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This literally means "No Fear". But perhaps not the most natural Chinese phrase (see our other "No Fear" phrase for a more complete thought). However, this two-character version of "No Fear" seems to be a very popular way to translate this into Chinese, when we checked Chinese Google.
Note: This also means "No Fear" in Japanese and Korean, but this character pair is not often used in Japan or Korea (used somewhat by Korean Buddhists to mean fearlessness).
In recent years, this term is starting to appear in various Chinese and Japanese dictionaries with definitions like "without fear", intrepidity, fearless, dauntless, and bold.
See Also... Never Give Up | No Worries | Undaunted | Bravery | Courage | Fear No Man
Fear No Man / Fear Nothing
This literally means "fear nothing", but it's the closest thing in Chinese to the phrase "fear no man" which many of you have requested. This would also be the way to say "fear nobody" and can also be translated simply as "undaunted".
No Fear(four-character version)
This is a complete sentence that means literally "Brave People Have No Fear" or "A Brave Person Has No Fear" (plural or singular is not implied). We translated "No Fear" into the two variations that you will find on our website. Then we checked Chinese Google and found that others had translated "No Fear" in the exact same ways. Pick the one you like best. A great gift for your fearless friend.
See Also... Fear No Man
Preparation Yields No Fear or Worries
This really means, "When you are well-prepared, you have nothing to fear". Noting that the third character means "no" or "without" and modifies the last... The last character can mean misfortune, troubles, worries, or fears. It could even be stretched to mean sickness. Therefore you can translate this phrase a few ways. I've also seen it translated as "Preparedness forestalls calamities".
This is comparable to the English phrase, "Better safe than sorry", but does not directly/literally mean this.
One who is drenched in rain, does not fear drops of dew
bèi yǔ lín guò de rén bù pà lù shuǐ
Characters shown above are read vertically, starting from the right
This literally translates as: One who has been drenched by the rain is not afraid of dew drops.
Figuratively, this means: One who has gone through hardships is not afraid of (minor)setbacks.
Respect out of fear is never genuine Reverence out of respect is never false
dǎ pà de rén shì jiǎ de jìng pà de rén shì zhēn de
Characters shown above are read vertically, starting from the right
This 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).
This literally means, "no fear evil". Chinese grammar and word order is a little different than English. This is the best way to write something that means "fear no evil" in Chinese.
The first character means "not", "don't" or "no".
The second means "fear".
The last two mean "evil", but can also be translated as "sinister", "vicious", "wickedness".
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Advance Bravely / Indomitable Spirit
yǒng wàng zhí qián
This phrase creates an image of a warrior bravely advancing against an enemy regardless of the odds.
This phrase can also be translated as "indomitable spirit" or "march fearlessly onward".
See Also... Indomitable | Fortitude
Bravery / CourageCourage in the face of Fear
This word is about courage is bravery in the face of fear. You do the right thing even when it is hard or scary. When you are courageous, you don't give up. You try new things. You admit mistakes. This kind of courage is the willingness to take action in the face of danger and peril.
These characters can also be translated as: braveness, valor, heroic, fearless, boldness, prowess, gallantry, audacity, daring, dauntless and/or courage in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. This version of bravery/courage can be an adjective or a noun. The first character means bravery and courage by itself. The second character means "daring" by itself. The second character just emphasizes the meaning of the first, but adds an idea that you are not afraid of taking a dare, and you are not afraid of danger.
This is about brave behavior versus the mental state of being brave. You'd more likely use this to say, "He fought courageously in the battle", rather than "He is very courageous".
See Also... Warrior
Bravery / CourageSingle Character for Courage
This character can be translated as bravery, courage, valor, or fearless in Chinese, Japanese and Korean. This is the simplest form to express courage or bravery, as there is also a two character form which starts with this same character.
This character can also be translated as brave, daring, fearless, plucky or heroic.
This is also a virtue of the Samurai Warrior See our page with just Code of the Samurai / Bushido here
See Also... Bravery | Courage
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Confidence is having faith in someone. Self-confidence is trusting that you have what it takes, to handle whatever happens. You feel sure of yourself and enjoy trying new things, without letting doubts or fears hold you back. When you have confidence in others, you rely on them.
The first character means faith, and the second can mean heart or soul. So you could say this means "faithful heart" or "faithful soul". In Korean especially, this word has a religious connotation.
In Japanese, this word can mean "faith", "belief" or "devotion".
See Also... Self-Confidence
The Confident Helmsman Inspires Confidence in the Passengers
bǎ tuò de bù huāng chéng chuán de wěn dang
Characters shown above are read vertically, starting from the right
This literally translates as: [If the] helmsman is not nervous, the passengers [will feel] secure.
Figuratively, this means: If the leader appears confident, his/her followers will gain confidence also.
This is a great suggestion that a confident leader inspires confidence in his/her troops or followers. Of course, a nervous leader will create fear in troops or followers.
Bravery / CourageCourageous Energy
There are several ways to express bravery and courage in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. This version is the most spiritual. This is the essence of bravery from deep within your being. This is the mental state of being brave versus actual brave behavior. You'd more likely use this to say, "He is very courageous", rather than "He fought courageously in the battle".
The first character also means bravery or courage when it's seen alone. With the second character added, an element of energy or spirit is added. The second character is the same "chi" or "qi" energy that Kung Fu masters focus when they strike. For this reason, you could say this means "spirit of courage" or "brave spirit".
This is certainly a stronger word than just the first character alone.
Beyond bravery or courage, dictionaries also translate this word as valour, valor, nerve, audacity, daring, pluck, plucky, gallantry, guts, gutsy and boldness.
