Strength Chinese / Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

The simplest form of "power" or "strength".

In Japanese it is pronounced "chikara" when used alone, and "ryoku" when used in a sentence (there are also a few other possible pronunciations of this Kanji in Japanese).

In some context, this can mean ability, force, physical strength, capability, and influence.

See Also...  Vitality | Health

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This literally translates as:
[Better to be] strong inside than [to be] strong outside.

The ancient original meaning was:
[An] able [husband] outside [working to support a family is] not as good as [an] able [wife] inside [working and saving to take care of the family].

The current meaning is:
Inner strength is more important than outward appearance.

This is the slightly-verbose way to say inner-strength. The first two characters mean "intrinsic" or "inner". The second two characters mean "power", "force" or "strength" (especially physical strength). This is more a short phrase rather than just a word in Chinese and Korean. This can sort of be understood in Japanese, but it's not normal/proper Japanese.

This is the shorter version of inner-strength (can also be translated as "internal force"). The first character holds the meaning of "inner" or "internal". The second character means "power", "force" or "strength".

This is kind of a Kung Fu way of talking about an inner power or strength from within. This is sort of a way to express "inner-chi". This is clearly something that you might hear in a real Chinese Kung Fu movie.

While understood in both Chinese and Japanese, this can have a secondary meaning of "inner stress" in Japanese.

This is the kind of inner-strength that applies to a person who has will-power and can inspire themselves to do great things.

This word can also be the creed of a person that always pursues self-improvement.

Other translations: self-strengthening, striving for improvement, self-improvement, strive to become stronger, and self-renewal.

This proverb or idiom suggests that the pursuit self-improvement is eternal. The first two characters mean inner-strength with the idea of self-improvement. The last two characters mean "never rest" or "striving without giving up".

Some will translate these four characters as, "Exert and strive hard without any let up".

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This Japanese phrase literally translates as "inner/internal strength/power [versus] outward-appearance [the] merit/virtue/good quality [does] excel/surpass/exceed/outweigh".

More naturally in English, this would be "Inner Strength Outweighs Outward Appearance".

Means "physical strength", "physical power", or "physical stamina".

See Also...  Fortitude | Health

Means "physical strength" or "physical power".

The first character was first simplified in Japan. Then that simplified version became the standard in mainland China. Just in case you want this version, it is offered here. I suggest it if you audience is Japanese. Most Chinese know the older traditional version.

This Japanese and Chinese word means, "resolute and firm", "fortitude", "firmness of character", "hardihood", "manliness" or "macho".

See Also...  Perseverance | Tenacity

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This is a wish or a prayer that you might call out at a desperate time.

Translated by us for a military serviceman in Iraq - obviously he may have a need to use this phrase often, though I am not sure where he's going to find a place to hang a wall scroll.

While not a typical Chinese phrase, this is how to write "strength and courage".

If this is an important idea for you, we can make a great custom Chinese "strength and courage" wall scroll for you.

This phrase literally means:
"Strength [and] Love [are] Not Two [separate ideas/concepts/things]".

You'll find this phrase translated from Japanese to English as:
Love and strength are not separate.
Power and love are indivisible.
Strength and love in harmony.
Strength and love stand together.

Old Japanese grammar is quite different than English, and so this phrase says a lot within the brevity of just 4 characters. If you just read these characters directly as, "Strength Love Not Two", you'd probably miss the real meaning.

According to the Swedish Shorinji Kempo Federation, this is the second characteristic of Shorinji Kempo.

This post really explains the concept best in my opinion: Bushido by MS: Riki Ai Fu Ni, which states: "Riki Ai Funi" is the philosophy that power (Riki) and love (Ai) are indivisible. More concretely, a person, who is powerful but does not have love, cannot control and misuse his/her power; on the other hand, a person, who has loved ones but is not powerful enough, cannot protect himself/herself nor loved ones.

This title speaks of one's soul or spirit, and the capacity or strength that soul possesses.

The first two characters mean mind, heart, spirit, and/or soul.

The last two characters mean strength, capacity, or ability.

Note: Separately, these are two words in Japanese, and can be pronounced, but this does not make a natural title in Japanese (best if your audience is Chinese).

