The Lord in Chinese / Japanese...

yē sū shì zhǔ

耶穌是主 means, "Jesus is Lord" in Chinese.

tai kun

대군

大君 is the Japanese word Taikun. It's defined directly as liege, lord, or an alternate title for a shogunate.

The sound of this Japanese word entered the English lexicon by the 1800's but took the spelling of "tycoon." Even President Lincoln was referred to as a Tycoon in the 1860's.

In Japan, this is still understood to be "Great Lord" or "Big Boss." In America, it means, "Bill Gates" and "Warren Buffet."

Iesu wa omodearu

This means, "Jesus is Lord" in Jesus.

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

shàng dì

joutei

상제

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

Yes, 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 both the Protestant and Catholic variety. 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

jī dū

kirisuto

기독

This how to write "Christ" in Chinese characters, Korean Hanja, and Japanese Kanji. 基督 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.

基督 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 really fast and you'll get it.
It should be noted that only Japanese Christians will be familiar with this word.

基督 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."

yē sū jī dū

耶穌基督 is the full version, with the name "Jesus" being the first two characters and the meaning of "Christ" as the last two. You can't get more specific than this when referring to the Messiah.

anata ga doko e iku ni mo anata no kami omo ga tomoni ora reru yue osorete wa naranai ononoite wa naranai

This is a Japanese translation of a large portion of Joshua 1:9.

The Japanese passage includes, "The Lord God is with you wherever you are; Therefore do not fear or be discouraged."

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

fú yīn

fukuin

복음

福音 is the Chinese, Korean and Japanese word for "Gospel" or "Word of God." 福音 is a specifically Christian word in Asia (not used for any other religion).

The first character means "blessing," "good fortune" or "good luck." This first character is a special character used throughout China to bring good tidings and fortune - especially during Chinese New Years. The second character means "sound," "noise" or "news."

Together, these characters create a word that means "The Good News" or "The Sound of Good Fortune."

When read by a Chinese or Japanese person, this word is always perceived as "The Christian Gospel," "Word of God," or even "The Voice of God."

See Also:  Christianity | Jesus Christ | God of Abraham

xìn yǎng

shin kou

신앙

信仰 means firm belief, faith, persuasion, conviction, and sometimes religion or creed in Chinese, Japanese Kanji and old Korean Hanja.

信仰 clearly fits religious connotation of the English word "devotion."

信仰 is often used to refer to a person of faith or a religious person.

This can be directly translated as "firm belief," "creed," "conviction" or simply as "religious" depending on context.

Some will also use this to mean "trust in God" in Japanese (though the term for God is not actually in this title).

It should be noted that this word is a little strange alone on a wall scroll.

While this can be pronounced in Japanese, it's not a great selection for a wall scroll if your audience is Japanese.

See Also:  Faith | Trust | Devotion | Trust | Trust in God

gunjin / gunshin / ikusagami

軍神 is a Japanese title meaning god of war, or war hero.

This can also be the surname Gunshin.

chī yóu

shi yuu

蚩尤 is the name Chi You, legendary creator of metalworking and weapons. There is also a comet named in his honor. Some refer to him as the Chinese god of war. He is also somewhat-known in Japan as "Shiyu."

zhēn zhǔ

真主 is how Chinese Muslims refer to God (it literally means "True Master").

Oddly, in China, two different names for God have emerged. Even though Muslims, Christians, and Jews all worship the same God of Abraham.

In Arabic, the word Allah is just the Arabic way to say, God. Arab Christians pray to Allah, just like Arab Muslims. Somehow in China, the title of God diverged.

If you are curious, there are millions of Muslims throughout China but especially in the northwest portion of China known as Xinjiang. Here you will find descendants of Turkmen, Persian, Arab, and other ethnicities. Some are mixed with Han-Chinese blood; others appear to be pure Turkmen. Many have fair complexions, green eyes, and light hair but all are citizens of China. A visit to Xinjiang will shift your paradigm and blow away all of your stereotypes about what it means to be Chinese.

jiào nǚ

教女 is the title for a female child in which you have a sworn duty to raise, should the girl's parents die. The second character specifically designates that we are talking about a female child, thus the title God Daughter.

See Also:  Family

jiào zǐ

教子 is the title for a child in which you have a sworn duty to raise, should the child's parents die. This title suggests that it's talking about a son (male child) but this title is universal, and can simply mean God Child (with no gender specified).

tiān ēn

天恩 is the deepest way to say "Heaven's Grace" or "God's Grace" in Chinese.

The first character means Heaven or sky (referring in this case to the domain of God).
The second character means grace, blessings, benevolence, favor/favour, acts of kindness, merits, or beneficial influence.

