Xiao in Chinese / Japanese...

小小 is the name Xiaoxiao (little-little) in Chinese (Mandarin).

梟 is the generic title for an owl in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

Often this refers to the Ural owl (Strix uralensis)

In some contexts, it can also mean valiant or refer to a trafficker.

孝 represents filial piety.

Some will define this in more common English as “respect for your parents and ancestors.”

孝 is a subject deeply emphasized by the ancient philosophy and teachings of Confucius.

Some have included this in the list for the Bushido, although generally not considered part of the 7 core virtues of the warrior.

Note: 孝 is not the best of meanings when seen as a single character. Some will read the single-character form to mean “missing my dead ancestors.” However, when written as part of Confucian tenets, or in the two-character word that means filial piety, the meaning is better or read differently (context is important for this character).

We suggest one of our other two-character filial piety entries instead of this one.

肖 is a common transliteration for the surname Shaw into Mandarin Chinese.

The meaning of this character is similar, resembling, to resemble, or to be like.

This is also the Chinese surname Xiao or Hsiao.

This is the most common Chinese character which sounds like “Lee” or “Li” and is used as a surname / family name in China.

李 actually means “Plum.” So it's really Mr. Plum and Mrs. Plum if you translated the name instead of romanizing.

This is not the only character in Chinese that can be romanized as “Lee” or “Li.” If your family name is “Lee” or “Li” please be sure this is the correct character before you order this scroll (look at your grandparents' Chinese passports or other documents if you are an ABC and are trying to create a heritage wall scroll).

Famous people with this surname include Bruce Lee (Li Xiao-Long), Minister Li Peng, and famous Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai. In Korea, this is the original character for a surname that romanizes as “Yi.”

Note: This also one version of Lee that is a common Korean surname. However, it’s often romanized as "Yi" and sometimes as "Ri" or "Rhee."

李小龍 is the real full name of Bruce Lee.

Many people have no idea that Bruce Lee had a “real” Chinese name. In Mandarin and Cantonese, he is known as “Lǐ XiǎoLóng” and “Léi SíuLùng” respectively.

He kept his family name pronunciation (Li = Lee). 李 is a common family name that also means “plum.”

His given name 小龍 (Xiao-Long), literally means “little dragon.” 李小龍 is why you often see the character for dragon associated with Bruce Lee on various posters etc.

For a pronunciation lesson, the “X” in Romanized Mandarin is pronounced like a “sh” sound but with your tongue at the bottom of your mouth. The vowel sound in “Long” is like the English “oh,” not like the “ah” sound in the English word “long.”

If you are a big Bruce Lee fan, you should know this information, and you should have this wall scroll hanging in your room or martial arts studio.

Note: Japanese use these same Chinese characters / Kanji to write Bruce Lee's real name (with different pronunciation - which is a bit like how the name “Bruce Lee” sounds in English).

See Also:  Kung Fu | Martial Arts

逍 is a Chinese word that means leisurely or easy-going.

In some contexts, it can mean roaming or sauntering.

This can be pronounced as "shou" in Japanese but rarely seen as a single Kanji in Japan. This is better if your target audience is Chinese.

笑 simply means to laugh or smile.

Notes: In some contexts, it can mean “ridicule” in Korean Hanja. 笑 is not often seen alone in Japanese, though it is understood.

蕭 is the name Siu in Chinese (Mandarin).

小馬 is the word for colt in Chinese.

The literal meaning is a small or young horse.

孝行 expresses the idea of filial piety or filial conduct.

While the first character means filial piety by itself, the second character adds “action.” Therefore this represents the actions you take to show your respect and obedience to your elders or ancestors.

Confucius is probably the first great advocate for filial piety.

孝道 most clearly expresses the Confucian philosophy of filial piety.

Confucius taught that all should be respectful and obedient to their parents. Included in this idea is honoring your ancestors.

The second character is “dao/tao” or “the way” as in Taoism. You can say this title is “The Tao of Filial Piety” or “The Way of Filial Piety.”

See Also:  Confucius

逍遙 means freedom in Chinese characters.

This has a well-written meaning for a wall scroll. What I mean by that is while there is a way to say “freedom” orally, this word seems more appropriate for calligraphy. This can also be translated as “free and unfettered” in Chinese.

Note: In Korean and Japanese, this means one who rambles, saunters, or strolls (this entry is best if your audience is Chinese).