This is a general strength term. It can refer to mental or physical strength (depending on context). This word can also be used to describe strength in terms of capability, capacity, ability and even tact. Some may translate this as power or force.

Means "firmness", "stability", "security" and "strength" in Japanese. It's not used commonly in China, but it means "powerful", "firm", "solid", "strong" or "better than others" in Chinese. There is a slight variation in the top of the first character between Chinese and Japanese. Because this is more a Japanese word, we are showing the Japanese form here.

This is also a Korean word, but Korean Hanja uses the Chinese form of the first character (one tiny stroke is a little different), so just let me now if your audience is Korean when you place your order, and we'll have it written in the Chinese/Korean version.

This may not be the most common Japanese phrase, but this is how to write "strength and courage" in Japanese.

This can mean brave woman, heroine, lady of character, distinguished woman, outstanding woman, and sometimes prominent woman.

In modern usage, some people might use this to give a title to women like Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, or Sarah Palin. I would rather use it for a woman like Araceli Segarra (the first woman from Spain to climb Mt. Everest).

While hard to translate directly, this is the best way to write "Live Strong" in Chinese. If you are a cancer survivor, or simply support Lance Armstrong's ideas, this is a nice selection for a wall scroll.

The first two characters mean strong or staunch. The last two mean living or life (daily existence). While the Chinese version is the reverse order of "Live Strong" it is the only way to write it in a natural form that is also grammatically correct.

Note that we are in no way affiliated or connected to Lance, nor his foundation. This translation is offered because of multiple requests from customers whose philosophies or ideas match those of the Live Strong idea.

See Also...  Vitality | Health | Determination | Discipline

This can mean mighty, powerful, large, formidable, or strong.

This term is often used to describe soldiers/troops/warriors, and whole armies.

This is an adjective that means powerful or strong. It can also be translated as able-bodied, robust, or sturdy. This version of strength suggests muscularity.

Note that the second character was simplified in Japan after WWII (also simplified in mainland China, but not for calligraphy). If you want the modern Japanese/simplified version, please click on the Kanji shown to the right.

See Also...  Vitality | Health

This "strong" character means strength, force, powerful, better, stubborn, and stiff (yes, all of this in one character). This "strong" has less to do with physical strength and more to do with having a winning attitude, or just having the ability to win at something.

Note that most of the time, this character is pronounced "qiang", but when used with the meaning of stubborn, unyielding, or stiff, it is pronounced "jiang" in Chinese.

Also, sometimes "qiang" is used in modern Chinese to describe people that do crazy things (Example: Bicycling from Beijing to Tibet alone). I sometimes can be found outside my Beijing apartment wearing nothing but shorts and a tee-shirt while eating an ice cream during a snow storm, just to hear my neighbors call me "qiang". Maybe they mean "strong" but perhaps they are using the new meaning of "crazy strong".

Also a Korean Hanja with same meaning, but mostly used in compound words.

This is used in Japanese (though normally in compound words). In Japanese, it has the same meaning, but in some context can mean "a little more than..." or "a little over [some amount]". Most Japanese would read this as tough, strength, stiff, hard, inflexible, obstinate, or stubborn.

This "strong" character means "to strengthen" or robust. This brings images of a muscle-bound hulk of a weight lifter or body builder to an Asian person who sees this character.

Note that in Korean and Japanese, this character is normally part of compound words, and is not seen alone too often.

Note that the this character was simplified in Japan after WWII (also simplified in mainland China, but not for calligraphy). If you want the modern Japanese/simplified version, please click on the Kanji shown to the right.

This "strong" character is the more "healthy" version of strong. This is the "strong" that is appropriate for an athlete.

Beyond "healthy", it can also mean strength, persistence, vigorous or invigorated.

We don't really have a word like this in English, but these two characters create a word that means "strong and beautiful". It could also be translated as "healthy and beautiful".

Note: This is a word in Chinese and Korean, but it's also the family name Takemi in Japanese. The characters hold the same meaning in Japanese, but It's kind of like having the English name Stillwell, when few people would perceive the meanings of still and well.

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This literally translates as: Without being knocked around a bit, [one's] bones won't become hard.

Figuratively, this means: One can't become strong without first being tempered by "hard knocks".

