Gray Color in Chinese / Japanese...

灰色 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for the color gray.

This can also mean ash gray, grizzly, pessimistic, gloomy, dispirited, ambiguous (not black and white), and the alternate spelling grey.

灰 is the color Gray Mandarin Chinese.

You can use this to represent your name if your given or surname happens to be Gray. This also means ash or lime (the mineral) depending on context.

顏色 is kind of a weird selection for a wall scroll, but we added it to our database at the request of a customer.

顏色 means “color” in Chinese. However, in Japanese, it would mean complexion, countenance, or expression. The last character is used alone in Japanese (and sometimes in Chinese with/as an adjective/modifier) to mean “color.”

紺 is a slightly-rare Chinese and old Korean title for the color violet or purple.

In Japanese, this refers to a very deep blue color.

紅 is a single character that means red in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

The perceived meaning of this character can be ambiguous. Most will see it as the color red but it can also mean Communist (just like it can in English). In Japanese, it can be a female given name “Rena,” or refer to red silk lining. In Chinese, red is a good luck color, and can refer to a bonus or revolutionary.

粉色 means pink color in Chinese.

In certain contexts or colloquially, this can also refer to something erotic or a beautiful woman. Sometimes an adjective or reference to a woman who is powdered (with make-up).

鮮紅 is a Japanese and Chinese title for scarlet or bright red color.

深紅色 is a Japanese and Chinese title for scarlet or crimson-red color.

黑 is the color black in Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean Hanja.

In some contexts, this can mean “dark” or “evil.”

There is an alternate form of this character which is commonly used in modern Japan (shown to the right). If you want this alternate/Japanese form, just click on the character to the right, instead of the button above.

赤 can represent the color scarlet, red, or crimson.

In some special contexts, it can also mean naked, whole, total, perfect, obvious, or the Japanese surname, Sekizaki.

橙 is the single-character version of orange. This can refer to the color orange, or the fruit (Just like in English). Sometimes it can refer to a whole orange tree. In botany, it can refer to bitter orange (Citrus aurantium).

In Japanese, this is sometimes pronounced as Chen and used as a female given name. When pronounced as Daidai or Kabuchi, it can be a surname in Japanese.

青 is nature's color and can refer to forest green, greenish-blue, or the darkest of greens.

青 and color represent nature, youth, and young people.

In the same way, we refer to green bananas and the rookie being green, the same is true in Chinese and Japanese, where, in a certain context, this can mean immature, unripe, or young.

In Japan, this can also be a female given name “Haru.” It can also be used as a given name (for either sex) in China.

紫 is the single-character Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean title for the color violet/purple.

The difference between violet and purple is not really distinguished in Asian languages. However, sometimes a character for “light” is added to the front of this one, which might be closer to the meaning of violet.

褐 is the most simple way to express brown in Chinese.

It also means brown in Japanese but this character is not often written alone in Japanese (they would tend to write 褐色 (brown color) to refer to brown or the color of tanned skin.

In some contexts, this can refer to gray or a dark color, or coarse hemp cloth.

In the Buddhist context, it can refer to a coarse serge (cheaply sewn clothing) hence poverty.

Note: In Taiwanese Mandarin, this is spoken with the 2nd or rising tone instead of the 4th or falling tone used in the mainland.

紫色 is the two-character Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean title for the color violet/purple.

The second character means “color,” so this literally means “violet color.”

It's more common to add the “color character” in Asian languages than to say “color” after the name of the color in English. Therefore, this is a natural way to express “violet” in Asian languages.

青色 is a Chinese word that is used for the color cyan.

This can also refer to a blue-green color.

In Japanese, this is an alternate way to refer to a blue color.

黃 is the single character for the color yellow in Chinese.

This can be a Chinese surname Huang or a Korean surname Hwang.

In China, yellow is traditionally the color of the emperor. In fact, there was a time when only the emperor could wear yellow clothing or own yellow pet fish.
Note: Goldfish were bred originally in China for the emperor. When the perfect yellow fish was bred, all but the emperor were banned from owning any. Thus a more orange-colored goldfish dominated the market.

Notes: 黃 is not a common selection for a wall scroll. In certain contexts in China, yellow can refer to pornography or vice.

This character is written with a slight variation in Simplified Chinese and modern Japanese. Click on the image to the right if you want this alternate version.

藍 is the single character for the color blue in Chinese.

It can also mean indigo in Japanese Kanji and old Korean Hanja.

灰 is the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean word for ash or ashes.

This can also refer to dust, lime, or gray. When speaking of emotions in Chinese, it can refer to being discouraged or dejected.

In Japanese, this can be the surname, Hai.

スカーレット is the name Scarlet in Japanese.

If this is your name, please consider a title that means the color scarlet, rather than this, which sounds like Scarlet.

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

朱 means vermilion or cinnabar - a reddish or slightly orange-red color.

朱 is also a surname Zhu in Mandarin and Gee in Cantonese. However, choose carefully, as this is not the only Zhu/Gee surname.

ブラウン is the name Brown in Japanese.

Please note: This sounds like the English word brown using Japanese pronunciation. It does not mean the color brown at all in Japanese.

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

烏 can mean raven or crow but is also used as an alternate way to write the color black.

Therefore, this is a symbol of the black raven (with emphasis on black). This can also mean rook or dark.

Notes: This can be the Japanese surname Karasu, or Chinese surname Wu.

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).

This refers to the red autumnal leaves or autumn colors.

You can also say fall colors, leaves changing color, or leaves turning red.

The characters themselves mean red leaves. The rest of the meaning is implied and understood to include autumn and the fact that they are changing.

平家星 is the old Japanese title for the Betelgeuse star in the constellation Orion.

