The name Everything Happens for a Reason in Chinese / Japanese...

物事は全て理由があって起きる means everything happens for a reason.

However, this is a work in progress. We're still trying to decide the best way to express this in Japanese. If you order this, we might have a discussion about the best version that fits you. Here's how the characters break down by meaning (keep in mind, Japanese grammar and sentence construction is very different from English, so it doesn't make complete sense in English)...

物事 = things, everything
は particle
全て all, the whole, entirely
理由 reason
が particle
あっ be, exist, have, take place, happens
て particle
起きる to occur, to happen; to take place (usually unfavorable incidents)

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

萬事皆因果 means “Everything happens for a reason” in Chinese.

The first two characters mean “all things” or “everything.”

The middle character kind of means “in all cases.”

The last two characters create a complex word that can be defined in many ways, such as “karma,” “cause and effect,” “fate,” and “every cause has its effect, as every effect arises from a cause.”

Keep in mind that Chinese grammar is a bit different than English, so trust me that this makes a natural-sounding proverb in Chinese.

世事難料 is a polite Chinese version of “shit happens.” This phrase suggests that things happen (for no reason, and for which we have no control).

The first two characters mean the affairs of life, things of the world, worldly affairs, or ways of the world.

The third character means disaster, distress, problem, difficulty, difficult, hardships, troubles, or defect.

The last character in this context means: to expect, to anticipate, or to guess.

If you put this back together, you have something like, “In life, troubles [should be] expected.”

愛に理由は無い is a Japanese phrase that means “love without reason,” or “love doesn't need a reason.” It's a pretty cool phrase in Japanese

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

愛而無由 is how to write “love without reason” in Mandarin Chinese (using proper grammar, etc).

This is not a commonly used or ancient phrase in Chinese.

家庭至上 is a Chinese phrase that means “family above all else.”

The first two characters mean family, household, or home (they will be read as “family” in this case).

The last two characters mean supreme, paramount, or above all else.

一路順風 is a Chinese and Japanese proverb that means “to have a pleasant journey,” “sailing with the wind at your back,” or as an expression to say, “everything is going well.”

緣 represents the fate that brings and bonds people together.

緣 is a complicated single character. It can mean a lot of different things depending on how you read it.

In Japanese, it can mean fate, destiny, a mysterious force that binds two people together, a relationship between two people, bond, link, connection, family ties, affinity, opportunity, or chance (to meet someone and start a relationship). It can also mean “someone to rely on,” relative, reminder, memento, or the female given name, Yori.

It's the same in Chinese, where it's defined as cause, reason, karma, fate, or predestined affinity.

In the Buddhist context, it's Pratyaya. This is the concept of indirect conditions, as opposed to direct causes. It's when something happens (meeting someone) by circumstance or a contributing environment. Instead of a direct cause or act, it is a conditioning cause without direct input or action by the involved people.

Occasionally, this character is used in a facetious way to say hem, seam, or edge of clothing. In this case, it's the seam that brings or holds the clothing together.

Note: Japanese will tend to use the variant of this Kanji shown to the right. If you want this version (and are ordering this from the Japanese master calligrapher), click on the Kanji at the right instead of the button above.

These two characters mean intelligence or intelligent.

The first character means wisdom, intellect, or knowledge.

The second means ability, talent, skill, capacity, capable, able, and can even mean competent.

Together, 知能 can mean “capacity for wisdom,” “useful knowledge,” or even “mental power.” Obviously, this translates more clearly into English as “intelligence.”

Note: This is not the same word used to mean “military intelligence.” See our other entry for that.

In modern Japan, they tend to use a version of the first character without the bottom radical. If your audience for this artwork is Japanese, please click on the Kanji to the right instead of the button above.

智 is the simplest way to write wisdom in Chinese, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.

Being a single character, the wisdom meaning is open to interpretation, and can also mean intellect, knowledge or reason, resourcefulness, or wit.

智 is also one of the five tenets of Confucius.

智 is sometimes included in the Bushido code but is usually not considered part of the seven key concepts of the code.

See our Wisdom in Chinese, Japanese and Korean page for more wisdom-related calligraphy.

See Also:  Learn From Wisdom | Confucius

家內安全 is the Japanese way of saying “Family First.”

It's a Japanese proverb about the safety and well-being of your family and/or peace and prosperity in the household.

Some Japanese will hang an amulet in their home with these Kanji. The purpose is to keep your family safe from harm.

According to Shinto followers, hanging this in your home is seen as an invocation to God to always keep family members free from harm.

We were looking for a way to say “family first” in Japanese when this proverb came up in the conversation and research. While it doesn't say “family first,” it shows that the safety and well-being of your family is your first or most important priority. So, this proverb is the most natural way to express the idea that you put your family first.

See Also:  Peace and Prosperity

不經一事 means “You can't gain knowledge without practical experience.”

This is the short form (first half) of a longer Chinese proverb. These 4 characters remind you that wisdom only comes from experience.

At its essence, 理 means science.

理 is a very ambiguous and open term; it speaks to the reason that all things exist, and how things work from the microscopic to the cosmic level.

There are many translations for this word, including inner essence; intrinsic order; reason; logic; truth; science; natural science (esp. physics); principle; the underlying principles of the cosmos; the way of things; ruling principle; fundamental law; intrinsicality; universal basis; or essential element(s).

If you are a scientist, or just searching for “the answer to life, the universe, and everything,” this could be the character for you.

常在河邊走哪能不濕鞋 is an old Chinese proverb that is sometimes compared to the English saying “Shit Happens.”

It's a reflection that there are risks in life, and you should not be surprised when things don't go your way.

A secondary translation might be, “When walking by a river, often one cannot avoid wet shoes.”

なんくるないさ or Nankurunaisa means “Everything will be all right” and/or “It will all work out one way or another.”

なんくるないさ is an Okinawan (琉球 / Ryūkyū Islands) word written in Japanese.

You might see this romanized with breaks like nankurunai-sa or nankuru-nai-sa. It's the same word either way. However, there is a separate word, なんくるない, in there which is nankurunai, translated as “Don't worry, be happy.” The “sa” or さ part indicates an assertion or interjection.

Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Hiragana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.