While true for everyone, this sounds like the "Iron Body" form of Kung Fu, where practitioners bodies are beaten (and often bone fractured) in order to become stronger.
For the rest of us, this is just about how we can be tempered and build character through the hardships in our lives.

This is a verbose way to say strong and healthy in Japanese. This is the "strong" that is appropriate for an athlete.

Beyond "healthy", it can also mean strength, persistence, vigorous or invigorated.

Japanese also use the first Kanji to mean the same thing. This version just adds two hiragana which serve to emphasize or amplify the word and clarify the meaning.

This phrase can mean either "strong hearted", "strong willed" or "determination". The first two characters can be translated simply as "will" but also have the element of "heart" in the lower portion of both characters (they also partially carry this meaning). The last two characters mean "strong" or "staunch".

Chinese word order and grammar is a bit different than English, so in this case, they are in reverse order of English, but have the correct meaning in a natural form.

See Also...  Strong Willed | Discipline | Will-Power

This is the best way to say "strong woman" or "strong and independent woman" in Chinese.

Grammar in China is a bit different, so these three characters literally read as "female strength person" or "woman strong person". This might sound funny in English, but this is a natural-sounding title in Chinese.

This literally translates as: Only after much tempering is steel produced.

Figuratively, this means: True character must be tested in hardship.

This is a mild form of saying, "Whatever doesn't kill me, makes me stronger".

This phrase creates an image of a warrior bravely advancing against an enemy regardless of the odds.

This phrase can also be translated as "indomitable spirit" or "march fearlessly onward".

See Also...  Indomitable | Fortitude

This means exercise in much the same way we use exercise in English. This can be exercising your body at the gym, or exercising your mind in studies. Most of the time, this refers to physical exercise.

This can also be translated as to temper, to toughen, to train, to drill, to forge, or simply discipline.

The first character means "strong", "solid", "firm", "unyielding" or "resolute".
The second character means "to beat", "to endure", or "to tolerate".
Together they speak of the strength from within yourself. Some may also translate this as "long-suffering" in a more Biblical sense.

This is a common term in Chinese and Korean Hanja, but a little less commonly-used in modern Japanese Kanji. For that reason, this selection is best if your audience is Chinese or Korean.

Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write the second Kanji in the form shown to the right. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect this Kanji form (yes, it's just one stroke that is slightly different in location, crossing another stroke in the Japanese Kanji form).

Due to some odd computer coding conventions, these two character forms were combined/merged into the same code point - thus you will not see Kanji images of the more Japanese form as you select options for your wall scroll.

This is the best way to express good health in Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

These characters also suggest the ideas of being solid, strong, sound, wholesome and at peace.

Can also be used to express "healthy", "vitality", or "well-being".

See Also...  Health | Vitality | Wellness

This is a single character that means good health or vigor in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

This character can also mean peaceful, at ease, or abundant in some contexts.

Please note that this is rarely seen alone in Japanese Kanji. In Japanese, it is used both for health-related compound words and to denote the kouhou through koushou eras of Japan.

In Korean, this can also be the family name "Kang" (caution: not the only family name romanized as Kang in Korean).

See Also...  Health | Vitality | Wellness

This Chinese word is a form of personal strength. It is a word that describes a person who is willing to take a risk. In English we might say, "Someone with guts".

An example might be a person that is not rich, but invests a lot of money into something (knowing they could double their money, or lose it all). Win or lose, this is a person that knows or pushes their potential.

Tearing this word apart, the first character means "to compel", urgent, urge, force, imminent, or "spur on". The second means power, strong, bear, or exert.

Note: This is also a word in Japanese Kanji and Korean Hanja, but with a meaning more like force, intensity, appeal, strength, impact, force, or simply power.

If you are into healthy living, this might be a great selection for a wall scroll to hang in your home. The first two characters speak of health, vitality, vigor and being of sound body. The second two mean living or life (daily existence).

See Also...  Vitality | Health

This is the short form of a longer Chinese word, and also a word used in Korean and Japanese to express the idea of being indomitable. It literally means, "will not bend", "will not crouch", "will not yield", "will not flinch", or "will not submit".

Note: Some will translate this as "indomitable spirit"; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of "spirit" in this word.

