Intelligent in Chinese / Japanese...

huì

e / kei

혜

This single character can be translated as wisdom but it has more of an "intelligent" flavor. This can also mean cleverness or wit.

Japanese note: 慧 is understood in Japanese but seldom seen as a lone Kanji.

See Also:  Knowledge | Learning | Read

nèi xiù

內秀 is an interesting word in Chinese that simultaneously means inner beauty and inner wisdom.

Some will translate it as "intelligent, but unassuming."
It's about having amazing abilities or traits on the inside which are not immediately obvious on the outside.

zhì néng

chinou

지능

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, the compound word can mean "capacity for wisdom," "useful knowledge," or even "mental power." Obviously this translates more clearly into English as "intelligence."

Note: 智能 / 知能 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.

shèng

sei

성

聖 is the simple, single-character religious form of "saint" in Chinese (also holds same meaning in Japanese and Korean, though rarely used alone like this).

This can also mean: holy, sage, master, or priest.
Note: 聖 is often used in compound words (words of more than one character) to create further meanings. In compounds, it can mean holy, sacred or divine.

聖 is also used as the first word for Spanish and English place names such as "San Diego" and "St. Louis" in Chinese (not Japanese).

In Buddhist context, this can represent ārya or sādhu. And mean a sage; wise and good; upright, or correct in all his character; sacred, holy, or saintly.

zhì

chi / tomo

지

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 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

xián

ken

현

賢 is used to refer to being a wise, trustworthy and virtuous person. But it also contains the ideas of intelligence, genius, scholarship, virtue, sage, saint, good, excellent in character.

賢 is used in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. Also used in a Buddhist context with same meaning.

Note: Can also be male given name, Masaru, in Japanese.

zhé

tetsu

철

哲 is a Japanese name that is often romanized as Tetsu.

The meaning of the character can be: philosophy; wise; sage; wise man; philosopher; disciple; sagacity; wisdom; intelligence.

哲 can also be romanized as: Yutaka; Masaru; Hiroshi; Tooru; Tetsuji; Choru; Satoru; Satoshi; Akira; Aki.

xīn dēng

shin tou

心燈 is the Buddhist concept of "The Lamp of the Mind" or "Inner Light."

It's kind of the Buddhist way to express intelligence.

Directly translated, this means, "heart light" or "heart lamp."
Note: In ancient China, the ideas of heart and mind are interchangeable.

qíng bào

jouhou

정보

If you are a government spy, engaged in business espionage, or in some military intelligence department, this is both the title of what you are doing and what you are collecting about your enemy.

It is suggestive by itself of military intelligence but applies to corporate intelligence if you are keeping an eye on your competition in business.

xián dì

ken tei

賢弟 is an honorific title for a little brother.

This can be translated as: worthy little brother; wise younger brother. This can also be a polite reference to another's younger brother, or to your junior or subordinate.

wù xìng

gosei

오성

悟性 means the power of understanding and insight in Chinese.

It is often associated with Neo-Confucianism. In that regard, it means to realize, perceive, or have the perception of man's true nature. It can also mean to find your soul, the soul of others, or the soul of the world. Some will translate this simply as the state of being "savvy."

In Japanese, this is often translated as wisdom and understanding.

cái zhì

sai chi

In Chinese, this means "ability and wisdom" or "ability and intelligence."
It can also be defined as brilliance, or genius.

In Japanese, it takes on a meaning more of "wit and intelligence."

Note that the ancient/traditional form is shown above. After WWII, in both Japan and China, the first character was simplified. If you want this reformed/simplified version, just click on the characters to the right, instead of the button above. This is a good choice if your audience is Japanese.

xián míng

ken mei

현명

This Japanese word refers to wisdom, intelligence, and prudence.

It was originally a Chinese word which refers to a wise person or enlightened ruler. It means wise and able, sagacious now in China.

chie

This Japanese word means wisdom; wit; sagacity; sense; intelligence.

In Buddhist context, this is prajna (insight leading to enlightenment).

This can also be the Japanese female given name Norie.

zhì huì

chie

지혜

The first character means, "wise" or "smart" and the second character means "intelligence."

