Less in Chinese / Japanese...

There is more than one way to translate the ancient Chinese military proverb, 平时多流汗战时少流血. Here are a few interpretations:

A drop of sweat spent in a drill is a drop of blood saved in war.

More practice will give one a better chance of success in real situations.

The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.

I heard this many times when I was a U.S. Marine but I had no idea at the time that it was actually an old Chinese proverb.

See Also:  Blood Sweat and Tears

Perhaps a pacifist view or perhaps the best kind of victory; 兵不血刃 reflect this idea:
The edges of the swords not being stained with blood.

You could also translate it as: Win victory without firing a shot.

The first character means army or force. The second character means without or none. The last two characters mean bloodstained knives. So it represents a returning victorious army without bloodstained knives. 兵不血刃 is the very literal sense of this Chinese proverb. The title definition is more accurate to the way this proverb is understood.

Asking yourself why the direct or literal translation is different?
...Think of compound words in English such as “nevertheless” if we break it apart to “never the less,” we will have trouble getting the real definition of “in spite of that.” Similar things happen when multiple characters create a compounded word in Chinese.

道場で泣き戦場で笑う is a Japanese phrase that means “Cry in the dojo, laugh on the battlefield.”

You'll see this phrase in a lot of dojos as a kind of philosophical joke.

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

In modern Japanese, 真剣勝負 means to take something very seriously.

The literal and historical meaning is “real sword battle.” In old times, a Samurai apprentice would practice with a wooden practice sword. Once trained and qualified, they would wield a real steel sword made for battle and killing. They were ready for a “death match” or Shinken Shobu.

真剣 is an adjective that has come to mean serious/earnest. The literal translation is “real sword.”

勝負 in the simplest terms, means match, contest, game, or bout. Depending on the context, it could also mean victory or defeat, winning and losing, or the outcome of a battle.

There is a suggestion in Shinken Shobu that you train with serious and real intent, as we should train with the same fervor and dedication as if the battle was real. “Train as we fight.”

See Also:  Cry in the Dojo - Laugh on the Battlefield

This is a less-common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the name Mauro.

This is a less-common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the name Mayte.

This is a less-common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the female name Debby.

This is a less-common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the female name Jenni.

This is a less-common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the female name Rejane.

This is a less-common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male name Ringo.

This is a less-common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Arisa.

This is a less-common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Atticus.

This is a less common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male name Darcie.

戴克瀾 is a less-common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Declan.

This is a less-common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Melissa.

里吉斯 is a less-common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Regis.

This is a less-common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Surya.

瓦列里 is a less-common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Valery.

溫德林 is a less-common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Wendelin.

This is a less-common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the female French name Gilberte.

This is another less-common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the female French name Eliane.

This is a less-common but more verbose transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Ferdinand.

This is a less-common Mandarin Chinese transliteration for the male Latin name José or Jose.

賈里德 is a less-common transliteration for the name Jared in Mandarin Chinese.

You probably want the other one.

艾莉莎 is a less-common transliteration for the name Elisha.

Same pronunciation, just a different second character. Neither way is wrong.

放浪癖 is the Japanese word for wanderlust.

In less flattering translations, this can mean vagrant habits or vagabondism.

泰瑞 another slightly-less-common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Terry.

This name is unisex in Chinese.

忠義 is another form of loyalty or devotion.

In Chinese, this is more specifically about being loyal and devoted to your friends.

In Japanese, this is more often used to mean loyalty to your country or nation.

Except for the slight difference noted above between Japanese and Chinese, this word is understood universally in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. It can also be used to describe devotion or fidelity.

It should be noted that this Kanji combination is being used less and less in modern Japan (this is a better choice if your audience is Chinese, though any Japanese person will clearly understand it).

This is a less-common way to write “friend” in Chinese and Japanese.

This is also a given name Yuujin or Yujin, or another romanization for the given name Tomohito.

亂中有序 more or less means “order from chaos” in Chinese.

This is a little ambiguous, so other ways to translate this include ordered chaos, organized mess, order within chaos, or order within disorder.

This another less common transliteration to Mandarin Chinese for the name Isaac.

This version might be more close to the Spanish or Latin version of Isaac. The first syllable is like “ee” as in “sweet.”

披頭士 is the most common Chinese title for the Beatles.

Of course, this refers to the famous fab-four music band of the 1960s.

Other less-common titles for the Beatles include 披頭四樂隊 and 披頭四樂團.

體術 is the Japanese title “Taijutsu,” which more or less means “classical form of martial arts.”

體術 is often written in a modern form, 体術 in Japan. Let me know if you want that modern form; otherwise, you'll get the ancient/classic version shown in the wall scroll sample.