See Also...  Tenacity | Fortitude | Undaunted

This is a long word by Chinese standards. At least it is often translated as a single word into English. This simply means "Indomitable" or "Unyielding".

If you want to break it down, you can see that the first and third characters are the same. Both meaning "not" (they work as a suffix to make a negative or opposite meaning to whatever character follows). The second character means "bendable". The last means "scratched" or "bothered".
So this really means "Won't be bent, can't be bothered". I have also seen it written as "Will not crouch, will not submit". This comes from the fact that the second character can mean, "to crouch" and the last can mean "to submit" (as in "to give in" such as "submitting to the rule of someone else"). This may explain better why these four characters mean "indomitable".

Notes:
Some will translate this as "indomitable spirit"; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of "spirit" in this word.
The first two characters can be a stand-alone word in Chinese.
In Japanese, this is considered to be two words (with very similar meanings).
The same characters are used in Korean, but the 2nd and 4th characters are swapped to create a word pronounced "불요불굴" in Korean.
Just let me know if you want the Korean version, which will also make sense in Japanese, and though not as natural, will also make sense in Chinese as well.

See Also...  Tenacity | Fortitude | Undaunted

This word means intensity in regards to strength.

Note: In some context, this can mean violently strong or severe.

The first character means "eternal" or "forever", the second means "not" (together they mean "never"). The last two characters mean "give up" or "abandon". Altogether, you can translate this phrase as "never give up" or "never abandon".

Depending on how you want to read this, it is also a statement that you will never abandon your hopes, dreams, family or friends.

See Also...  Undaunted | No Fear | Hope

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This is a Japanese term that informally means "never give up".

See Also...  Tenacity | Perseverance | Hope

Long ago in what is now China, there were many kingdoms throughout the land. This time period is known as "The Warring States Period" by historians because these kingdoms often did not get along with each other.

Some time around 279 B.C. the Kingdom of Chu was a large, but not particularly powerful kingdom. Part of the reason it lacked power was the fact that the King was surrounded by "yes men" who told him only what he wanted to hear. Many of the King\’s court officials were corrupt and incompetent which did not help the situation.

The King was not blameless himself, as he started spending much of his time being entertained by his many concubines.

One of the King\’s ministers, Zhuang Xin, saw problems on the horizon for the Kingdom, and warned the King, "Your Majesty, you are surrounded by people who tell you what you want to hear. They tell you things to make you happy, and cause you to ignore important state affairs. If this is allowed to continue, the Kingdom of Chu will surely perish, and fall into ruins".

This enraged the King who scolded Zhuang Xin for insulting the country and accused him of trying to create resentment among the people. Zhuang Xin explained, "I dare not curse the Kingdom of Chu, but I feel that we face great danger in the future because of the current situation". The King was simply not impressed with Zhuang Xin\’s words.
Seeing the King\’s displeasure with him and the King\’s fondness for his court of corrupt officials, Zhuang Xin asked permission of the King that he may take leave of the Kingdom of Chu, and travel to the State of Zhao to live. The King agreed, and Zhuang Xin left the Kingdom of Chu, perhaps forever.

Five months later, troops from the neighboring Kingdom of Qin invaded Chu, taking a huge tract of land. The King of Chu went into exile, and it appeared that soon, the Kingdom of Chu would no longer exist.

The King of Chu remembered the words of Zhuang Xin, and sent some of his men to find him. Immediately, Zhuang Xin returned to meet the King. The first question asked by the King was, "What can I do now?"

Zhuang Xin told the King this story:

A shepherd woke one morning to find a sheep missing. Looking at the pen saw a hole in the fence where a wolf had come through to steal one of his sheep. His friends told him that he had best fix the hole at once. But the Shepherd thought since the sheep is already gone, there is no use fixing the hole.
The next morning, another sheep was missing. And the Shepherd realized that he must mend the fence at once. Zhuang Xin then went on to make suggestions about what could be done to reclaim the land lost to the Kingdom of Qin, and reclaim the former glory and integrity in the Kingdom of Chu.

The Chinese idiom shown above came from this reply from Zhuang Xin to the King of Chu almost 2,300 years ago.
It translates roughly into English as...
"Even if you have lost some sheep, it\’s never too late to mend the fence".

