The name Queen King in Chinese / Japanese...

皇 is the simple, single-character way to write emperor in Chinese and Japanese.

See Also:  Empress | King | Queen

皇帝 means emperor in Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean.

From times of old, the emperors of Asia ruled under the authority of God himself. One definition of an emperor is a ruler put in power by God. This definition separates emperors from the various kings in Chinese history (although defining who is a king versus an emperor gets vague sometimes).

Occasionally, the emperor's wife was widowed, and she took the role of an empress until her death (see our entry for empress if that is what you are looking for).

See Also:  Empress | King | Queen

皇后 is the title of empress/emperess, the female form of the emperor.

皇后 is used in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

While the emperor's reign was for life, if he died, his wife would hold his power. In this case, a woman was the ultimate ruler of the greater part of East Asia (now China) until her death and the succession of the emperor's firstborn son to lead the empire. Numerous times in various Chinese dynasties, an empress took power in this way.

The first character means emperor by itself.

The second character alone can mean “wife of an emperor or king” (the first character clarifies that we are talking about an empress and not a queen). It can also mean sovereign or last offspring, depending on context.

Note: In some books, this word is translated as queen. While only incorrect if you get technical (because an empress is theoretically a higher level than a queen), the meaning is very similar.

皇后 is sometimes used for the title of queen, but more technically, this is the wife of the emperor (a higher level than a queen).

See Also:  Emperor | King | Queen | Phoenix

王 is wang which means king. It is not pronounced the way you think in Chinese. It is more like English speakers would want to pronounce wong. It has roughly the same vowel sound as tong, song, or long in English.

Note that this means king only, not the emperor. An emperor is higher than a king, and theoretically is chosen by God, according to ancient Chinese culture. However, the definition is often blurred at various points in Asian history.

王 can also be defined as ruler, sovereign, monarch, or magnate. It is also can refer to a game piece in the chess-like Japanese strategic game of shoji.

Note: This can also be a family name in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese (in Vietnamese it's Vương).

See Also:  Queen

女王 is one way to write queen in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

女王 is not the same thing as an empress.

The first character means “woman” or “female,” and the second means “king.” So this is literally “woman king.”

See Also:  Empress | Goddess | King | Emperor

王后 is another way to write queen in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

王后 is sometimes used for the title of empress.

The first character means “king,” and the second means “wife,” or a short form to say “wife of the king/emperor.” So this is literally “king's wife” or “emperor's wife.” Some will translate this as “queen consort.”

See Also:  Queen | Goddess | King | Emperor