福 in Chinese / Japanese...

福 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 Year).

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.

福 literally means good fortune, prosperity, blessed, blessedness, happiness, and fulfillment.

You'll also see this character in Vietnam (where Chinese characters were the written form until a romanization reform) where it is pronounced Phúc - a word commonly used in Vietnamese names because of its good meaning.

冥福 is an unusual Chinese, Japanese, and Korean term that means afterlife happiness, happiness in the next world, or the happiness of the dead.

祝福 is a nice way to give good wishes to someone.

It can be a general blessing or used to congratulate someone for a special occasion or graduation.

This has a good meaning in Japanese but is more appropriate when expressed orally. 祝福 is not a natural selection for a wall scroll if your audience is Japanese.

福音 is the Chinese, Korean and Japanese word for “Gospel” or “Word of God.”

福音 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 Year. 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.”

福拉 is the name Fola in Chinese (Mandarin).

福特 is the name Ford transliterated into Mandarin Chinese.

This is also the short form for Ford Motor Company and Ford automobiles in China. The long version is 福特汽車 in Traditional Chinese or 福特汽车 in Simplified Chinese.

福勒 is the name Fowler in Chinese (Mandarin).

福伊 is the name Foy in Chinese (Mandarin).

福比 is the name Fuabi in Chinese (Mandarin).

福德 is the name Fude in Chinese (Mandarin).

福星 is the lucky star, one of three Chinese deities (三星 or Three Stars) representing fortune/luck, prosperity, and longevity.

In Japanese, this can be the given name Fukusei - with the same “lucky star” or “star of good fortune” meaning.

福宅 is 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.

幸福 is a general state of happiness that can also be translated as truly blessed, welfare, well-being, or fortunate.

降福 is a Chinese word that means blessings from heaven.

享福 is a Chinese word that means to live comfortably and/or have a happy and prosperous life.

拉福 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the Latin / Spanish name Rafa.

魯福 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the Latin / Spanish name Rufo.

豊福 is the Japanese name Toyofuku.

阿福尼 is the name Afoni in Chinese (Mandarin).

至福感 is “feelings of bliss” in Japanese.

A breakdown of the Kanji in this title:
至福 (shifuku) beatitude; supreme bliss.
感 (kan) feeling; sensation; emotion; admiration; impression.

布福德 is the name Buford in Chinese (Mandarin).

福爾斯 is the name Falls in Chinese (Mandarin).

福克納 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the family name Faulkner.

This is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male French name Faustin.

This is a common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the female French name Faustine.

福斯托 is the name Fausto in Chinese (Mandarin).

福萊塔 is the name Foletta in Chinese (Mandarin).

福代斯 is the name Fordyce in Chinese (Mandarin).

福蒂瑪 is the name Fotima in Chinese (Mandarin).

福圖托 is the name Fottuto in Chinese (Mandarin).

福斯特 is the name Foust in Chinese (Mandarin).

福克斯 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Fox.

If your name is Fox, you should probably pick our other selection for the meaning of fox (the animal).

福克斯 is the name Foxx in Chinese (Mandarin).

福瑞達 is the name Freda in Chinese (Mandarin).

These are the short titles for Sanxing or 三星 (Three Stars).

福祿壽 are the gods of Jupiter, Ursa Major, and Sirius. Fu, Lu, and Shou represent fortune (福), presiding over the planet Jupiter, prosperity (祿), presiding over Ursa Major, and longevity (壽), presiding over Sirius.

In old Chinese folk religion, they are often represented as three old bearded wise men.

福里納 is the name Furina in Chinese (Mandarin).

福爾曼 is the name Furman in Chinese (Mandarin).

馬福茲 is the name Mahphooz in Chinese (Mandarin).

諾福克 is the name Norfolk in Chinese (Mandarin).

彭福德 is the name Penfold in Chinese (Mandarin).

雷福德 is the name Rayford in Chinese (Mandarin).

羅斯福 is the name Roosevelt in Chinese (Mandarin).

盧瑟福 is the name Rutherford in Chinese (Mandarin).

桑福德 is the name Sanford in Chinese (Mandarin).

斯坦福 is the name Stanford in Chinese (Mandarin).

溫福德 is the name Winford in Chinese (Mandarin).

優素福 is the name Yousaf in Chinese (Mandarin).