While the version shown to the left is commonly used in Chinese and Korean Hanja (and ancient Japanese Kanji), please note that the second character is written with slightly fewer strokes in modern Japanese. If you want the modern Japanese version, please click on the character to the right. Both styles would be understood by native Chinese, Japanese, and many (but not all) Korean people. You should choose character based on the intended audience for your calligraphy artwork. Or pick the single-character form of bravery/courage which is universal.
See Also... Warrior
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Diligence(single character)
This single-character means diligence or "sense of duty" in Chinese and Korean (also understood in Japanese, but not commonly-seen as a stand-alone Kanji).
As a single character on a wall scroll, this will only be seen with this meaning. However, in certain context, it can mean "frequent".
If you, or someone you know is a hard-worker (or needs a reminder to be diligent), then this is the wall scroll to have in your/their office.
See Also... Tenacity | Undaunted
The first character means "strong", "solid", "firm", "unyielding" or "resolute".
The second character means "to beat", "to endure", or "to tolerate".
Together they speak of the strength from within yourself. Some may also translate this as "long-suffering" in a more Biblical sense.
This 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 in the form shown to the right. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect this Kanji form (yes, it's just one stroke that is slightly different in location, crossing another stroke in the Japanese Kanji form).
Due to some odd computer coding conventions, these two character forms were combined/merged into the same code point - thus you will not see Kanji images of the more Japanese form as you select options for your wall scroll.
Indomitable / Persistence / Fortitude
This is the short form of a longer Chinese word, and also a word used in Korean and Japanese to express the idea of being indomitable. It literally means, "will not bend", "will not crouch", "will not yield", "will not flinch", or "will not submit".
Note: Some will translate this as "indomitable spirit"; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of "spirit" in this word.
See Also... Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Undaunted
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Indomitable / Unyielding
bù qū bù náo fukutsu futou
This is a long word by Chinese standards. At least it is often translated as a single word into English. This simply means "Indomitable" or "Unyielding".
If you want to break it down, you can see that the first and third characters are the same. Both meaning "not" (they work as a suffix to make a negative or opposite meaning to whatever character follows). The second character means "bendable". The last means "scratched" or "bothered".
So this really means "Won't be bent, can't be bothered". I have also seen it written as "Will not crouch, will not submit". This comes from the fact that the second character can mean, "to crouch" and the last can mean "to submit" (as in "to give in" such as "submitting to the rule of someone else"). This may explain better why these four characters mean "indomitable".
Notes:
Some will translate this as "indomitable spirit"; however, technically, there is no character to suggest the idea of "spirit" in this word.
The first two characters can be a stand-alone word in Chinese.
In Japanese, this is considered to be two words (with very similar meanings).
The same characters are used in Korean, but the 2nd and 4th characters are swapped to create a word pronounced "불요불굴" in Korean.
Just let me know if you want the Korean version, which will also make sense in Japanese, and though not as natural, will also make sense in Chinese as well.
See Also... Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Undaunted
The first character means "eternal" or "forever", the second means "not" (together they mean "never"). The last two characters mean "give up" or "abandon". Altogether, you can translate this phrase as "never give up" or "never abandon".
Depending on how you want to read this, it is also a statement that you will never abandon your hopes, dreams, family or friends.
See Also... Undaunted | No Fear | Hope
Perseverance(single character)
This is the simplest way to express perseverance in Chinese and Korean Hanja. This single-character version leaves a bit of mystery about what kind of perseverance you might want to convey.
In Korean, this is usually associated with "strength of character".
In Japanese, this character can be pronounced about a dozen different ways (so we have left out the Japanese pronunciation guide that normally appears above). In Japanese this Kanji would usually be translated "strong" (perhaps strong-willed).
See Also... Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Undaunted
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Undaunted After Repeated SetbacksPersistence to overcome all challenges
bǎi zhé bù náo hyaku setsu su tou 백절불요
This phrase means "Be undaunted in the face of repeated setbacks". It's of Chinese origin, but is commonly used in Japanese, and somewhat in Korean (same characters, different pronunciation).
This phrase comes from a long, and occasionally tragic story of a man that lived sometime around 25-220 AD. His name was Qiao Xuan and he never stooped to flattery, but remained an upright person at all times. He fought to expose corruption of higher-level government officials at great risk to himself.
Then when he was at a higher level in the Imperial Court, bandits were regularly capturing hostages and demanding ransoms. But when his own son was captured, he was so focused on his duty to the Emperor and common good that he sent a platoon of soldiers to raid the bandits' hideout, and stop them once and for all even at the risk of his own son's life. While all of the bandits were arrested in the raid, they killed Qiao Xuan's son at first sight of the raiding soldiers.
Near the end of his career a new Emperor came to power, and Qiao Xuan reported to him that one of his ministers was bullying the people and extorting money from them. The new Emperor refused to listen to Qiao Xuan and even promoted the corrupt Minister. Qiao Xuan was so disgusted that in protest he resigned his post as minister (something almost never done) and left for his home village.
His tombstone reads "Bai Zhe Bu Nao" which is now a phrase used in Chinese culture to describe a person of strong will who puts up stubborn resistance against great odds.
My Chinese-English dictionary defines these 4 characters as, "keep on fighting in spite of all setbacks", "be undaunted by repeated setbacks" and "be indomitable".
Our translator says it can mean, "never give up" in modern Chinese.
Although the first two characters are translated correctly as "repeated setbacks", the literal meaning is "100 setbacks" or "a rope that breaks 100 times". The last two characters can mean "do not yield" or "do not give up".
Most Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people will not take this absolutely literal meaning, but will instead understand it as the title suggests above. If you want a single big word definition, it would be indefatigability or indomitableness.
See Also... Tenacity | Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance
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