This phrase is often used in modern China when suggesting in a hopeful way that someone change their ways, or fix something in their life. It might be used to suggest fixing a marriage, quit smoking, or getting back on track after taking an unfortunate path in life among other things one might fix in their life.

I suppose in the same way that we might say, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life" in our western cultures to suggest that you can always start anew.

Note: This does have Korean pronunciation, but is not a well-known phrase in Korean (only Koreans familiar with ancient Chinese history would know it). Best if your audience is Chinese.

This literally means "No Fear". But perhaps not the most natural Chinese phrase (see our other "No Fear" phrase for a more complete thought). However, this two-character version of "No Fear" seems to be a very popular way to translate this into Chinese, when we checked Chinese Google.

Note: This also means "No Fear" in Japanese and Korean, but this character pair is not often used in Japan or Korea (used somewhat by Korean Buddhists to mean fearlessness).

In recent years, this term is starting to appear in various Chinese and Japanese dictionaries with definitions like "without fear", intrepidity, fearless, dauntless, and bold.

See Also...  Never Give Up | No Worries | Undaunted | Bravery | Courage | Fear No Man

This is the simplest way to express perseverance in Chinese and Korean Hanja.
This single-character version leaves a bit of mystery about what kind of perseverance you might want to convey.

In Korean, this is usually associated with "strength of character".

In Japanese, this character can be pronounced about a dozen different ways (so we have left out the Japanese pronunciation guide that normally appears above). In Japanese this Kanji would usually be translated "strong" (perhaps strong-willed).

See Also...  Tenacity | Fortitude | Undaunted

These two characters are a way to express "perseverance" with the idea of "willpower" in Chinese and old Korean Hanja. It can also mean "strong willed".

The first character means "strong" and "persistent", while the second means "strength" and "power".

This is the Japanese version of the 4-character perseverance title. This would be understood in Chinese but it's not commonly written this way in Chinese.

Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese sometimes write the second Kanji in the form shown to the right. Yes, it's just one stroke that is slightly different in location, crossing another stroke in this alternate Japanese Kanji form. If you have a preference, let us know when you order.

Due to some odd computer coding conventions, these two character forms were combined/merged into the same code point - thus you will not see Kanji images of more Japanese form as you select options for your scroll.

This is a simpler version that just holds the meaning of "fortitude", "steadfast" and "persistent".

Can also mean "opinionated" or "stubborn", in Chinese and Japanese, but in the nicest way possible (still bad). This just means "stubborn" in Korean (not a good scroll if your audience is Korean, in fact, we don't recommend this word at all). There are better ways to express this idea, such as tenacious or perseverance... ...see links below...

See Also...  Tenacious | Fortitude | Perseverance

This phrase means "Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks". It's of Chinese origin, but is commonly used in Japanese, and somewhat in Korean (same characters, different pronunciation).

This phrase comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan and he never stooped to flattery, but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.

Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.

Near the end of his career a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest he resigned his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.

His tombstone reads "Bai Zhe Bu Nao" which is now a phrase used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strong will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.

My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as, "keep on fighting in spite of all setbacks", "be undaunted by repeated setbacks" and "be indomitable".

Our translator says it can mean, "never give up" in modern Chinese.

Although the first two characters are translated correctly as "repeated setbacks", the literal meaning is "100 setbacks" or "a rope that breaks 100 times". The last two characters can mean "do not yield" or "do not give up".
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people will not take this absolutely literal meaning, but will instead understand it as the title suggests above. If you want a single big word definition, it would be indefatigability or indomitableness.

See Also...  Tenacity | Fortitude | Perseverance

These two characters together mean "Tenacious", "Hard to Defeat", or "Dogged".

Alone, the first character means mischievous, obstinate or stubborn. But it loses some of the mischievous meaning when the second character is added.

The second character means strength, force, powerful or better.

See Also...  Determination | Dedication | Devotion | Never Give Up

This word can mean "vitality" or "libido". The first two characters mean "life" or "life force". The last character is a common word that means "strength". So together you get the meaning "life strength" which is the essence of vitality. Some will also translate this word as "good health".

See Also...  Life Force | Health

This is the form of will power or self-control is about having the determination or tenacity to keep going.

In Japanese, this is the power of will, strength of will, volition, intention, intent, or determination.