Fear Not in Chinese / Japanese...

wú suǒ wèi jù

무소외구

This literally means "fear nothing" but it's the closest thing in Chinese to the phrase "fear no man" which many of you have requested.

This would also be the way to say "fear nobody" and can also be translated simply as "undaunted."

bú pà lù yuǎn zhǐ pà zhì duǎn

This Chinese proverb literally translates as, "Fear not a long roads; fear only short ambition," or "Don't fear that the road is long, only fear that your will/ambition/aspiration is short."

Figuratively, this means: However difficult the goal is, one can achieve it as long as one is determined to do so.

Others may translate the meaning as, "Don't let a lack of willpower stop you from pressing onwards in your journey."

oso re zu

恐れず is probably the best way to express "No Fear" in Japanese.

The first Kanji and following Hiragana character create a word that means: to fear, to be afraid of, frightened, or terrified.

The last Hiragana character serves to modify and negate the first word (put it in negative form). Basically, they carry a meaning like "without" or "keeping away." 恐れず is almost like the English modifier "-less."

Altogether, you get something like, "Without Fear" or "Fearless."

Here's an example of using this in a sentence: 彼女かのじょは思い切ったことを恐れずにやる。
Translation: She is not scared of taking big risks.

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

See Also:  Bravery | Courage

bú pà màn jiù pà zhàn

This Chinese proverb literally translates as: Don't worry about being slow; only worry about standing still.

Figuratively, this means: A slow progress holds some promise but to stand still promises failure.

bú pà rén qióng zhǐ pà zhì duǎn

This Chinese proverb literally translates as: It is not poverty that is to be feared; It is low ambition.

Figuratively, this means: It is not poverty but lack of lofty aspiration that is to be regretted.

yǒng zhě wú wèi

용자무외

勇者無畏 is a complete sentence that means literally "Brave People Have No Fear" or "A Brave Person Has No Fear" (plural or singular is not implied).

We translated "No Fear" into the two variations that you will find on our website. Then we checked Chinese Google and found that others had translated "No Fear" in the exact same ways. Pick the one you like best. A great gift for your fearless friend.

See Also:  Fear No Man

wú wèi

mui

무외

This literally means "No Fear." But perhaps not the most natural Chinese phrase (see our other "No Fear" phrase for a more complete thought). However, this two-character version of "No Fear" seems to be a very popular way to translate this into Chinese, when we checked Chinese Google.

Note: This also means "No Fear" in Japanese and Korean but this character pair is not often used in Japan or Korea.

This term appears in various Chinese dictionaries with definitions like "without fear," intrepidity, fearless, dauntless, and bold.

In Buddhist context, this is a word derived from abhaya meaning: Fearless, dauntless, secure, nothing and nobody to fear. Also from vīra meaning: courageous, bold.

See Also:  Never Give Up | No Worries | Undaunted | Bravery | Courage | Fear No Man

yǒng zhě bú jù

yuu sha fu ku

勇者不懼 is a phrase credited to Confucius. It's one of three phrases in a set of things he said. This one means, "Brave people [are] without fear," or "The brave are without fear."

This phrase is originally Chinese but has penetrated Japanese culture as well (many Confucian phrases have) back when Japan borrowed Chinese characters into their language.

This phrase has also been converted into modern Japanese grammar when written as 勇者は懼れず. If you want this version just click on those characters.

See Also:  No Fear

jìng wèi shàng dì

敬畏上帝 is probably the best way to translate the Christian English phrase, "Fear God," into Chinese.

The first two characters mean to revere, be in awe of, or a general term of reverence. It can mean fear, but only in the context of respect or fear of authority.

bú pà xié è

This literally means, "no fear evil." Chinese grammar and word order is a little different than English. 不怕邪惡 is the best way to write something that means "fear no evil" in Chinese.

The first character means "not," "don't" or "no."
The second means "fear."
The last two mean "evil" but can also be translated as sinister, vicious, wickedness, or just "bad."

aku o osore nai

This is "Fear No Evil" in Japanese.