復活祭 is how the holiday of Easter is written in Japanese.

While a not a well-understood holiday in Japan (Christians being about 1% of the population), you will find stuffed Easter bunnies at the shops in the Spring.

復活祭 is a less-used way to write Easter in old Korean.

Beyond wisdom, 智慧 can be translated as knowledge, sagacity, sense, and intelligence.

The first character means “wise” or “smart,” and the second character means “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

弓箭手 is how to write “archer” in modern Chinese.

弓箭手 literally means “bow arrow hand.”

There are other ways to write “archer” in Chinese, but this is probably the most common title for modern China. The other, less-common version of “archer” is also more universal because it has the same meaning in Japanese (this one is not used in Japan).

These two characters contain the ideas of fate, destiny, fortune, and luck in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

運命 is often defined as “a person's fate” or “personal fate” in various dictionaries.

These two characters can be reversed (written in either order) and yield roughly the same meaning.

This particular character order is more common in old Korean and less common in modern Chinese.

See Also:  Good Fortune | Good Luck

The first character means confused, dirty, muddy, or mixed.

The second character means confusion and disorder.

Together, these characters mean chaos and sometimes extended to mean a type of anarchy.

This term is often used in a less-than-literal term to describe anything in disarray. Someone might use this word in a sentence like, “My kitchen is in a state of chaos” or “my life is so chaotic.”

Please note that Japanese use an alternate/simplified version of the second character of chaos - it also happens to be the same simplification used in mainland China. Click on the character to the right if you want the Japanese/Simplified version of this two-character chaos calligraphy.

Some people like to say, “I love you” but others might want to say “I need you.” 貴方が必要 is “I need you” in Japanese.

The first two characters mean “You.”

The middle character is a connecting particle. In this case, it more or less means “are.”

The last two characters mean necessary, needed, essential, indispensable, or necessity.

The “I” in the title is implied. Effectively this means “I need you.”

深情厚義 means to love and honor.

This is more or less the kind of thing you'd find in marriage vows.

The first two characters suggest deep love or deep emotions, passion, and feelings.
The last two characters mean generous justice or thick honor (the third character is an adjective that means generous or thick). It just means that you will honor your lover's wishes and treat them justly and righteously (fairly).

This is the longer four-character version, there is also a short and sweet two character version.

See Also:  Love and Honor

堅忍 means persistent, steadfast, fortitude, and/or perseverance.

The first character means strong, solid, firm, unyielding, or resolute.
The second character means to beat, endure, or tolerate.
Together they speak of the strength from within yourself. Some may also translate this as long-suffering in a more Biblical sense.

堅忍 is a common term in Chinese and Korean Hanja but a little less commonly used in modern Japanese Kanji. For that reason, this selection is best if your audience is Chinese or Korean.

Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write the second Kanji a little differently. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect the form where the little horizontal stroke crosses the vertical stroke. See differences in the images to the right. Technically, they are both the same character, and will be read the same in either language.

打怕的人是假的敬怕的人是真的 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).

無 is the simple way to express “nothing.”

However, this single character leaves a bit of mystery as to what you might really mean if you hang it as a wall scroll. I'm not saying that's a bad thing; as you can decide what it means to you, and you won't be wrong if you stay within the general context.

More info: 無 is usually used as a suffix or prefix for Chinese and Japanese words (also old Korean). It can be compared to “un-” or “-less” in English. It can also mean “not to have,” no, none, not, “to lack,” or nothingness.

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

The first Kanji and the 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

靈氣療法肇祖臼井甕男先生遺訓招福の秘法萬病の霊薬今日丈けは心配すな感謝して業を励げめ人に親切に is an alternate version of the precepts or tenets of Reiki by Usui Mikao.

It is impossible to be sure which version or versions were actually written by Usui Mikao. This is the less common of the three versions that you might see in the wild.

Here is a breakdown of the characters and a rough translation:
靈氣 療法 肇祖 臼井甕男。
Reiki therapy founder Mikao Usui
先生 遺訓。
Teacher's testament 招福の秘法,　萬病の霊薬。
Invite blessings of [the] secret method, 10,000 illnesses of spiritual medicine.
今日丈けは: 怒るな, 心配すな,　感謝して,　業をはげめ,　人に親切に。
At least for today: Do not be angry, do not worry, be grateful, work with diligence, [and] be kind to people.

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

情義 means to love and honor in Chinese. 情義 is more or less the kind of thing you'd find in marriage vows.

The first character suggests emotions, passion, heart, humanity, sympathy, and feelings.

In this context, the second character means to honor your lover's wishes and treat them justly and righteously (fairly). That second character can also be translated as “obligation,” as in the obligation a husband and wife have to love each other even through difficult times.