歡笑 translates as “happy laughter.”

The first character means happy or happiness.
The second character means to laugh, laughter or smile.

孝靜 or 효정 is the Korean given name Hyo-Jung or Hyojung.

If you want this name written in Hangul, click the Hangul characters next to the Korean flag above (instead of the big button).

小林 means little forest in Japanese and Chinese.

This can also be the Japanese surname or martial arts style called Kobayashi or Shōbayashi.

In Japanese martial arts, this can also be pronounced as Shorin and is included as such in some MA school names.

小羊 means lamb (literally “little sheep”) in Chinese and Japanese.

小龍 literally means “little dragon” or “young dragon.”

小龍 is often used as a given name in Chinese.

In fact, Bruce Lee's real given name is “Little Dragon.”

See Also:  Bruce Lee

小姐 is the translation to Modern Mandarin Chinese for the name Missy.

This means “Miss” or “little girl.”

大笑 can be translated as “roar of laughter,” “loud laughter,” “hearty laugh,” or “cachinnation.”

The first character means big or great, and the second means to laugh or smile.

If you like humor, this is a great wall scroll to hang in your home.

See Also:  The Whole Room Rocks With Laughter

肖恩 is the name Sean in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖恩 is the name Shaen in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖恩 is the name Shane in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖恩 is the name Shaun in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖娜 is the name Shauna in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖娜 is the name Shaunna in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖恩 is the name Shawn in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖納 is the name Shawna in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖尼 is the name Shawnee in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖文 is the name Shovon in Chinese (Mandarin).

海嘯 is a common way to write tsunami in Japanese and Chinese (there's more than one way to write the same word).

Note: Can also be written as 津波, 海嘯 or 海啸.

達肖恩 is the name Dashawn in Chinese (Mandarin).

德肖恩 is the name Deshaun in Chinese (Mandarin).

德肖恩 is the name Deshawn in Chinese (Mandarin).

德肖恩 is the name D’Shaun or Dshaun in Chinese (Mandarin).

德肖恩 is the name D’Shawn or DShawn in Chinese (Mandarin).

伊肖恩 is the name Eshan in Chinese (Mandarin).

消防員 is a firefighter or fireman in Chinese.

霍雷肖 is the name Horatio in Chinese (Mandarin).

凱肖恩 is the name Kaishawn in Chinese (Mandarin).

孝心館 is the title for Koushinkan, Koshinkan, or Kōshin-Kan.

The romanization of this title varies a little, but the original characters are the same.

孝 = Filial piety or obedience.
心 = Heart, mind, intention, or center.
馆 = Building or establishment (dojo).

This can be pronounced in Chinese and has the same meaning, but you should consider this a Japanese martial arts title.

肖爾茨 is the name Scholz in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖內特 is the name Shawnette in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖克里 is the name Shokri in Chinese (Mandarin).

肖內特 is the name Shonet in Chinese (Mandarin).

小提琴 is the Chinese word for violin or fiddle.

肖恩特 is the name Shaunte in Chinese (Mandarin).

達肖恩 is the name Dashaun in Chinese (Mandarin).

基肖恩 is the name Kishon in Chinese (Mandarin).

小猫/小貓 means kitten (literally: little cat) in Chinese and Japanese Kanji.

提防律師 is a kind of Chinese joke about lawyers.

The first two characters mean “guard yourself against (an attack)” or “beware.”
The last two characters can be translated as lawyer, attorney, or solicitor.

Separately, those characters mean law/regulation/control and master/expert/teacher. Here, you can see the attorney meaning is pretty clear in the individual characters.

Please note this is Chinese only (it won't make sense in Japanese, and the last two characters are sometimes translated together as “Buddhist Priest” in Japanese).

拈華微笑 is a Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Buddhist title that relays the idea of “heart-to-heart communication,” or “thought transference.”

The literal translation is, “holding a flower and subtly smiling,” or “the holding of a flower with a subtle smile.” It is the visual act and emotion that communicates more volume than words can say.

In China, 哄堂大笑 is a proverb that is used in response to a good joke or witty comment.