Japanese grammar and phrase construction is different than English, so this literally reads, "Evil Fear Not."

The "evil" Kanji can also be translated as "wickedness."

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

yǒu bèi wú huàn

유비무환

This really means, "When you are well-prepared, you have nothing to fear." Noting that the third character means "no" or "without" and modifies the last... The last character can mean misfortune, troubles, worries, or fears. It could even be stretched to mean sickness. Therefore you can translate this proverb a few ways. I've also seen it translated as "Preparedness forestalls calamities."

有備無患 is comparable to the English idiom, "Better safe than sorry" but does not directly/literally mean this.

bù pà fēng làng dà jiù pà jiǎng bù qí

This Chinese proverb literally translates as: Do not fear strong winds [and] high waves; what [one should] worry about whether or not you're rowing in unison.

Figuratively, this means: However difficult the task, the key to success lies in making collective efforts.

I like to translate this as, "Don't sweat the details, just get together and get it done."

bǎ tuò de bù huāng chéng chuán de wěn dang

This Chinese proverb literally translates as: [If the] helmsman is not nervous, the passengers [will feel] secure.

Figuratively, this means: If the leader appears confident, his/her followers will gain confidence also.

把舵的不慌乘船的穩當 is a great suggestion that a confident leader inspires confidence in his/her troops or followers. Of course, a nervous leader will create fear in troops or followers.

dai tan fu teki

大膽不敵 is a Japanese word that can mean a few things depending on how you read it. Popular translations include fearless; audacity (the attitude of a) daredevil, daring.

The first two Kanji create a word that means: bold; fearless; daring; audacious.

The last two Kanji create a word that means: no match for; cannot beat; daring; fearless; intrepid; bold; tough.

As with many Japanese words, the two similar-meaning words work together to multiple the meaning and intensity of the whole 4-Kanji word.

xìn xīn

shin jin

신심

信心 is a Chinese, Japanese, and Korean word that means confidence, faith, or belief in somebody or something.

The first character means faith, and the second can mean heart or soul. Therefore, you could say this means "faithful heart" or "faithful soul."

In Korean especially, this word has a religious connotation.

In old Japanese Buddhist context, this was a word for citta-prasāda (clear or pure heart-mind).
In modern Japan (when read by non-Buddhists), this word is usually understood as, "faith," "belief" or "devotion."

See Also:  Self-Confidence

yǒng gǎn

yuu kan

용감

勇敢 is about courage is bravery in the face of fear. You do the right thing even when it is hard or scary. When you are courageous, you don't give up. You try new things. You admit mistakes. This kind of courage is the willingness to take action in the face of danger and peril.

勇敢 can also be translated as: braveness, valor, heroic, fearless, boldness, prowess, gallantry, audacity, daring, dauntless and/or courage in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. This version of bravery/courage can be an adjective or a noun. The first character means bravery and courage by itself. The second character means "daring" by itself. The second character just emphasizes the meaning of the first but adds an idea that you are not afraid of taking a dare, and you are not afraid of danger.

勇敢 is about brave behavior versus the mental state of being brave. You'd more likely use this to say, "He fought courageously in the battle," rather than "He is very courageous."

bèi yǔ lín guò de rén bù pà lù shuǐ

被雨淋過的人不怕露水 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as, "One who has been drenched by the rain is not afraid of dew drops."

Figuratively, this means:
One who has gone through hardships is not afraid of (minor)setbacks.

bǎi zhé bù náo

hyaku setsu su tou

백절불요

This Chinese proverb means "Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks." More directly-translated, it reads, "[Overcome] a hundred setbacks, without flinching." 百折不撓 is of Chinese origin but is commonly used in Japanese, and somewhat in Korean (same characters, different pronunciation).

This proverb comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan and he never stooped to flattery but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.

Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.

Near the end of his career a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest he resigned his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.

His tombstone reads "Bai Zhe Bu Nao" which is now a proverb used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strength will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.