This title can also be defined as:
Blessings of Heaven, Favor of the Emperor, Divination's luckiest day, or blessings of nature. Note: When you see "Emperor" above, keep in mind that the Emperor, like the Pope is theoretically chosen by God, or seen as an emissary or conduit of God in ancient Asian culture. It would only be read that way in a certain context such as, "The Emperor, in his mercy, bestowed upon him Heaven's Grace and the prisoner was set free."

Note: Technically, this is a Japanese word too (pronounced "ten-on") but it's rarely used in Japan anymore. Therefore, this title is best if your audience is Chinese.

sǐ shén

shinigami

死神 is the title of the mythological figure (often called the Grim Reaper in western culture) in charge of taking the souls of those who die.

This title can be translated directly as "god of death" or "spirit of death." The first character literally means "death" and the second means "spirit" or "god."

死神 is a very strange title for a calligraphy wall scroll. I'm not even sure if my calligraphers will write it, as it has some bad superstitious feelings attached to it.

Guān dì

kan tei

關帝 is the title, "Guandi," the God of War, a deified hero of the Three Kingdoms, a protector of Buddhism.

okami / daijin

大神 is Okami. It is an honorific title for God (used in Shinto and other religions). If you directly translate this, you get something like, "Big Spirit" or "Great Spirit."

There are other titles that romanize as "Okami" in Japanese, so make sure this is the right meaning for you. Another common okami means wolf but is a completely different Kanji and meaning.

léi shén

rai jin

雷神 is how to write the Japanese "Thunder God." They don't really have separate words for thunder and lightning in Japanese, so this is also the "Lightning God."

雷神 make sense in Chinese as well (though not a common title).

雷神 is also the origin of the English name Raiden.

kami no kou

神の子 is "Child of God" in Japanese.

jī dū tú

kirisuto

基督徒 is a very strong and direct word in Chinese for "Christian."

The literal translation of the first two characters is "Christ." The last character means apprentice, follower, or disciple. Altogether these three characters mean "Christ's Disciple" or "Christ's Apprentice." 基督徒 is a pretty cool title to hang on your wall if you are a devout Christian.

Also used by Japanese Christians (but may be unfamiliar to non-Christian Japanese people).

See Also:  Jesus Christ | God of Abraham

ainokami

愛の神 is the Japanese title for: Amor; Eros; Venus; God of Love.

hachi man jin

八幡神 is the Japanese God of War. He is often known by the short name "Hachiman." This version has the "God" title "jin" at the end, completing the idea of "God of War."

shin kei

This can be translated as, "God's Blessing," "Blessed by God," or "Divine Blessing" in Japanese Kanji.

shén de hái zi

神的孩子 is "Child of God" in Chinese.

odaijini

お大事に means, "God bless you" in Japanese. It can also mean, "take care of yourself," or "get well soon." It's not always associated with a religious meaning.

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

shàng dì bǎo yòu

상제보우

上帝保佑 is a blessing exchanged between Chinese Christians.

The first two characters literally mean God (The God of Zion). The second two characters express the idea of giving protection. Another way to translate this is "May God protect you."

See Also:  Guardian Angel

shén zhēn měi hǎo

神真美好 means, "God is good," in Chinese.

You can also translate this as, "God is really good" or "God is so good."

The last two characters are a version of good that suggests a very strong goodness. The characters literally read, "beautifully good."

shàng dì ài nǐ

上帝愛你 means, "God love you," in Chinese.

kami no on kei

神の恩恵 means God's Grace in Japanese.

The first two characters act to create a word that means "divine," "God's," or "The Spirit's."

The last two Kanji mean grace, favor/favour, blessing, or benefit.

xìn kào shàng dì

信靠上帝 means "Trust in God," "Faith in God," "Rely upon God" and/or "Believe in God."

xiāng xìn shàng dì

相信上帝 means exactly what the title suggests. The first two characters mean "trust" or "believe" and the second two mean "God" (as in the God of Abraham and the God of Zion).

相信上帝 is also how the American phrase "In God We Trust" as seen on U.S. Currency would be translated into Chinese. It would also be correct to say that this means "Believe in God," though in this arrangement/context, one would be more likely to interpret it as "trust."

kami no shin kou

神の信仰 is the simplest way to express, "Trust in God" in Japanese.

The first character means God, deity, divinity, or spirit (in this case, it will be read as God).

The second character is a particle that links the ideas.

The last two characters mean faith, belief, or creed, in religious context.

kami no heishi

神の兵士 means, "Warrior of God" or "Soldier of God" in Japanese.

jìng wèi shàng dì

敬畏上帝 is probably the best way to translate the Christian English phrase, "Fear God," into Chinese.