The story goes that Mr. Feng and Mr. He were both senior officials in the Song Dynasty (about a thousand years ago). One day, Mr. Feng walked into their shared office wearing a new pair of boots. The boots caught the eye of Mr. He who said, “New boots! - how much were they?.” Mr. Feng lifted one of the boots off the ground as if to show it off and responded, “900 coins.”
Astonished, Mr. Feng explained, “900? How can that be? - I paid 1800 coins for my boots!.” Mr. Feng then lifted his other foot off the ground and said, “This boot was also 900 coins.”

It is said that the whole room was shaking from the laughter of all that heard Mr. Feng's joke on Mr. He.

笑龍功夫 is the title for a Martial Arts studio (custom-made at by request of the owner of the studio).

In English, the word order shown in the title is the most natural or popular. In Chinese, the natural order is a little different:

The first character means laugh (sometimes means smile).

The second character means love.

The last two characters mean “live” as in “to be alive” or “pursue life.”

Please note: 笑愛生活 is not a normal phrase in that it does not have a subject, verb, or object. It is a word list. Word lists are not common in Asian languages/grammar (at least not as normal as in English). We only added this entry because so many people requested it.

We put the characters in the order shown above, as it almost makes a single word with the meaning “A life of laughter and love.” It's a made-up word, but it sounds good in Chinese.

We removed the Japanese pronunciation guide from this entry, as the professional Japanese translator deemed it "near nonsense" from a Japanese perspective. Choose this only if your audience is Chinese and you want the fewest-possible characters to express this idea.

In Korean, this would be 소애생활 or "so ae saeng hwar" but I have not confirmed that this makes sense in Korean.

父慈子孝 is a Chinese proverb that means “benevolent father, filial son.”

Figuratively, this is the natural love between parents and children.

幸福學校 means “School of Happiness” or “Happiness School” in Chinese.

幸福 means happiness, happy, blessed, blessedness, joy, and/or well-being.

學校 means school or college.

肖恩特爾 is the name Shawntel in Chinese (Mandarin).

五十步笑百步 is a Chinese proverb that means the one who retreats 50 paces mocks the one who retreats 100 paces.

During the Warring States Period of what is now China (475 - 221 B.C.), the King of Wei was in love with war. He often fought with other kingdoms just for spite or fun.

One day, the King of Wei asked the philosopher Mencius, “I love my people, and all say I do the best for them. I move the people from famine-stricken areas to places of plenty and transport grains from rich areas to the poor. Nobody goes hungry in my kingdom, and I treat my people far better than other kings. But why does the population of my kingdom not increase, and why does the population of other kingdoms not decrease?”

Mencius answered, “Since you love war, I will make this example: When going to war, and the drums beat to start the attack, some soldiers flee for their lives in fear. Some run 100 paces in retreat, and others run 50 steps. Then the ones who retreated 50 paces laugh and taunt those who retreated 100 paces, calling them cowards mortally afraid of death. Do you think this is reasonable?

The King of Wei answered, “Of course not! Those who run 50 paces are just as timid as those who run 100 paces.”

Mencius then said, “You are a king who treats his subjects better than other kings treat their people, but you are so fond of war that your people suffer from great losses in battle. Therefore, your population does not grow. While other kings allow their people to starve to death, you send your people to die in war. Is there any difference?”

This famous conversation led to the six-character proverb shown here. It serves as a warning to avoid hypocrisy. It goes hand-in-hand with the western phrase, “The pot calls the kettle black,” or the Biblical phrase, “Before trying to remove a splinter from your neighbor's eye, first remove the plank from your own eye.”

棒頭出孝子箸頭出忤逆 literally translates as:
A stick (or switch) produces filial sons; chopsticks produce disobedient [ones].

Figuratively, this means:
Strict discipline produces dutiful children, whereas indulgence produces disobedient ones.

This proverb is very similar to this English proverb:
“Spare the rod and spoil the child.”

国家忠诚父母孝道朋友有信杀生有择临战无退 are the five codes of Tang Soo Do.

I suggest you have this arranged in five columns when you get to the options page for your custom calligraphy wall scroll.

Here are my translations of each of the five codes:
國家忠誠 Be loyal to your country.
父母孝道 In regards to parents, behave in a filial way.
朋友有信 Be faithful in friendship.
殺生有擇 When fighting for life and death, make noble choices.
臨戰無退 No retreat in battle.

Note: “Tang Soo Do” is a romanization of 唐手道. It's 당수도 in Korean Hangul. It can also be romanized as “Tangsudo” or “Dangsudo.”