Dragon in Chinese / Japanese...

龍 is the character for dragon in Chinese, old Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.

The dragon is a creature of myth and legend that dominates Chinese, Japanese, and even European folklore. In China, the dragon is the symbol of the Emperor, strength, and power, and the Chinese dragon is known as the god of water.

From the Chinese Zodiac, if you were born in the year of the Dragon, you . . .

Have a strong body and spirit.

Are full of energy.

Have vast goals.

Have a deep level of self-awareness.

Will do whatever you can to “save face.”

See also our Chinese Zodiac or Dragon Calligraphy pages.

龍神 is a Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja title that can mean “dragon god,” “dragon king,” or “dragon spirit.”

In the context of Buddhism, this is one of eight kinds of spiritual beings found in Mahāyāna texts.

龍鳳呈祥 is often seen at weddings and other celebrations in China.

It suggests that the dragon and phoenix will bring you auspicious tidings.

The first character is a dragon.
The second is a phoenix.
The third is presents or brings.
And the last means auspicious, propitious, or luck.

Throughout China, the dragon and phoenix are symbols of good fortune. You will see these auspicious figures as decorative symbols on everything from buildings, furniture, wedding costumes, and sculptures in public parks to caskets and items used in ceremonies.

蟠龍 is sometimes seen as a lower-level of dragon or a dragon that has not-yet-reached its potential.

蟠龍 is often defined as a “lake dragon” that has not ascended to heaven.
Another way to put that is a dragon coiled on the earth, which has not yet ascended to the sky.

蛟龍 is the title for the water dragon is the hornless or scaled dragon. 蛟龍 is the king of all aquatic animals with the ability to control rain and floods.

In Japanese, the rain dragon can represent hidden genius. This dragon's domain is the deep murky water, thus with hidden potential. This can also be the Japanese given name Kouryuu.

青龍 is a scholarly title for “Blue Dragon” or “Azure Dragon.”

You'll find this title used in ancient Chinese literature and astronomy. This dragon has dominion over the eastern sky or eastern heavens. The Azure Dragon is also noted for representing the spring season. Also seen as an auspicious omen.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty canonized the five colored dragons as “kings.” The Azure Dragon represents the most compassionate of kings.

In Japanese, this title is known with the same meaning but can also be a given name, Seiryuu or Seiryu.

Note, the first character can be written as OR . Same character, just two ways to write it.

朱龍 is a sophisticated or scholarly way to say “Red Dragon.” 朱龍 is the title you'd expect in ancient Chinese literature.

The first character means red, cinnabar, or vermillion.

The second character means dragon.

It is said that the Vermillion Dragon represents kings that bestow blessings on lakes or bodies of water. This makes more sense in an ancient Chinese context.

靑龍 is a title that can mean blue or green dragon.

The first character can mean blue, green, azure, or celadon.

The second character means dragon.

This is mostly a Chinese title (especially in Buddhism). It will be understood but less commonly used in Japanese and Korean.

龍戰士 is another version of “Dragon Warrior.”

It's still a bit ambiguous. This one reads more like “Dragon Fighter” than “Dragon Warrior.” Perhaps you can also translate this one as “One who fights like a dragon.”

龍女 is literally “Dragon Lady” or “Dragon Woman.”

龍魂 means “Dragon Spirit” or “Dragon Ghost.”

蒼龍 is one of a couple of possible titles for “blue dragon” (occasionally also translated as “green dragon”).

The first character means “deep blue” or “azure.”

The last character is dragon.

斗龍戰士 or “Dragon Warrior” is specifically one who fights against dragons.

This can also be read as “Dragon Fighter.”

小龍 literally means “little dragon” or “young dragon.”

小龍 is often used as a given name in Chinese.

In fact, Bruce Lee's real given name is “Little Dragon.”

See Also:  Bruce Lee

黃龍 is a sophisticated or scholarly way to say “Yellow Dragon.” 黃龍 is the title you'd expect in ancient Chinese literature.

The first character means yellow.

The second character means dragon.

The Yellow Dragon represents a king that favorably hears all petitions of his subjects.

Note: This title can be the name of Huanglong county in Yan’an, located in Shaanxi province of China.

白龍 is a sophisticated or scholarly way to say “White Dragon.” 白龍 is the title you'd expect in ancient Chinese literature.

The first character means white, pure, or bright.

The second character means dragon.

The White Dragon represents a king who is virtuous and pure.

玄龍 is a sophisticated or scholarly way to say “Black Dragon.”

玄龍 is the title you'd expect in ancient Chinese literature.

The first character means black or mysterious.

The second character means dragon.

This black dragon represents a king dwelling in the depths of the mystic waters.

天竜人 is Celestial Dragon or Tenryūbito in Japanese.

This title is associated with the One Piece Manga/Anime series. This title is also translated in this context as “World Nobles” with the literal meaning “Heavenly Dragon Folk” or “Heaven Dragon Person/People.”

Can also be romanized as Tenryūbito, Tenryūhito, or Tenryūjin.

龍武士 is a generic title for “Dragon Warrior.”

Just as in English, it's a bit ambiguous. It can mean one who fights against dragons or the title of a warrior himself (imagine a warrior with a dragon symbol on his chest).

天龍 can mean Heavenly Dragon (Dragon of Heaven), Sky Dragon, Holy Dragon, Celestial Dragon, or Divine Dragon.

This can be a given name in both China and Japan (天龍 is pronounced Tenryū and sometimes written 天竜 in Japanese).