In the context outside of a couple's relationship, this word can mean “comradeship.”

Japanese may see this more as “humanity and justice” than “love and honor.” It's probably best if your target is Chinese.

This is the short and sweet form, there is also a longer poetic form (you can find it here: Love and Honor if it’s not on the page you are currently viewing).

See Also:  Love and Honor

痛みなくして得るものなし is a Japanese phrase that means “no pain, no gain.”

This suggests that with pain, a gain must follow.

The pain Kanji here can also be translated as sorrow or suffering. The gain can also mean profit, advantage, or benefit. In the Japanese Buddhist context, that gain Kanji can mean rebirth in paradise, entering nirvana.

The character breakdown:
痛みなく (itami naku) pain; ache; sore; grief; distress. The naku part adds the meaning of “a lot of” or “extended”
して (shite) and then. (indicates a causative expression; acts as a connective particle)
得る (eru) to get; to acquire; to obtain; to procure; to earn; to win; to gain; to secure; to attain.
もの (mono) conjunctive particle indicating a cause or reason.
なし (nashi) none of; -less; without; no.

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

合掌 is the act of greeting someone (can also be done when departing) with hands brought together prayerfully.

In India, this would be accompanied by the verbal greeting and blessing of “Namaste.” In China, Japan, and Korea, this is how Buddhists will greet each other. Sometimes done by people who are not devout Buddhists in China, Japan, and Korea to show respect, reverence, or great thanks to someone for a gift, forgiveness, or some honor that has been bestowed.

In Japan, this is almost always associated with a deep bow. In China, where bowing is not an everyday occurrence, there may be a shallow bow, but the act will be done with deep feeling. Korean culture seems to have more bowing than China but less than Japan.

See Also:  Namaste

上帝 is how Chinese Christians and Jews refer to God, AKA The Judeo-Christian God.

There are Chinese Jews whose ancestry dates back to Jewish traders on the silk road. They are known as the Kaifeng Jews. Most have left China for Israel now.

There are also plenty of Christians in China of the Protestant and Catholic varieties. However, the churches are basically run by the government, and the Chinese Catholic church does not recognize the Pope.

Oddly, in my experience, I found the Chinese Protestant church to be much less political compared to Baptist and other Protestant churches that I have visited in America.

上帝 is also the typically-used title for God in Japanese.

While you may find this term in old Korean dictionaries, it is an obscure and rarely-used title for God in modern Korean.

See Also:  Christianity | Jesus Christ

太極拳 is the famous Taoist meditation and martial art exercise. The direct translation of these characters would be something like “grand ultimate fist,” but that does not quite hit the mark for what this title really means.

An early-morning walk through any city in China near a park or an open area will yield a view of Chinese people practicing this ancient technique.

A typical scene is an old man of no less than 80 years on this earth, with a wispy white beard and perhaps a sword in one hand. He makes slow moves that are impossibly smooth. He is steady-footed and always in balance. For him, time is meaningless and proper form, and technique is far more important than speed.

For the younger generation, faster moves may look impressive and seem smooth to the casual observer. But more discipline and mental strength are needed to create perfectly smooth moves in virtual slow motion.

Note: There are two ways to Romanize these Chinese characters, as seen in the title above. The pronunciation and actual characters are the same in Chinese. If you really used English sounds/words to pronounce this, it would be something like “tie jee chew-on” (make the “chew-on” one flowing syllable).

強 is a character that means strong, strength, force, powerful, better, stubborn, and stiff (yes, all of this in one character).

This “strong” has less to do with physical strength and more to do with having a winning attitude, or just having the ability to win at something.

Note that most of the time, this character is pronounced “qiang” but when used with the meaning of stubborn, unyielding, or stiff, it is pronounced “jiang” in Chinese.

Also, sometimes “qiang” is used in modern Chinese to describe people that do crazy things (For example: Bicycling from Beijing to Tibet alone). I sometimes can be found outside my Beijing apartment wearing nothing but shorts and a tee-shirt while eating ice cream during a snow storm, just to hear my neighbors call me “qiang.” Maybe they mean “strong” but perhaps they are using the new meaning of “crazy strong.”

強 can also be a Chinese surname that romanizes as Jiang in the mainland or Chiang if from Taiwan.

強 is a valid Korean Hanja character with the same meaning but is mostly used in compound Korean words.

強 is used in Japanese (though normally in compound words). In Japanese, it has the same meaning but in some contexts can mean “a little more than...” or “a little over [some amount].” Most Japanese would read this as tough, strength, stiff, hard, inflexible, obstinate, or stubborn.

The variant 彊 is sometimes seen in older literature.