I have also seen these two characters translated together as knowledge, sagacity, sense, and intelligence.

Note: 智慧 is used commonly in Chinese and is a less-common word in Japanese and Korean. If your audience is Japanese, I suggest our other Japanese wisdom option.

This means intellect or wisdom in Japanese too but is a more unusual way to write this word (though both versions are pronounced the same in Japanese).

See Also:  Learn From Wisdom

zhī huì

chie

지혜

The first Kanji represents "to know" or "to realize." Combined, these two Kanji mean "learn, know, and understand completely." Another way to translate this is "to know all things in their entirety."

Note: While vaguely understood in Chinese, this is only a real word in Japanese.

Ancient Japanese/Korean version: This is also a word in old Korean Hanja, with a slight difference in the last character - if you want that version (which is also the ancient Japanese version) please click on the character to the right, instead of the button above.

jiàn xián sī qí

견현사제

When you meet a wise person, you should learn from them and be inspired to become as wise as they are.

見賢思齊 is a pretty long proverb in English but in Chinese it's only four characters.
However, in Chinese the deeper meaning often surpass the dictionary definition of each character.

In this case, you should seek wise people to learn from throughout your life...
Always try to learn enough to become equal to them. It also suggests that the process of learning and seeking wisdom is a non-ending cycle.

See Also:  Knowledge

jūn shì qíng bào

gunji-jouhou

군사정보

軍事情報 is the full way to say "Military Intelligence."

The first two characters mean "military affairs."

The second two characters mean "intelligence" or "information-gathering."

If you work in the G2 section of your military unit, this is the wall scroll for you.

See Also:  Military

bù jīng yī shì

불경일사

不經一事 means, "You can't gain knowledge without practical experience."

不經一事 is the short form (first half) of a longer Chinese proverb. These 4 characters remind you that wisdom only comes from experience.

kun shi hyou hen su

This Japanese proverb suggests that a wise man is willing to change his mind but a fool will stubbornly never change his.

The first word is 君子 (kunshi) man of virtue, person of high rank, wise man.

The second word is 豹変 (hyouhen) sudden change, complete change.

The last part す (su) just modifies the verb to a more humble form.

The "fool" part is merely implied or understood. So if wise and noble people are willing to change their minds, it automatically says that foolish people are the ones unwilling to change.

chī yí qiàn, zhǎng yí zhì

흘일참장일지

This Chinese proverb means, "Fall into a moat and you will gain wisdom from the experience."

It really suggests that the failures, troubles, frustrations, and setbacks that you encounter in your life are actually helping you to find wisdom. Some would also translate this proverb as, "Learn from your mistakes" or "Learn from your experience."

If you are studying Chinese, you will recognize the first character as "eat" but in this case, it means to "experience" (as used in this proverb, it is suggesting that you have fallen into a moat and/or had a hard time crossing it).
Literally translated character by character, this whole proverb is, "Experience one moat, gain one wisdom/knowledge."

Note: This can be pronounced in Korean but it's not a commonly used phrase.

jīng yàn shì zhì huì zhī mǔ

It's been said that wisdom comes from good judgment, and good judgment comes from experience, while experience comes from a series of times when you used bad judgment.

This Chinese proverb makes the simplest connection between experience and wisdom.

See Also:  Failure is the Mother of Success | Wisdom | Learn From Wisdom

bù jīng yī shì bù zhǎng yī zhì

불경일사불장일지

You can translate this Chinese proverb a couple of ways.
The first is: You cannot gain knowledge without practice.
The second, and perhaps more popular way is: Wisdom comes from experience.

It literally means if you are inattentive to your affairs or situations you encounter, you will not gain or grow any wisdom or intellect.

ái yī quán dé yī zhāo ái shí quán biàn zhū gě

This Chinese proverb literally translates as: Receive on blow, [and one] learns a lesson; Receive ten blows, [and one] becomes a great Zhuge [Liang].

You must first understand that a man named Zhuge Liang was one of the great strategists and philosophers in Chinese history. He's known as a man of great wisdom.

Figuratively, this phrase means:
One can learn much from failure or "hard knocks."