優素福 is the name Yousuf in Chinese (Mandarin).

優素福 is the name Yusuf in Chinese (Mandarin).

奧爾福德 is the name Alford in Chinese (Mandarin).

安卡福扎 is the name Ankafuza in Chinese (Mandarin).

阿努爾福 is the name Arnulfo in Chinese (Mandarin).

貝德福德 is the name Bedford in Chinese (Mandarin).

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.

克利福德 is a common way to transliterate the name Clifford into Mandarin Chinese.

幸福永恆 is a short way to say eternal happiness in Chinese.

Breaking down the parts:
幸福 means happiness, happy, blessed, blessedness, joy, and/or well-being.
永恆 means eternal, everlasting, and/or forever.

Another way to write this is 永恆的幸福. It reverses the word order and adds a possessive article. I prefer the shorter version, which is slightly more natural in Chinese.

福斯蒂諾 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the Latin / Spanish name Faustino.

福雷斯特 is the name Forrest in Chinese (Mandarin).

福滕貝里 is the name Fortenberry in Chinese (Mandarin).

福爾圖娜 is the name Fortuna in Chinese (Mandarin).

福伊薩爾 is the name Foysal in Chinese (Mandarin).

幸福與愛 is “happiness and love” in Chinese.

There is a suggestion of “good fortune” in the version of happiness used here.

胡姆福雷 is the name Humphrey in Chinese (Mandarin).

米爾福德 is the name Milford in Chinese (Mandarin).

諾福克島 is the Chinese name for Norfolk Island.

Note: Sometimes written with one more character that means “ocean” making it Norfolk Ocean Island in Chinese.

追尋幸福 is the best way to translate the English phrase “pursuit of happiness” into Chinese.

The first two characters mean “to pursue,” “to track down,” or “to search for.”

The last two mean happiness, happy, or being blessed.

拉德福德 is the name Radford in Chinese (Mandarin).

幸福學校 means “School of Happiness” or “Happiness School” in Chinese.

幸福 means happiness, happy, blessed, blessedness, joy, and/or well-being.

學校 means school or college.

斯塔福德 is the name Stafford in Chinese (Mandarin).

威爾福德 is the name Wilford in Chinese (Mandarin).

沃爾福德 is the name Wolford in Chinese (Mandarin).

伍德福德 is the name Woodford in Chinese (Mandarin).

艾福洛迪特 is the name Aphrodite in Chinese (Mandarin).

艾福洛迪特 is one of a couple of ways the name Aphrodite, Goddess of Love is written in Chinese characters.

阿斯托爾福 is the name Astolfo in Chinese (Mandarin).

貝雷斯福德 is the name Beresford in Chinese (Mandarin).

祝福と保護 means “blessings and protection,” in Japanese.

布拉德福德 is the name Bradford in Chinese (Mandarin).

加利福尼亞 is the name California in Chinese (Mandarin).

德福雷斯特 is the name Deforest in Chinese (Mandarin).

永遠の幸福 means “eternal happiness” in Japanese.

永遠 means eternal, eternity, perpetuity, forever, immortality, and permanence.

の is a possessive article which sort of makes this selection mean “happiness, of the eternal kind.”

幸福 means happiness, though this word can be translated as truly blessed, joy, happy, welfare, well-being, or fortunate.

This is the Chinese name for the Falkland Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom).

福爾圖納托 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the Latin / Spanish name Fortunato.

克里斯多福 is the name Kristoffer in Chinese (Mandarin).

幸福の学校 means “School of Happiness” in Japanese.

This is not a common phrase in Japanese, but it will be understood.

斯特拉特福 is the name Stratford in Chinese (Mandarin).

特萊斯福羅 is the transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the Latin / Spanish name Telésforo.

和平博愛幸福 is a word-list that means “peace, love, happiness,” in Chinese.

Word lists like this are not commonly-seen in China. Phrases with subject, verb, and object, or just single words are more natural for calligraphy artwork.

幸福を求めて is “Pursuit of Happiness” or “In Search of Happiness” in Japanese.

Here's how the characters break down:
幸福 (koufuku) happiness; blessedness; joy; well-being.
を (o) particle
求め (motome) to want; to seek; to pursue; to request
て (te) particle

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

幸福の七カ条 is the title for the 7 rules of happiness in Japanese.

