For Dragon in Chinese / Japanese...

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.

李小龍 is the real full name of Bruce Lee.

Many people have no idea that Bruce Lee had a “real” Chinese name. In Mandarin and Cantonese, he is known as “Lǐ XiǎoLóng” and “Léi SíuLùng” respectively.

He kept his family name pronunciation (Li = Lee). 李 is a common family name that also means “plum.”

His given name 小龍 (Xiao-Long), literally means “little dragon.” 李小龍 is why you often see the character for dragon associated with Bruce Lee on various posters etc.

For a pronunciation lesson, the “X” in Romanized Mandarin is pronounced like a “sh” sound but with your tongue at the bottom of your mouth. The vowel sound in “Long” is like the English “oh,” not like the “ah” sound in the English word “long.”

If you are a big Bruce Lee fan, you should know this information, and you should have this wall scroll hanging in your room or martial arts studio.

Note: Japanese use these same Chinese characters / Kanji to write Bruce Lee's real name (with different pronunciation - which is a bit like how the name “Bruce Lee” sounds in English).

See Also:  Kung Fu | Martial Arts

水龍 is Water Dragon in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1892, 1952, 2012, and 2072.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 壬辰.

See Also:  Dragon

木龍 is Wood Dragon in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1904, 1964, 2024, and 2084.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 甲辰.

See Also:  Dragon

火龍 is Fire Dragon in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1916, 1976, 2036, and 2096.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 丙辰.

See Also:  Dragon

土龍 is Earth Dragon in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1868, 1928, 1988, and 2048.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 戊辰.

See Also:  Dragon

金龍 is Golden/Metal Dragon in Chinese.

In the Chinese zodiac and sexagenary (60-year) cycle, this combination occurs in years that include 1880, 1940, 2000, and 2060.

In the sexagenary cycle, this year is represented by 庚辰.

See Also:  Dragon

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.

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.

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.

This is the Japanese martial arts title Black Dragon Ninjitsu or Black Dragon Ninjutsu in Kanji.

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.

Added by special request of a customer. This phase is natural in Chinese, but it is not a common or ancient title.

The first character is dragon.
The second is a possessive modifier (like making “dragon” into “dragon's”).
The third character means home (but in some context can mean “family” - however, here, it would generally be understood as “home”).

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.

黑龍之家 was added by special request of a customer. This phase is natural in Chinese, but it is not a common or ancient title.

The first character is black.
The second is dragon.
The third is a possessive modifier (like making “dragon” into “dragon's”).
The fourth character means home (but in some context can mean “family” - however, here it would generally be understood as “home”).

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.

This 金瑞祥龍之家 or “home golden auspicious dragon” title was added by special request of a customer.

The first character means gold or golden.
The second and third characters hold the meaning of auspiciousness and good luck.
The fourth character is dragon.
The fifth is a possessive modifier (like making “dragon” into “dragon's”).
The last character means home (but in some context can mean “family” - however, here it would generally be understood as “home”).

Note: The word order is different than the English title because of grammar differences between English and Chinese. This phrase sounds very natural in Chinese in this character order. If written in the English word order, it would sound very strange and lose its impact in Chinese.

Note: Korean pronunciation is included above, but this has not been reviewed by a Korean translator.

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.

笑龍功夫 is the title for a Martial Arts studio (custom-made at by request of the owner of the studio).

神龍庇護 is not the most common thing to say in Chinese, but it is grammatically correct and a cool title.

The first character means “supernatural or saintly.” The second is “dragon.” The last two mean protection. You could also translate this as something like “Protected by the Dragon God” or more closely “Holy Dragon.”

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.

神龍 or Shen Long literally means “god dragon” or “divine dragon.”

神龍 is a spiritual dragon from Chinese mythology that controls wind, storms, clouds, and rain. Historically, farmers in China avoid offending this dragon, as it could result in a drought or flooding of their fields.

Shen Long has blue/azure scales and appears on the beautiful robes of some Chinese emperors.

Sometimes romanized as Shen Lung and sometimes written as 神竜 in Japan with the pronunciation of Shinryū or Shenron. It can also be a given name in Japan.

鳳 is the simplest way to write “Phoenix” in Chinese. Because the dragon is usually expressed as a single character, when you see “dragon and phoenix” written in Chinese, you'll often see this single-character version.

Please note, this is also the male element of a phoenix, so it also means “male phoenix bird.” However, some Chinese people may argue that the phoenix has a female characteristic, regardless of which character you use.

界王拳 is the name Kaioken in Japanese. The meaning is World King Fist. This title is associated with Dragon Ball Z.

This can be pronounced in Chinese, but would only be recognized by Chinese fans of Dragon Ball Z.

五形拳 is “Wu Xing Fist” or “Five Form Fist.”

The forms refer to Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Crane, and Leopard.