My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as, "keep on fighting in spite of all setbacks," "be undaunted by repeated setbacks" and "be indomitable."

Our translator says it can mean, "never give up" in modern Chinese.

Although the first two characters are translated correctly as "repeated setbacks," the literal meaning is "100 setbacks" or "a rope that breaks 100 times." The last two characters can mean "do not yield" or "do not give up."
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people will not take this absolutely literal meaning but will instead understand it as the title suggests above. If you want a single big word definition, it would be indefatigability, indomitableness, persistence, or unyielding.

See Also:  Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance | Persistence

dǎ pà de rén shì jiǎ de jìng pà de rén shì zhēn de

This is a proverb that seems to be aimed at world leaders or others in power. Perhaps a suggestion to avoid the practice of "fear mongering" opting instead for a policy of benevolence and justice.

An example: When the Bush administration told Pakistan they could either join America in the "war on terror," or expect some bombs to be coming their way, Bush gained this kind of "less-than-genuine respect" from Pakistanis.
Leaders in places like North Korea and even Saudi Arabia reap the same bogus respect from their own citizens.

Note that calligraphers do not like to repeat the same characters in exactly the same way in the same piece of artwork. So expect the characters that are repeated to be written in different forms in the real artwork (unlike the way they are displayed to the left).

yǒng bù fàng qì

영불방기

The first character means "eternal" or "forever," the second means "not" (together they mean "never"). The last two characters mean "give up" or "abandon." Altogether, you can translate this proverb as "never give up" or "never abandon."

Depending on how you want to read this, it is also a statement that you will never abandon your hopes, dreams, family or friends.

See Also:  Undaunted | No Fear | Hope

hé dōng shī hǒu

河東獅吼 is actually a proverb and joke about the plight and fear of a hen-pecked husband.

In more ancient times it was used to describe a wife who would berate her husband or go into jealous rages. However, this phrase currently brings about ideas of a husband that cowers in fear and cringes when his wife screams (or roars) at him.

Please only purchase this as a good-natured joke. If your wife or husband does not have a good sense of humor, it's probably not a good idea to hang this on your wall just to irritate your mate.

anata ga doko e iku ni mo anata no kami omo ga tomoni ora reru yue osorete wa naranai ononoite wa naranai

This is a Japanese translation of a large portion of Joshua 1:9.

The Japanese passage includes, "The Lord God is with you wherever you are; Therefore do not fear or be discouraged."

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

qing lián

seiren

靑蓮 is a common title for Blue Lotus.

靑蓮 is often used in a Buddhist context for blue lotus from the Sanskrit "utpala." This often refers to the clarity and purity of the lotus blue eyes possessed by a Living Buddha. It can also represent purity of mind (without desire, suffering, fear etc).

teki o shi ri o no o shi re ba hya ku sen aya u ka ra zu

This is the longer/full Japanese version of this proverb. This means, "Know your enemy, know yourself, and you will not fear a hundred battles."

Others will translate this as, "Know thy enemy, know thyself, yields victory in one hundred battles."

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

bú pà qiān zhāo huì zhǐ pà yī zhāo shú

This Chinese proverb literally translates as: Do not worry about making a thousand clever moves; what [one has to] fear is one bad move.

Figuratively, this means: Even if you have made many clever moves before, one wrong move will ruin the whole game.

I compare this to the English saying, "It takes only one Aw-shit to wipe out a thousand Attaboys."

wēi

ki

위

危 means danger, peril or "to endanger." If you live a dangerous life, or want to subtly warn others that you are a dangerous person, this may be the selection for you.

This also means "danger" and sometimes "fear" in Japanese and Korean but is seldom seen outside of compound words in those languages (as a single character, it's kind of like an abbreviation for danger in Japanese and Korean). 危 is also a rather odd selection for a wall scroll anyway. It's only here because people search for danger on our website.

wú xīn

mu shin

무심

In Japanese, this word means innocent, or one with no knowledge of good and evil. It literally means "without mind."

