Close in Chinese / Japanese...

至友 is one way to say best friend in Chinese.

The first character can mean “most,” “extreme,” or “best.”
The second character means “friend” or “friends” (plural forms work differently in China).

Can also be translated as “close friend” or “most intimate friend.”

See Also:  Friendship | Soulmates

密 can mean secret, secrecy, confidential, quiet, still, and/or esoteric.

As a piece of calligraphy artwork, it will be read with this secret or secrecy meaning.

When used in the context between people, this can mean: close; close together; intimate; closed in.

When referring to materials or objects, it can refer to thickness, density, thick, dense, fine, and/or small.

Notes:
In Chinese, this can be the surname Mi.
In Japanese, this can be the name Mitsu.

金似金挨玉似玉 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: [One who is] close to gold [is] like gold [and one who is] close to jade [is] like jade.

Figuratively, this means:
A good environment produces good people.
People are influenced by the company they keep.

Basically, if you hang out with good people, you are likely to become or stay good yourself. The opposite also is true. 挨This is like the moral version of “You are what you eat.”

Note: In Japanese, they have a similar phrase, 類は友を呼ぶ (rui wa tomo o yobu) Birds of a feather flock together. However, this is not a good meaning, so we’re not offering it for wall scrolls.

While difficult to translate “No guts no glory,” into Mandarin Chinese, 無勇不榮 is kind of close.

The first two characters mean “without bravery,” or “without courage.” In this case, bravery/courage is a stand-in for “guts.”

The last two characters mean “no glory.”

The idea that guts (internal organs) are somehow equal to courage, does not crossover to Chinese. However, translating the phrase back from Chinese to English, you get, “No Courage, No Glory,” which is pretty close to the intended idea.

親友 is the Japanese way to say “best friend.”

The first character can mean “relative” or sometimes “parents.” The second character means “friend.” Think about the close relationship that Japanese people have with their parents and relatives, and this starts to mean “close friends.”

Some Japanese-English dictionaries also translate this as “bosom friend,” “old friend,” “intimate friend,” “buddy,” “crony” or “chum.”

Note that in Chinese, this means “relatives and friends.” It's a good meaning in Chinese, but it's not quite the same as “best friends.”

親朋好友 is a Chinese title that simply means “family and friends” or “kith and kin.”

If you read each character more literally, it's like, “relatives, friends, [and] good/close friends.”

這就是生活 is a Chinese phrase that means “This is life,” or “Such is life.”

If you are looking for the French, “C'est la vie,” this is a close match.

This is a Japanese female given name that romanizes as Kana.

This can also be the Asian names gana or ghana in Buddhist context. The meaning can be close, solid, or thick.

This another less common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Isaac.

This version might be more close to the Spanish or Latin version of Isaac. The first syllable is like “ee” as in “sweet.”

莫瑞勒 is probably the closest way to transliterate the name Morera.

The pronunciation is pretty close to the unisex name Morera.

押忍 is a Japanese verbal interjection. In martial arts, it's used like “yes sir!” or “affirmative!.”

This can also be a greeting between close male friends. It can be romanized as “ossu” or “osu” (おっすor おす), though many English speakers think it's “oss.”

莎爾娜 is a three-character transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Shaina.

Both versions are close to the correct pronunciation for this name. It is just common for books and other publications to use either of these two versions.

關 is a surname in three languages.
In Chinese, it romanizes as Guan.
In Korean, it's Kwan (or Gwan).
In Japanese it's Seki.

The meaning of the character is mountain pass; to close; to shut; to turn off; barrier; frontier.

耶穌基督是愛 means Jesus Christ is Love in Mandarin Chinese.

耶稣 means Jesus, close to the original pronunciation of Yeshua.
基督 is the Chinese word that means Christ.
是 = is.
爱 = love.

This is a 3-character transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the Latin / Spanish name César.

I like this version better than the 2-character version, as this one is very close to the real sound of the name Cesar (both English and Spanish pronunciation).

不痛不強 is a proverb that is close to our idea of “no pain, no gain” in English. It holds this meaning in the context of working out at the gym etc.

不痛不強 means “no pain, no strength,” meaning that if you don't experience a little pain, you will not gain any strength.

This is a second common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Thomas.

