Tenacity Chinese & Japanese Kanji Wall Scrolls

These two characters together mean "Tenacious", "Hard to Defeat", or "Dogged".

Alone, the first character means mischievous, obstinate or stubborn. But it loses some of the mischievous meaning when the second character is added.

The second character means strength, force, powerful or better.

See Also...  Determination | Dedication | Devotion | Never Give Up

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

This is the kind of dedication you might have to your job, or a person.

Trivia: It is the same word used as an adjective in front of the word for "network" to say "dedicated network" in Chinese.

Please note: While this is a word in Korean, the meaning is private or "exclusive use". So this is best if your audience is Chinese.

See Also...  Devotion | Passion | Tenacious | Commitment

This is the Japanese word for dedication. It means "give undivided attention" or "devote oneself to (something)".

Note: This can be pronounced in Korean, but it's not a commonly-used term.

See Also...  Devotion | Passion | Tenacious | Commitment

You focus your energy and efforts on a task and stick with it until it is finished. Determination is using your will power to do something when it isn't easy. You are determined to meet your goals even when it is hard or you are being tested. With determination we make our dreams come true.

The first characters means "to determine" or "determined". The second character means "heart" or "soul", so you can imagine that this form of "determination" partially means to put your heart into something. It can also be translated as resolve, resolution, or decision (as in a decision made and followed).

See Also...  Devotion | Tenacious | Passion | Dedication | Will-Power

Diligence is working hard and doing your absolute best. You take special care by doing things step by step. Diligence helps you to get things done with excellence and enthusiasm. Diligence leads to success.

These characters can also be translated as industry, industrious, assiduity, assiduous, diligent, or sedulity.

See Also...  Hard Work | Commitment | Passion For A Cause

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...  Undaunted

This is the same as the translation of "Passion for a cause" in Chinese. Enthusiasm is being cheerful, happy, and full of spirit. It is doing something wholeheartedly and eagerly. When you are enthusiastic, you have a positive attitude.

In some context, this could have a meaning of being extremely fond of something, or having fondness for a cause or person.

This Chinese word can also be translated as "sincere and warm" or literally "warm sentiment / affection".

See Also...  Motivation | Passion | Commitment | Happiness

This is the Japanese word that means enthusiasm, or "passion for a cause".

In some context, this could have a meaning of being extremely fond of something, or having fondness for a cause or person.

Can also be translated as passion, zeal, ardour, or fervor.

See Also...  Motivation | Passion | Commitment | Happiness

This Japanese and Chinese word means, "resolute and firm", "fortitude", "firmness of character", "hardihood", "manliness" or "macho".

See Also...  Perseverance | Strength

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.

Used to refer to someone who puts forth maximum effort and achieves much. We might call this kind of person a "go-getter" in English.

See Also...  Dedication | Tenacious | Devotion

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...  Fortitude | Strength | Undaunted

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...  Fortitude | Strength | Undaunted

This is the slightly-verbose way to say inner-strength. The first two characters mean "intrinsic" or "inner". The second two characters mean "power", "force" or "strength" (especially physical strength). This is more a short phrase rather than just a word in Chinese and Korean. This can sort of be understood in Japanese, but it's not normal/proper Japanese.

This is the shorter version of inner-strength (can also be translated as "internal force"). The first character holds the meaning of "inner" or "internal". The second character means "power", "force" or "strength".

This is kind of a Kung Fu way of talking about an inner power or strength from within. This is sort of a way to express "inner-chi". This is clearly something that you might hear in a real Chinese Kung Fu movie.

While understood in both Chinese and Japanese, this can have a secondary meaning of "inner stress" in Japanese.

This is the kind of inner-strength that applies to a person who has will-power and can inspire themselves to do great things.

This word can also be the creed of a person that always pursues self-improvement.

Other translations: self-strengthening, striving for improvement, self-improvement, strive to become stronger, and self-renewal.

Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This is a Japanese term that informally means "never give up".

See Also...  Perseverance | Hope

Depending on context, this word can mean "cordial", "enthusiastic", "passionate" or "passionately".

This version is sometimes used in Japanese, but the character order is more common in Chinese and Korean Hanja. The meaning in Japanese for this Kanji order is "ardour" or "zeal", but rarely used in modern Japan. I suggest you choose a different version of "passion" if your audience is Japanese.

See Also...  Persistence | Devotion | Commitment | Motivation

A reversal of the characters between Chinese and Japanese/Korean languages yields this "passion" meaning. While many characters and even multi-character words have the same meaning in both languages, often some conventions are different or may have changed over time.

Note: This character order is not natural in Chinese. However, a typical Chinese person can guess that this is a Japanese or Korean word and also understand the intended the meaning. This selection is best if your audience is Japanese or old-school Korean.

See Also...  Persistence | Devotion | Commitment | Motivation

This character contains the ideas of patience, perseverance and endurance. Alone, this single character can be a bit ambiguous or flexible. It can also mean to endure, to bear, to put up with or to conceal. If you want to simply decide what this character means to you within the general meaning, but keep it a mystery to others, this is a good choice.

If you want to be more direct, you may want to choose one of our other selections that mean perseverance or patience (you will see this character within those larger words/phrases).

There is a secondary meaning in Japanese, since this is the first character of the word ninja.

Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write it 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).

See Also...  Perseverance | Patience | Tenacious

Perseverance is being steadfast and persistent. You commit to your goals and overcome obstacles, no matter how long it takes. When you persevere, you don't give up...you keep going. Like a strong ship in a storm, you don't become battered or blown off course. You just ride the waves.



This translation literally means, "something so persistent or steadfast, that it is not uprootable / movable / surpassable".

See Also...  Tenacious | Devotion | Persistence | Indomitable

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...  Fortitude | Strength | Undaunted

This is the Japanese version of the 4-character perseverance title. This would be understood in Chinese but it's not commonly written this way in Chinese.

Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese sometimes write the second Kanji in the form shown to the right. Yes, it's just one stroke that is slightly different in location, crossing another stroke in this alternate Japanese Kanji form. If you have a preference, let us know when you order.

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 more Japanese form as you select options for your scroll.

Can also mean "opinionated" or "stubborn", in Chinese and Japanese, but in the nicest way possible (still bad). This just means "stubborn" in Korean (not a good scroll if your audience is Korean, in fact, we don't recommend this word at all). There are better ways to express this idea, such as tenacious or perseverance... ...see links below...

See Also...  Tenacious | Fortitude | Perseverance

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...  Fortitude | Strength | Perseverance

Means "physical strength", "physical power", or "physical stamina".

See Also...  Fortitude | Health

Means "physical strength" or "physical power".

The first character was first simplified in Japan. Then that simplified version became the standard in mainland China. Just in case you want this version, it is offered here. I suggest it if you audience is Japanese. Most Chinese know the older traditional version.

The simplest form of "power" or "strength".

In Japanese it is pronounced "chikara" when used alone, and "ryoku" when used in a sentence (there are also a few other possible pronunciations of this Kanji in Japanese).

In some context, this can mean ability, force, physical strength, capability, and influence.

See Also...  Strength | Vitality | Health

This proverb or idiom suggests that the pursuit self-improvement is eternal. The first two characters mean inner-strength with the idea of self-improvement. The last two characters mean "never rest" or "striving without giving up".

Some will translate these four characters as, "Exert and strive hard without any let up".

This is the form of will power or self-control is about having the determination or tenacity to keep going.

In Japanese, this is the power of will, strength of will, volition, intention, intent, or determination.