wǔ fú lín mén wu3 fu2 lin2 men2 wu fu lin men wufulinmen | ||
Clemence | 克萊門斯 克莱门斯 | kè lái mén sī ke4 lai2 men2 si1 ke lai men si kelaimensi | k`o lai men ssu kolaimenssu ko lai men ssu |
|
Clement | 克萊門特 克莱门特 | kè lái mén tè ke4 lai2 men2 te4 ke lai men te kelaimente | k`o lai men t`e kolaimente ko lai men te |
|
Clemente | 克萊門特 克莱门特 | kè lái mén tè ke4 lai2 men2 te4 ke lai men te kelaimente | k`o lai men t`e kolaimente ko lai men te |
|
The Great Path has No Gate | 大道無門 大道无门 | dai dou mu mon daidoumumon dai do mu mon | dà dào wú mén da4 dao4 wu2 men2 da dao wu men dadaowumen | ta tao wu men tataowumen |
Door of Great Wisdom | 大智慧門 大智慧门 | dai chi e mon daichiemon | dà zhì huì mén da4 zhi4 hui4 men2 da zhi hui men dazhihuimen | ta chih hui men tachihhuimen |
Jimenez | 希門尼斯 希门尼斯 | xī mén ní sī xi1 men2 ni1 si1 xi men ni si ximennisi | hsi men ni ssu hsimennissu |
|
Maricarmen | 馬麗卡門 马丽卡门 | mǎ lì kǎ mén ma3 li4 ka3 men2 ma li ka men malikamen | ma li k`a men malikamen ma li ka men |
|
Dharma Gate of Bliss | 安樂の法門 | an raku no hou mon anrakunohoumon an raku no ho mon | ||
Clemencia | 克萊門西亞 克莱门西亚 | kè lái mén xī yà ke4 lai2 men2 xi1 ya4 ke lai men xi ya kelaimenxiya | k`o lai men hsi ya kolaimenhsiya ko lai men hsi ya |
|
Clementine | 克萊門蒂娜 克莱门蒂娜 | kè lái mén dì nà ke4 lai2 men2 di4 na4 ke lai men di na kelaimendina | k`o lai men ti na kolaimentina ko lai men ti na |
|
Solomon Islands | 所羅門群島 所罗门群岛 | suǒ luó mén qún dǎo suo3 luo2 men2 qun2 dao3 suo luo men qun dao suoluomenqundao | so lo men ch`ün tao solomenchüntao so lo men chün tao |
|
Tanjiro Kamado | 竈門炭治郎 | kamado tanjirou kamadotanjirou kamado tanjiro | ||
Opportunity Knocks Only Once | 機會隻敲一次門 机会只敲一次门 | jī huì zhǐ qiāo yī cì mén ji1 hui4 zhi3 qiao1 yi1 ci4 men2 ji hui zhi qiao yi ci men jihuizhiqiaoyicimen | chi hui chih ch`iao i tz`u men chihuichihchiaoitzumen chi hui chih chiao i tzu men |
|
No Place Like Home | 在家千日好出門一時難 在家千日好出门一时难 | zài jiā qiān rì hǎo chū mén yì shí nán zai4 jia1 qian1 ri4 hao3 chu1 men2 yi4 shi2 nan2 zai jia qian ri hao chu men yi shi nan | tsai chia ch`ien jih hao ch`u men i shih nan tsai chia chien jih hao chu men i shih nan |
|
One Who Does Not Do Bad Things, Worries Not of Knocks at His Door | 白天不做虧心事夜半敲門不吃驚 白天不做亏心事夜半敲门不吃惊 | bái tiān bú zuò kuī xīn shì yè bàn qiāo mén bù chī jīng bai2 tian1 bu2 zuo4 kui1 xin1 shi4 ye4 ban4 qiao1 men2 bu4 chi1 jing1 bai tian bu zuo kui xin shi ye ban qiao men bu chi jing | pai t`ien pu tso k`uei hsin shih yeh pan ch`iao men pu ch`ih ching pai tien pu tso kuei hsin shih yeh pan chiao men pu chih ching |
|
Daodejing Tao Te Ching - Chapter 1 | 道可道非常道名可名非常名無名天地之始有名萬物之母故常無欲以觀其妙常有欲以觀其徼此兩者同出而異名同謂之玄玄之又玄衆妙之門 道可道非常道名可名非常名无名天地之始有名万物之母故常无欲以观其妙常有欲以观其徼此两者同出而异名同谓之玄玄之又玄众妙之门 | dào kě dào fēi cháng dào míng kě míng fēi cháng míng wú míng tiān dì zhī shǐ yǒu míng wàn wù zhī mǔ gù cháng wú yù yǐ guān qí miào cháng yǒu yù yǐ guān qí zhēng cǐ liǎng zhě tóng chū ér yì míng tóng wèi zhī xuán xuán zhī yòu xuán zhòng miào zhī mén dao4 ke3 dao4 fei1 chang2 dao4 ming2 ke3 ming2 fei1 chang2 ming2 wu2 ming2 tian1 di4 zhi1 shi3 you3 ming2 wan4 wu4 zhi1 mu3 gu4 chang2 wu2 yu4 yi3 guan1 qi2 miao4 chang2 you3 yu4 yi3 guan1 qi2 jiao3 ci3 liang3 zhe3 tong2 chu1 er2 yi4 ming2 tong2 wei4 zhi1 xuan2 xuan2 zhi1 you4 xuan2 zhong4 miao4 zhi1 men2 dao ke dao fei chang dao ming ke ming fei chang ming wu ming tian di zhi shi you ming wan wu zhi mu gu chang wu yu yi guan qi miao chang you yu yi guan qi jiao ci liang zhe tong chu er yi ming tong wei zhi xuan xuan zhi you xuan zhong miao zhi men | tao k`o tao fei ch`ang tao ming k`o ming fei ch`ang ming wu ming t`ien ti chih shih yu ming wan wu chih mu ku ch`ang wu yü i kuan ch`i miao ch`ang yu yü i kuan ch`i chiao tz`u liang che t`ung ch`u erh i ming t`ung wei chih hsüan hsüan chih yu hsüan chung miao chih men tao ko tao fei chang tao ming ko ming fei chang ming wu ming tien ti chih shih yu ming wan wu chih mu ku chang wu yü i kuan chi miao chang yu yü i kuan chi chiao tzu liang che tung chu erh i ming tung wei chih hsüan hsüan chih yu hsüan chung miao chih men |
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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. |
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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.