There are two common ways to transliterate this name into Chinese. Both sound reasonably close to the English pronunciation of Thomas, so just pick the one that looks best to you. If you like horses, pick this one, as the second character means horse.

寶寶 is how Chinese people express “baby.”

The word is composed of the same character twice, and therefore literally means “double precious” or “double treasure.”

This would be a nice wall scroll to put either inside or by the door of your baby's room (not on the door, as wall scrolls swing around wildly when hung on doors that open and close a lot).

親切 is a Chinese/Japanese/Korean word that can also mean affectionate, cordial, warm, or close (emotionally).

Kindness shows you care and are doing some good to make life better for others. Be thoughtful about people's needs. Show love and compassion to someone who is sad or needs your help. When you are tempted to be cruel, to criticize or tease, decide to be kind instead.

See Also:  Love | Caring | Benevolence

I remember this being shouted a lot during U.S. Marine Corps boot camp. 疼痛就是衰弱離你而去的時候 is how to write that phrase in Chinese. At least, this is as close as we could compose/translate it, and hold the full original meaning and connotations.

The version shown here is really, “Pain is weakness leaving your body.” Although it's said in English both ways (the or your), it works better in Chinese with “your.”

千里も一里 is a Japanese proverb that states “A journey of a thousand miles feels like only one mile.” It is understood that in the proverb, this applies when going to see the one you love.

Note that the “mile” or 里 used in this proverb is an old Chinese “li” (pronounced “ri” in Japanese). It's not actually a mile, as the measurement is really closer to 500 meters (it would take 3 of these to get close to a western mile). Still, 1000里 (333 miles) is a long way.

團結/糰結 means to join forces, unity, united, union, combination, cooperation, or solidarity.

Regarding solidarity, this was part of the Chinese title used for the Solidarity Workers Union in Poland. In some circumstances, this can mean “hold a rally.”

While there's not a perfect match to the English word “unity” in Chinese, this word is pretty close. It contains the idea of joining forces and working as one. It could even mean rallying together to achieve a goal or defeat a common enemy.

There are several variations of these characters such as 团结, 団結, 團結, 糰結, etc. Modern Japanese will write it 団結. Just the first Kanji varies. Click on the image of that modern Japanese first Kanji to the right if you want this version instead of the traditional one.

This literally translates as: Troops/soldiers/warriors have no fixed [battlefield] strategy [just as] water has no constant shape [but adapts itself to whatever container it is in].

Figuratively, this means: One should seek to find whatever strategy or method is best suited to resolving each individual problem.

This proverb is about as close as you can get to the military idea of “adapt improvise overcome.” 兵無常勢水無常形 is the best way to express that idea in both an ancient way, and a very natural way in Chinese.

神さまが守るように is about as close as you can get to, “God Bless You” in Japanese.

This literally means “[May] God Protect [You].” It can also mean “God is Always With You,” as the word in this phrase that means “protect” can also mean to follow or be with. In fact, the Japanese dictionary entry for that word reads like this: to protect; to guard; to defend; to keep (i.e. a promise); to abide; to observe; to follow.

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

誰も信じるな is as close as you can get to the phrase “trust no man” in Japanese, though no gender is specified.

The first two characters mean everyone or anyone but change to “no one” with the addition of a negative verb.

The third through fifth characters express the idea of believing in, placing trust in, confiding in, or having faith in.

The last character makes the sentence negative (without the last character, this would mean “trust everyone,” with that last character, it's “trust no one”).

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

無法信任 is the kind of thing you expect to hear in a spy movie.

“Trust no one, 007!”

The first two characters express the idea of “no way” or “cannot.”

The last two characters mean “trust.”

The characters must go in this order due to Chinese grammar issues and in order to sound natural.

Note: This is not an ancient Chinese phrase by any means. It's just that we received a lot of requests for this phrase.

This is as close as you can get to the phrase “trust no man,” though technically, no gender is specified.

嘗試 is a close match for the English phrase “let us try” or the French word “Essayons.”

Essayons the motto of Combat Engineers in the U.S. Army.

This word can also be translated as “to try” or “to attempt.”

Even if you're not a Combat Engineer, this word should inspire you to attempt to accomplish difficult things. If you don't try, you are certain to fail; if you do try, at least there is a chance of success.

The worst thing is not failure, the worst thing is not trying at all.