無心 is one of the five spirits of the warrior (budo), and is often used as a Japanese martial arts tenet. Under that context, places such as the Budo Dojo define it this way: "No mind, a mind without ego. A mind like a mirror which reflects and dos not judge." The original term was "mushin no shin," meaning, "mind of no mind." It is a state of mind without fear, anger, or anxiety. Mushin is often described by the phrase, "mizu no kokoro," which means, "mind like water." The phrase is a metaphor describing the pond that clearly reflects it's surroundings when calm but whose images are obscured once a pebble is dropped into its waters.

This has a good meaning in conjunction with Chan / Zen Buddhism in Japan. However, out of that context, it means mindlessness or absent-minded. To non-Buddhists in China, this is associated with doing something without thinking.
In Korean, this usually means indifference.

Use caution and know your audience before ordering this selection.

More info: Wikipedia: Mushin

qì gōng

kikou

기공

Qigong is the title of a technique that is somewhere between a medical practice, meditation, and in some cases a religion. The definition is blurred depending on which school of Qigong you are following. In some cases, it is even incorporated with martial arts.

Some people (even Chinese people) mix this title with Tai Chi (Tai Qi) exercises.

Lately in China, people will claim to practice Tai Chi rather than Qigong because the Qigong title was recently used as a cover for an illegal pseudo-religious movement in China with the initials F.G. or F.D. (I can not write those names here for fear of our website being banned in China).

You can learn those names and more here: Further info about Qigong

If you are wondering about why I wrote "Qi Gong" and "Chi Kung" as the title of this calligraphy entry, I should teach you a little about the various ways in which Chinese can be Romanized. One form writes this as "Chi Kung" or "Chikung" (Taiwan). In the mainland and elsewhere, it is Romanized as "Qi Gong" or "Qigong." The actual pronunciation is the same in Taiwan, mainland, and Singapore Mandarin. Neither Romanization is exactly like English. If you want to know how to say this with English rules, it would be something like "Chee Gong" (but the "gong" has a vowel sound like the "O" in "go").

Romanization is a really confusing topic and has caused many Chinese words to be mispronounced in the west. One example is "Kung Pao Chicken" which should actually be more like "Gong Bao" with the "O" sounding like "oh" for both characters. Neither system of Romanization in Taiwan or the Mainland is perfect in my opinion and lead to many misunderstandings.

wù shí bù xiào bǎi bù

During the Warring States Period of what is now China (475 - 221 B.C.), the King of Wei was in love with war. He often fought with other kingdoms just for spite or fun.

One day, the King of Wei asked the philosopher Mencius, "I love my people, and all say I do the best for them. I move the people from famine-stricken areas to places of plenty, and transport grains from rich areas to the poor. Nobody goes hungry in my kingdom, and I treat my people far better than other kings. But why does the population of my kingdom not increase, and why does the population of other kingdoms not decrease?"

Mencius answered, "Since you love war, I will make this example: When going to war, and the drums beat to start the attack, some soldiers flee for their lives in fear. Some run 100 paces in retreat, and others run 50 steps. Then the ones who retreated 50 paces laugh and taunt those who retreated 100 paces, calling them cowards mortally afraid of death. Do you think this is reasonable?

The King of Wei answered, "Of course not! Those who run 50 paces are just as timid as those who run 100 paces."

Mencius then said, "You are a king who treats his subjects better than other kings treat their people but you are so fond of war, that your people suffer from great losses in battle. Therefore, your population does not grow. While other kings allow their people to starve to death, you send your people to die in war. Is there really any difference?"

This famous conversation led to the six-character proverb shown here. It serves as a warning to avoid hypocrisy. It goes hand-in-hand with the western phrase, "The pot calls the kettle black," or the Biblical phrase, "Before trying to remove a splinter from your neighbor's eye, first remove the plank from your own eye."

sona e a re ba ure i na shi

This proverb means, "When you are well-prepared, you have nothing regret" in Japanese.

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