This term is used in Kung Fu, and is recognized by both Chinese and Japanese practitioners of martial arts.

This is Kaiōken in Japanese.

界 = Community, circles, world, border, or boundary.
王 = King
拳 = Fist

Often translated as World Lord Fist, Fist of the World King, Kamajamaja (Norwegian), and Leptonski Udarac (Slovenian).

Associated with Goku's attack technique in Dragon Ball Z.

In ancient China, 饕餮 was a ferocious mythological animal and the fifth son of the dragon king.

饕餮 can also refer to a zoomorphic mask motif found on Shang and Zhou ritual bronzes.

As an adjective, this can mean gluttonous, sumptuous (banquet), covetousness, greed, avarice, or intense desire.

鳳凰 is the word that translates as “Legendary Phoenix” in Chinese.

This refers to the bird that, according to Chinese folklore, rose from the fiery ashes.

The phoenix and dragon are by far the most famous creatures in Chinese mythology.

悟空 is the short name or given name of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, from the ancient Chinese novel Journey to the West.

This title is also known as the given name of the Monkey King in Japanese. This can also be Goku, short for Son Goku, a fictional character of the Dragon Ball Japanese manga series (also based loosely on the Monkey King).

孫悟空 is the name Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King. He is the main character with supernatural powers in the ancient Chinese novel Journey to the West.

This title is also known as the real name of the Monkey King in Japanese. This can also be the Son Goku, better known as simply Goku, a fictional character of the Dragon Ball Japanese manga series.

鼇 means “legendary turtle” in Chinese. 鼇 is a great mythological turtle that travels the seas. The creature is comparable to the dragon of China, however, it so happens that dragons became a bit more famous as history progressed. In modern Chinese, this character can just refer to a large sea turtle.

Note: 鼇 can be pronounced in Korean but this is a very rare Korean Hanja form - it hasn't been used in Korea for at least a few hundred years (even before they switched to Hangul characters).

海為龍世界雲是鶴家鄉 is a somewhat poetic way to say that everyone and everything has its place in the world.

The first line (which is the column on the right) says, “The Ocean is the World of the Dragon.” The next column says, “The Clouds are the Domain of the Cranes.”

The image to the right is what this calligraphy can look like in xing-kaishu style by a Master Calligrapher.

凰 is another simple way to write “Phoenix” in Chinese. 凰 is the specifically female element of a phoenix, so this is how you write “female phoenix.” 凰 is sometimes used to represent the female empress (many times in history, China was ruled by a woman, in much the same way queens came to power in Europe).

Note that the emperor is always represented as a dragon (not the male version of a phoenix).

If you see yourself as a strong woman, this might be a calligraphy scroll for you to express “woman power” or “powerful woman” in a cool way.

南派螳螂 can be translated literally as “Southern School Praying Mantis” or “Southern Style Praying Mantis.”

Despite its name, the Southern Praying Mantis style of Chinese martial arts is unrelated to the Northern Praying Mantis style. Southern Praying Mantis is instead related most closely to fellow Hakka styles such as Dragon and more distantly to the Fujian family of styles that includes Fujian White Crane, Five Ancestors, and Wing Chun.

This style of martial arts focuses more on fighting skills rather than aesthetics.

Of course, you already knew that if you were looking for this term.

Note: This title can be pronounced and does have meaning in Korean but only to Koreans familiar with Chinese martial arts.

麒麟 is the title of a mythical beast of Asia.

The animal is thought to be related to the giraffe, and in some ways, it is a giraffe. However, it is often depicted with the horns of a dragon or deer and sometimes with the body like a horse, but many variations exist.

In Japanese, it is pronounced “Kirin” as in “Kirin Ichiban” beer.


Notes:

1. This is sometimes spelled as “kylin.”

2. In Japanese, this is the only Kanji word for giraffe. Therefore in Japan, this word needs context to know whether you are talking about the mythical creature or the long-necked giraffe of Africa.

3. Apparently, this was the first word used for regular giraffes in China (some were brought from Africa to China during the Ming Dynasty - probably around the year 1400). Though the mythical creature may have existed before, the name “qilin” was given to the “new giraffe.” This is because, more than 600 years ago, giraffes somewhat matched the mythical creature's description when Chinese people saw them for the first time. Later, to avoid such an ambiguous title, a three-character word was devised to mean a “giraffe of Africa.” The characters for “qilin” shown here are only for the mythological version in modern Chinese.

4. More information about the qilin / kirin from Wikipedia.

5. This creature is sometimes translated as the “Chinese Unicorn,” although it is generally portrayed with two horns. I think this is done more for the fantasy aspect of the unicorn and because most westerners don't know what a qilin or kirin is (this avoids a long explanation by the translator).

6. In Korean, this can mean kirin or simply giraffe (usually, the mythological creature is what they would think of when seeing these characters alone on a wall scroll).

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).