醫生 is the title used to refer to medical doctors or physicians in China.

Note: Sometimes, this same term is used in Korean, but not common.

The meaning is close to “healer [of] life” as the first character, 醫, can mean medicine, the healing art, healing, curing, medical, to cure, or to treat. The second character, 生, means birth or life.

In Japan, they use a simplified version of the first character (医生 is also used as the Simplified Chinese version of Doctor). If you want this version, please click the characters to the right instead of the button above.

Peng, Lu, Ji, An, Cai, Lie, Zhou, and Kao are the eight fundamentals or forces of Tai Chi Chuan or Taiqiquan.

棚 (Peng) refers to the outward (or upward) expansion of energy.
履 (Lu) is often referred to as “rollback.” Lu is the ability to absorb, yield/deflect incoming force.
擠 (Ji) is often thought of as a “forward press.” However, it is also best described as a “squeezing out of space.”
按 (An) is a downward movement of energy, best translated as “(relaxed) sinking.”
採 (Cai or Tsai) translated as “downward pluck.” Cai is a combination of Lu and An.
列 (Lie or Lieh) is “Split” and is a combination of Peng and Ji.
肘 (Zhou) Elbowing.
靠 (Kao) Shouldering (for when the arms are bound/distance is too close to punch).

Source: https://combativecorner.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/the-8-energies-and-5-movements-of-taijiquan/

行百里者半九十 is an old Chinese proverb that speaks to the act of giving up. This phrase suggests that no matter how close you are to finishing your task or journey, giving up just before you finish is just as bad as giving up halfway.

50% finished or 90% finished, the result is the same: “You are not finished.”

You can take what you want from this proverb, but I think it suggests that you should finish what you start, and especially finish that last 10% of your journey or project so that you can honestly say “it's finished.”

Some notes: The character, 里, that I am translating as “mile” is an ancient “Chinese mile” which is actually about half a kilometer - it just doesn't sound right to say “When walking 100 half-kilometers...”

In Japanese, the modern definition, using simple terms, 剣術 is “A martial art involving swords” or “The art of the sword.”

However, in Chinese, this is the word for fencing (as in the Olympic sport).

I will suppose that you want this for the Japanese definition, which comes from skills and techniques developed in the 15th century. At that time, Kenjutsu (or swordsmanship) was a strictly military art taught to Samurai and Bushi (soldiers). The fact that swords are rarely used in military battles anymore, and with the pacification of Japan after WWII, Kenjutsu is strictly a ceremonial practice often studied as a form of martial art (more for the discipline aspect rather than practical purpose).

Language note: The Korean definition is close to the Japanese version described above. However, it should be noted that this can mean “fencing” depending on the context in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.

Character variation notes: There are slight variations possible with the second character. Either way is correct and understood by both Japanese and Chinese folks.

Since there are about 5 common ways to write the sword character, if you are particular about which version you want, please note that in the “special instructions” when you place your order.

Romanization note: This term is often Romanized as Kenjitsu; however, following the rules of Japanese Romaji, it should be Kenjutsu.

克己奉公 is a Chinese proverb that is often used to express how one should act as a government official. Most of us wish our public officials would hold themselves to higher standards. I wish I could send this scroll, along with the meaning to every member of Congress, and the President (or if I was from the UK, all the members of Parliament, and the PM)

This can also mean: “Place Strict Standards on Oneself in Public Service.”
The story behind this ancient Chinese idiom:
Cai Zun was born in China a little over 2000 years ago. In 24 AD, he joined an uprising led by Liu Xiu, who later became the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Later, the new emperor put Cai Zun in charge of the military court. Cai Zun exercised his power in strict accordance with military law, regardless of the offender's rank or background. He even ordered the execution of one of the emperor's close servants after the servant committed a serious crime.

Cai Zun led a simple life but put great demands on himself to do all things honorably. The emperor rewarded him for his honest character and honorable nature by promoting him to the rank of General and granting him the title of Marquis.

Whenever Cai Zun would receive an award, he would give credit to his men and share the reward with them.
Cai Zun was always praised by historians who found many examples of his selfless acts that served the public interest.
Sometime long ago in history, people began to refer to Cai Zun as “ke ji feng gong.”

See Also:  Unselfish | Selflessness | Altruism