The rules themselves take up a lot of space:

1. 成功や栄誉や勝ち負けを目的に、ことを行ってはいけない。
2. しないではいられないことをし続けなさい。
3. 他人との比較ではない、あくまで自分の楽しさを追及すべし。
4. 好きの力を信じる。
5. 才能と収入は別、努力は人を裏切ると心得よ。
6. 怠け者になりなさい。
7. 目に見えない世界を信じる。

...so this title is probably all you need.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Katakana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

平和, 愛, 幸福 means “peace, love, happiness” in Japanese.

This is a word list, which is not the most natural kind of composition in Japanese (usually there is a subject, object, and verb - or a single word).

幸福金婚 means “Happy Golden Anniversary” and is a great gift for a couple who is celebrating 50 years together.

The first two characters mean happy, blessed, or happiness.

The last two characters mean “couple's golden anniversary.” It means “golden wedding” or “golden marriage,” but this is only used for the 50-year-mark of a marriage (the same way we use gold to represent 50 years in the west).

幸福金婚 is a nice title to use with an inscription. You could request something like, “Happy 50th Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” to be written down the side of this title in smaller Chinese characters.

Please note: This can be pronounced and understood in Japanese but not as commonly used in Japan. Japanese people who read this will understand it but might tend to feel it’s of Chinese origin.

This means “Bless this house” or “Bless this home,” in Japanese.

Some may also translate this as “Bless this family,” since the Kanji for home can also mean family.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

幸福成功的一生 means “A life of happiness and prosperity” or “A life of happiness and success.”

It's a very positive and inspirational wall scroll selection.

幸福と繁栄の人生 is a Japanese proverb that means “A life of happiness and prosperity” or “A life of happiness and success.”

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

福如東海壽比南山 is a phrase that means “May you have good fortune as great as the eastern oceans, and may your life last as long as the southern mountains.”

In ancient Chinese mythology, the eastern oceans and southern mountains are where God resides (basically it is the same as saying “heaven”). So it's like saying, “May your good fortune and life be as vast as the heavens.”

There is also a longer, 14-character version of this phrase. Also, this can be cut into two scrolls (with half the phrase on each side - great for hanging on either side of a doorway). Just let me know if you'd like a special version (there is an additional cost).

神によって祝福された means “Blessed by God” in Japanese.

This would be understood to mean “We have been blessed by God.”

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

靈氣療法肇祖臼井甕男先生遺訓招福の秘法萬病の霊薬今日丈けは心配すな感謝して業を励げめ人に親切に is an alternate version of the precepts or tenets of Reiki by Usui Mikao.

It is impossible to be sure which version or versions were actually written by Usui Mikao. This is the less common of the three versions that you might see in the wild.

Here is a breakdown of the characters and a rough translation:
靈氣 療法 肇祖 臼井甕男。
Reiki therapy founder Mikao Usui
先生 遺訓。
Teacher's testament 招福の秘法,　萬病の霊薬。
Invite blessings of [the] secret method, 10,000 illnesses of spiritual medicine.
今日丈けは: 怒るな, 心配すな,　感謝して,　業をはげめ,　人に親切に。
At least for today: Do not be angry, do not worry, be grateful, work with diligence, [and] be kind to people.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

These are the precepts of Reiki that are attributed to Usui Mikao.

Here is a breakdown of the characters and a rough translation:
招福の秘法,　萬病の霊薬。
Invite blessings of [the] secret method, 10,000 illnesses of spiritual medicine.
今日丈けは:　怒るな,　心配すな,　感謝して,　業をはげめ,　人に親切に。
At least for today: Do not be angry, do not worry, be grateful, work with diligence, and be kind to people.
朝夕合掌して,　心に念じ,　口に唱へよ,　心身改善。
Morning [and] evening perform gassho (join hands), [with your] heart/mind in silent prayer, [with your] mouth chant, [thusly] mind [and] body [will] reform/improve.
臼井靈氣療法！　-肇祖,　臼井甕男。
Usui Reiki Ryōhō! -Founder, Usui Mikao.

The middle portion of this is often titled, “The Five Principles of Reiki” and makes a nice calligraphy selection by itself. The Japanese text presented here can be considered the more verbose version.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

This is a poem, including a title, that celebrates the tactics and virtues of the Shaolin Kung Fu Monks for future generations.