While also known as Alpha Orionis or Betelgeuse in the West, this was the “Heike star” in Japan.

The powerful Taira clan, known colloquially as the 平家 (Heike clan), adopted this star's red color as its symbol sometime in the late 800s AD. They called the star 平家星 (Heike-boshi).

五行太極拳 is a certain school or style of Tai Chi (Taiji).

The characters literally mean “Five Elements Tai Chi Fist.”

Notes:
In Taiwan, it would be Romanized as “Wu Hsing Tai Chi Chuan” - see the standard Mandarin method above in the gray box (used in mainland China and the official Romanization used by the Library of Congress).

The last three characters are sometimes translated as “Grand Ultimate Fist,” so the whole thing can be “Five Elements Grand Ultimate Fist” if you wish.

I have not confirmed the use of this title in Korean but if it is used, it's probably only by martial arts enthusiasts. The pronunciation is correct, as shown above for Korean.

鐵掌 means “iron palm,” the martial arts technique taught by Brian Gray and others.

This term can mean different things to different people. The consensus is that rather than a type or style of martial arts, this is a technique for refining hand position and strengthening hands to strike blows with maximum force and effect.

The regime may include herbal treatments and special exercises to fortify the hands.

In more extreme versions, the carpals and metacarpal bones in the hand are systematically broken so that when they heal, they will become stronger.

Japanese note: This does make sense in Japanese (though the version shown above is the ancient form of the first Kanji), this is far from a commonly-known term.

If you like or collect and maintain koi fish, 錦鯉 is the wall scroll for you.

Technically, this is a certain and revered species of “koi fish” in Japan, but it is the most normal selection for a wall scroll (more normal than the actual Kanji for “koi” or “fish” alone.

This literally means “brocade carp” or “embroidered carp.” This term is also used to mean the same thing in China (which is the origin of koi fish breeding and cultivation, several generations before they became popular in Japan).

For those of you that don't know, the Kanji for “koi” (which is pronounced “goi” in this entry) really means “carp.” If you want the word that means “koi fish,” it would just be the generic word for “carp fish.” That would include both colorful carp and the more mundane gray carp (the ones people eat if they don't mind lots of bones).

基督 is how to write “Christ” in Chinese characters, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji.

This is the word used in the Chinese Union Bible (the only readily-available translation of the Bible into Chinese that I know of - published about 100 years ago). For Chinese Christians, this is the most common way to refer to Jesus Christ.

This is also the way that “Christ” is written in Japanese. But since the Japanese language is very flexible about the sounds that can be assigned to various Kanji, these characters have been assigned a pronunciation that sounds a lot like “Christ” or actually closer to the original “Christos.” In Japanese (if you don't know how the Romaji shown above in the gray box works), it sounds like “key ree sue toe” using English words/sounds. Say those four words fast, and you'll get it.
It should be noted that only Japanese Christians will be familiar with this word.

This is best defined, read, and understood with the characters together, but if you take this word for Christ apart, the first character means “fundamentals” or “foundation.” The second character can mean “leader” or “boss.”

Start customizing a “Double Happiness Guest Book Wall Scroll” Here!

The paper panel length can be whatever you choose from 68cm to 135cm (27” to 53”).

If you don't mention what paper length you want in the special instructions tab (on the next page), we'll make it about 100cm (40”).

The medium-size scroll with a 33cm x 100cm (13” x 40”) paper panel can usually handle up to 89 signatures. That breaks down to 37 signatures per empty square and 15 signatures around the 囍 character. If you switch to a 135cm paper panel, add another 37 potential signatures.

We can splice two 135cm papers together, but that would be a crazy-long scroll. These are only estimates, your mileage may vary.

With silk panels, this will yield a wall scroll about 155cm (61”) long. That's enough for up to 89 signatures. Of course, that depends on if your guests just sign a brief salutation and name, or more verbose good wishes. Customer feedback is that 126 people can sign the 135cm long paper on a medium-sized scroll. If we go bigger than that, there will be a minor paper seam and an extra charge. Email me with your specifications if you need something special.

Most customers pick the festive red paper with gold flecks and white or ivory silk. Red is a good luck color in Chinese culture, thus the most popular choice. But, you can do any color combination that you want.

There is a long history of Chinese-character-use outside of mainland China. This Double Happiness character is also seen at weddings in Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, as well as in Chinese communities in Thailand, Indonesia, and elsewhere. While Japan borrowed Chinese characters into their language, you won't see 囍 as often at Japanese weddings.

鷄 or 雞 is the character for rooster or chicken in Chinese, old Korean, and Japanese.

If you were born in the year of the rooster (chicken), you . . .

Have a unique sense of color.
Are highly principled and responsible.
Have persuasive power.
Are honest.
Have a great ability to communicate.

Please note: There are a few different ways to write rooster/chicken, as shown to the right. If you are particular about the form, please let us know when you place your order.

See also our Chinese Zodiac page.

囍 is a common gift for Chinese couples getting married or newly married couples.

As we say in the west, “Two heads are better than one” Well, in the east, two “happinesses” are certainly better than one.

Some will suggest this is a symbol of two happinesses coming together. Others see it as a multiplication of happiness because of the union or marriage.

囍 is not really a character that is pronounced very often - it's almost exclusively used in written form. However, if pressed, most Chinese people will pronounce this “shuang xi” (double happy) although literally there are two “xi” characters combined in this calligraphy (but nobody will say “xi xi”).

If you select this character, I strongly suggest the festive bright red paper for your calligraphy. Part of my suggestion comes from the fact that red is a good luck color in China, and this will add to the sentiment that you wish to convey with this scroll to the happy couple.