Feet on the Ground in Chinese / Japanese...

jiǎo tà shí dì

This four-character proverb suggests that you should be practical, realistic, and grounded. Some translate this as a suggestion to be down-to-earth.

The first character means "feet."
The second means "step on" or "stand."
The third means "solid," "real," or "true."
The last character means "ground," "earth," or "terra."

Literally this means, "[keep your] Feet Standing [on] Solid Ground."

qiān xū

ken kyo

겸허

In Chinese and Korean, the first character means "modest." The second means "empty." Together these characters reinforce the ideas of modesty and being empty of ego.

This can also be translated as humbleness or humility.

In Japan, they tend to use a slightly-simplified version of the second Kanji for this word. It also happens to be an alternate/simplified version used in China too. If you want to order the modern Japanese/simplified version, just click in the Kanji image shown to the right, instead of the button above.

See Also:  Moderation

qiān xū

ken kyo

겸허

In Japanese, first Kanji means "self-effacing," "humble oneself," "condescend," "be modest." The second means "void" or "emptiness."

謙虚 is the most common way to say humble or modest in Japanese without a derogatory meaning (some other words suggest weakness but this version holds a better humble meaning).

See Also:  Moderation

qiān xùn

ken son

겸손

謙遜 can also be translated as being modest, humble, or unpretentious.

Being humble is considering others to be as important as yourself. You are thoughtful of their needs and willing to be of service. You don't expect others or yourself to be perfect. You learn from your mistakes. When you do great things, humility reminds you to be thankful instead of boastful.

This Humility title is also used as one of the 8 key concepts of Tang Soo Do. Often romanized as "Kyum Son."

Also sometimes used in Japanese to express humility with an essence of modesty.

See Also:  Modesty | Humility

lián chǐ

ren chi

염치

This simultaneously means "sense of honor" and "sense of shame" in Korean.

This term is often used as a tenet of Taekwondo where the English terms "integrity" and/or "modesty" are applied.

廉恥 is also a Chinese word, though it is usually read with the "sense of shame" meaning, and is a poor choice for a wall scroll if your audience is Chinese.

qiān xùn

kenson

겸손

Depending on context, this can be translated as modesty, humbleness or humility.

The first character means "modesty" while the second means "yielding." Together it could be stated as "yielding modesty."

See Also:  Chastity | Prudence | Moderation

zhì sù

shisso

질소

In Japanese this word means "simplicity," "modesty" and/or "frugality."

While these Japanese Kanji are also currently-used Chinese characters, they do not create single word or idea in Chinese. Therefore, only select this if your audience is Japanese.

See Also:  Modesty | Prudence