Encourage in Chinese / Japanese...

quàn

kan

권

勸 is the simplest Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja word for encouragement or the act of encouraging someone.

This can also mean: to advise; to urge; to try to persuade; to exhort; to console; to soothe.

chū lèi bá cuì

出類拔萃 means "one who stands out from his/her peers," "stand out from the crowd," or "standing out from others." It can also mean, "leaving your peers behind."

A great way to tell yourself that you are outstanding (or give it to a friend that you want to encourage to excel).

pò làng

ha rou

This can be translated from Chinese as "braving the waves" or "bravely setting sail." It literally means: "break/cleave/cut [the] waves."

破浪 is a great title to encourage yourself or someone else not to be afraid of problems or troubles.

Because of the context, this is especially good for sailors or yachtsmen and surfers too.

Note: While this can be understood in Japanese, it's not commonly used in Japan. Therefore, please consider this to be primarily a Chinese proverb.

cóng shì

jyuu ji

종사

從事 / 従事 is often used to describe the devotion someone has to their profession - However, it can just mean career, depending on context. We don't highly-recommend this selection for a wall scroll.

In more simple terms, this word also means undertake / to deal with / to handle / to do. It does not have to refer to a career issue, as it could be used to encourage someone that is beginning their university studies etc.

This kind of makes sense in Japanese, however, there is a slight deviation in the way they write the first Kanji in Japanese.

Please note that Japanese use an alternate version of the first character. Click on the character to the right if you want the Japanese version of this two-character Devotion-to-your-Profession calligraphy.

chéng fēng pò làng

승풍파랑

乘風破浪 is a Chinese proverb that represents having great ambitions.

The British might say "to plough through." Another way to understand it is, "surmount all difficulties and forge ahead courageously."

This can also be translated as, "braving the wind and waves," "to brave the wind and the billows," "to ride the wind and crest the waves," or "to be ambitious and unafraid."

Literally it reads: "ride (like a chariot) [the] wind [and] break/cleave/cut [the] waves," or "ride [the] wind [and] slash [through the] waves."

乘風破浪 is a great proverb to encourage yourself or someone else not to be afraid of problems or troubles, and when you have a dream just go for it.

There is an alternate version, 長風破浪, but 乘風破浪 is far more common.