In an older Buddhist context, this can refer to Brahma, Indra, and the devas, together with the nāgas. It can also refer to celestials and snake spirits.

赤龍 is a generic title for “Red Dragon.”

The first character can mean red, crimson, or scarlet.

The second character is dragon.

墨龍 is a cool way to say “Black Dragon.”

墨龍 is literally “Ink Dragon.” The ink part is black Chinese ink, the deepest, darkest ink available for thousands of years.

黒龍 is a generic title for “Black Dragon.”

The first character is black color.
The second means dragon.

Sometimes written as 黑龍 (just a minor variation in the first character).

ドラゴンボール改 is the name for Doragon Bōru Kai (Dragon Ball Revised), a high-definition remastered and recut of the original Dragon Ball Z, released on the 20th anniversary.

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

金龍 is the Chinese title for Golden Dragon.

The first character means gold, golden, or metal.

The second character is dragon.

This title has the same meaning in Japanese but is used mainly as a given name, Kinryu, or in reference to a certain kind of noodle soup in Japan.

龍拳 is a title that literally means “Dragon Fist.”

鐵龍 is the title Iron Dragon in Chinese.

螣 is the Chinese character and old Korean Hanja that means “flying dragon.”

竜 is an alternate form of the dragon.

Still pronounced the same in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

This particular Kanji is often associated as an imperial symbol as well as representing the mythical Asian dragon. You may have seen it on the chest or flag of the emperor in old Japanese and Chinese movies.

Note: I would rate this as a non-universal alternate form. The other dragon character is by far more common, and universally understood.

We strongly recommend if you are looking for the symbol of dragon.

See Also:  Phoenix | Emperor | King

This is the title of the Nintendo Dragon Quest series/game in Chinese.

地龍 is the Earth Dragon, king of rivers and seas.

地龍 is sometimes used in Chinese as a nickname for earthworms.

龍鶴虎 is Dragon Crane Tiger in Chinese.

This is the title Bushido Dragon in Chinese and Japanese Kanji.

In Japanese, this can also be written as 武士道竜.

火龍 is how to write “Fire Dragon” in Chinese and Japanese Kanji.

This title is used more often in Chinese, a little lesser known in Japanese.

飛龍馬 is the title for a “flying dragon-horse.”

This can refer to a mythical beast or, more realistically, a very fast horse at the track.

飛龍空手道 is the title Flying Dragon Karate-Do.

The meaning of 藏龍臥虎 is that both the tiger and dragon have amazing talents, but if they are out of view, you may not have discovered them.

This old Chinese idiom/proverb is appropriate for someone with an amazing ability that keeps that ability hidden.

You might think this title is in reverse, but actually, this is the original Chinese proverb.
The movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, popularized this alternate version.

龍之魂武術 is the title Spirit Of The Dragon Martial Arts in Chinese.

This can also be translated as “Dragon Soul Martial Arts.”

龍鳳 is the simplest way to express “Dragon and Phoenix” in Chinese and Japanese.

This title can be used to represent, “The emperor and empress,” or a metaphor for an outstanding personage.

It should be noted that this is most often used as a given name, “Ryuuhou” in Japanese. It may be read more as a name than by meaning in Japanese.

龍虎精神 means the spirit of the dragon and tiger.

It speaks to the vitality and vigor that is the nature of these two creatures.

Beyond “spirit,” the last two characters can also mean mind, soul, or heart. Therefore, you can also say this means “Heart of the Dragon and Tiger,” etc.

龍虎精神 is often titled “Ryukoseishin” in many Japanese martial arts.

臥虎藏龍 is the movie title of the Kung Fu epic that was very popular in the west a few years back.

This is a re-ordering of an ancient Chinese proverb that refers to undiscovered talents.

The movie was one of the most popular Chinese foreign films to ever debut in the USA but received a lukewarm reception in China.

Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly used term.

龍之道 is how the way of the dragon is written in Chinese.

龍之道 is not the same as the Chinese movie that was titled in English as “The Way of the Dragon.” 龍之道 is, rather, the literal meaning of the dragon's way. The first character is dragon, the second is a possessive article, and the third character means way or path.

猛龍過江 is the title of the 1972 movie, “The Way of the Dragon.”

This means “Fierce dragons crossing the river.”
If you want a title that means “way of the dragon,” please see the more accurate 龍之道 3-character title.

龍馬精神 is an old proverb that is used to wish someone good health and success combined as a great compliment.

The meaning is “The vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse.” These four characters are often accompanied by four more which mean “...and the power and prestige of the tiger.” Here we are just offering the first part which is considered the short version.

By giving a wall scroll like this to someone, you were either wishing or telling them that they have an amazing quality. There is also a suggestion of good health - at least anyone with the vigor of a dragon horse would seem to also be in good health.

Note: In Japanese, this would be read as the spirit of 坂本龍馬 (Sakamoto_Ryōma), a beloved rebel who help abolish the old Japanese feudal system. This can be confusing, so I am declaring this proverb to be Chinese only.

龍馬精神虎虎生威 is an old proverb that is used to wish someone great health and success combined as a great compliment.

The meaning is “The vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse and the power and prestige of the tiger.”

By giving a wall scroll like this to someone, you were either wishing or telling them that they have these qualities. There is also a suggestion of good health - at least anyone with the vigor of a dragon horse would seem to also be in good health.

龍蛇虎豹鶴 is a list of the Chinese characters for the five animals of Shaolin Kung Fu in a comfortable order (meaning that they are in the proper order and will “feel right” to a Chinese person who views this arrangement).