The first two characters mean to revere, be in awe of, or a general term of reverence. It can mean fear, but only in the context of respect or fear of authority.

shàng dì de dòu shì

上帝的鬥士 means "God's Fighter."

While a lot of people search for "Warrior of God," or "Soldier of God," this is actually the most natural way to say something like this in Chinese.

shàng dì jiù shì ài

上帝就是愛 is a common way to express "God is Love" in Chinese.

kami wa ai na ri

神は愛なり is a common way to express "God is Love" in Japanese.

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

kami wo shin ze yo

神を信ぜよ is a way to express, "Trust in God" in Japanese.

The first character is "God."

The second character is a particle that links the ideas here.

The last three characters are a word that means, "to believe," "to believe in," "to place trust in," "to confide in," "to have faith in."

Basically, this is the Japanese phrase for, "Have faith in God," "Believe in God," or "Trust in God."

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

shàng dì yǔ nǐ cháng zài

The direct translation of these Chinese characters is "God Together [with] You Always Exist."

Keep in mind that Chinese grammar is sometimes very different from English. This makes perfect sense in Chinese.

Note: The title for God is the first two characters - the other words in the direct translation represent one character each.

tiān zhī yù zhōng zhǔ shén

천지어중주신

This is a phrase that was submitted by a customer. I do not have information on the origin of this phrase.

kami sama o yuru shi wo

This is how to write, "God Forgive Me," in Japanese. There is an essence humble begging or "please" implied in this phrase.

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

kami wa zendearu

This means, "God is Good," in Japanese.

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

kami nomi zo shiru

This means, "Only God can judge me" in Japanese.

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

shèng dì shǐ nǐ shén shèng

This means, "Sanctified by God," in Chinese.

This was added at the request of a customer. This may be more appropriate for a priest or reverend than a layman. But that depends on how your religion sees the order of things.

If you directly translate, you get something like, "God made you Holy."

Here's the character breakdown:
上帝 = God
 使 = Makes; Made; Let
 你 = You
神聖 = Sacred; Holy; Sanctification; Divine; Hallow; Holiness

shàng dì shì wǒ de fǎ guān

상제시아적법관

This is not a traditional Chinese phrase. We professionally translated it for a customer's request (in proper Chinese grammar).

See Also:  God | Justice

yuàn shàng dì gěi wǒ lì liàng

This is a wish or a prayer that you might call out at a desperate time.

Translated by us for a military serviceman in Iraq - obviously, he may have a need to use this phrase often, though I am not sure where he's going to find a place to hang a wall scroll.

shàn dì zǒng shì yǔ nǐ tóng zài

I was going to write this phrase as "God is with me always" but as a wall scroll, hanging in your room, it is talking to you (you're not talking), so it works better with you.

This is a nice phrase that any Chinese Christian would be happy to have on his/her wall.

If I annotate this, it sounds a little strange in English but it's perfectly natural in Chinese:
上帝 God | 总是 always | 与 and | 你 you | 同 together | 在 existing

yē sū jī dū shì wǒ jiù zhǔ

This Chinese phrase reads, "Jesus Christ is my savior."

zhǐ yǒu shàng dì néng píng pàn wǒ

This means, "Only God can judge me" in Chinese.

kami sa ma ga mamo ru you ni

This is about as close as you can get to, "God Bless You" in Japanese.

This literally means, "[May] God Protect [You]." It can also mean, "God is Always With You," as the word in this phrase that means "protect" can also mean to follow or be with. In fact, the Japanese dictionary entry for that word reads like this: to protect; to guard; to defend; to keep (i.e. a promise); to abide; to observe; to follow.

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

kami wa watashi ni chikara o ataeru

This means, "God give me strength," in Japanese.

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

kami ni yotte shukufuku sa remashita

This means, "Blessed by God" in Japanese.

This would be understood to mean, "We have been blessed by God."

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

kami ga watashi ni chikara o atae te kudasai

This is "God give me strength" in Japanese.

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

kamisama wa itsumo watashi to issho ni iru

This Japanese phrase means, "God is always with me."

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

kamisama wa itsumo watashi to anata to issho ni iru

This Japanese phrase means, "God is always with you."

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

Iesu kirisuto wa watashi no sukuinushi desu

This is a Japanese phrase that means, "Jesus Christ is my savior."

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

wú yī shì zhǔ wéi yǒu ān lā mù hǎn mò dé shì ān lā de chāi shǐ

This is one of the key creeds of Islam.

While perhaps more often seen in Arabic as

there are many native Chinese Muslims (especially the Hui ethnicity) that do not speak Arabic.

Instead, they use this Chinese phrase to express this idea or statement of faith.