Wedding in Chinese / Japanese...

hūn

혼

婚 is related to the ideas of getting married, being in a marriage, or taking a wife (could also mean take a husband, as "take a wife" is a western term, and this is just a general Chinese term regarding a wedding).

See Also:  Double Happiness

jié hūn

kettukon / kekkon

결혼

These two characters create a word that means wedding, or getting married. In some context, it can just be read as "marriage."

See Also:  Double Happiness | Partnership: Marriage

xìng fú jīn hūn

kou fuku kin kon

This means "Happy Golden Anniversary" and is a great gift for a couple who is celebrating 50 years together.

The first two characters mean happy, blessed, or happiness.

The last two characters mean, "couple's golden anniversary." It literally means "golden wedding" or "golden marriage" but this is only used for the 50-year-mark of a marriage (the same way we use gold to represent 50 years in the west).

This is a nice title to use with an inscription. You could request something like, "Happy 50th Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. Smith," to be written down the side of this title, in smaller Chinese characters.

Please note: This can be pronounced and understood in Japanese but not as commonly used in Japan. Japanese people who read this will understand it but might tend to feel it's of Chinese origin.

xǐ

희

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, Taiwan, as well as 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.

zūn zhòng zhōng chéng chéng shí

These are the pillars of marriage (at least they are for some - if you have a different set of pillars and want them on a wall scroll, just contact me).

This is actually a "word list" consisting of "Respect/Loyalty/Honesty." Word lists are not as common in Chinese as they are in English but leaving that concern behind, this has a good meaning.

If you want to customize it more, add an inscription with your wedding date or names (just a small extra fee for translation).

Note: Because these are three separate words, the calligrapher may be inclined to leave a small space between each two-character word. Let us know if you have any preference when you place your order.

xǐ

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.

See Also:  Happiness

bàn lǚ

hanryo

업

This Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean word expresses the kind of partnership in which a good marriage is founded.

伴侶 could also be translated as mates or companionship, or as a noun, to refer to a partner or companion.

This does not have to include a marriage but at least refers to a partnership with a deep relationship or bond.

Note that this is not the same as a business partner. Different words are used for various types business partnerships.

See Also:  Friendship

bǎi nián hǎo hé

百年好合 is a wish or greeting, often heard at Chinese weddings, for a couple to have 100 good years together.

Some will translate this more naturally into English as: "May you live a long and happy life together."

The character breakdown:
百 = 100
年 = Years
好 = Good (Happy)
合 = Together