Family Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scrolls

家 is the single character that means family in Chinese and Japanese.

It can also mean home or household depending on context.

Hanging this on your wall suggests that you put “family first.”

Pronunciation varies in Japanese depending on context. When pronounced “uchi” in Japanese, it means home, but when pronounced “ke,” it means family.

Note that there is an alternate form of this character. It has an additional radical on the left side but no difference in meaning or pronunciation. The version shown above is the most universal, and is also ancient/traditional. The image shown to the right is only for reference.

天倫之樂 means family love and joy, or domestic bliss.

The first two characters mean “the bonds of the family.”
The third character connects this to the fourth character which means happiness, joy, and cheerfulness.

家族 is family in Japanese Kanji, Chinese and Korean.

This represents all the members of a family.

This can also mean household or clan, depending on the context.

家庭至上 is a Chinese phrase that means “family above all else.”

The first two characters mean family, household, or home (they will be read as “family” in this case).

The last two characters mean supreme, paramount, or above all else.

親朋好友 is a Chinese title that simply means “family and friends” or “kith and kin.”

If you read each character more literally, it's like, “relatives, friends, [and] good/close friends.”

家族や友人 means “family and friends,” in Japanese.

親緣 is a Chinese word that means affinity, family relationship, or consanguinity.

This speaks of the family bonds we have with others that share the same blood or ancestors.

類縁 is a Japanese word that means affinity or family relationship.

This is about the bond shared by blood within a family or those from the same ancestor.

家庭/傢庭 is a common way to express family, household, or home in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

However, for a wall scroll, we recommend the single-character form (which is just the first character of this two-character word). If you want that, just click here: Family Single-Character

The first character means “family” or “home.” The second means “courtyard” or “garden.” When combined, the meaning is a bit different, as it becomes “household” or “family.” The home and/or property traditionally has a strong relationship with family in Asia. Some Chinese, Korean, and Japanese families have lived in the same house for 7 or more generations!

親情 means affection, especially for family members.

This can also be translated as “family love” or “love, especially within a married couple or between parents and children.”

家族愛 is a Japanese title that means love of (one's) family, family love, or familial love.

永遠的家 is a special phrase that we composed for a “family by adoption” or “adoptive family.”

It's the dream of every orphan and foster child to be formally adopted and find their “forever family.”

The first two characters mean forever, eternal, eternity, perpetuity, immortality, and/or permanence. The third character connects this idea with the last character which means “family” and/or “home.”

和諧之家 means “harmonious family” or “happy family” in Chinese.

The first two characters relay the idea of happiness and harmony.
The third character is a connecting or possessive article (connects harmony/happiness to family).
The last character means family but can also mean home or household.

和やかな家庭 means “happy family” or “harmonious family” in Japanese.

The first three Kanji create a word that means mild, calm, gentle, quiet, or harmonious. After that is a connecting article. The last two Kanji mean family, home, or household.

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

家內安全 is the Japanese way of saying “Family First.”

It's a Japanese proverb about the safety and well-being of your family and/or peace and prosperity in the household.

Some Japanese will hang an amulet in their home with these Kanji. The purpose is to keep your family safe from harm.

According to Shinto followers, hanging this in your home is seen as an invocation to God to always keep family members free from harm.

We were looking for a way to say “family first” in Japanese when this proverb came up in the conversation and research. While it doesn't say “family first,” it shows that the safety and well-being of your family is your first or most important priority. So, this proverb is the most natural way to express the idea that you put your family first.

See Also:  Peace and Prosperity

天下一家 is a proverb that can also be translated as “The whole world is one family.”

It is used to mean that all humans are related by decree of Heaven.

The first two characters can be translated as “the world,” “the whole country,” “descended from heaven,” “earth under heaven,” “the public,” or “the ruling power.”

The second two characters can mean “one family,” “a household,” “one's folks,” “a house” or “a home.” Usually, this is read as “a family.”

Note: This proverb can be understood in Japanese, though not commonly used.

所有的成功都無法補償家庭的失敗 is a Chinese proverb that can be translated into English as “No success can compensate for failure in the home.”

Also, the word “home” can be exchanged with “family.”

家由心生 is an old Chinese proverb that is roughly equal to the English idiom “Home is where the heart is.”

If you know Chinese, you may recognize the first character as home and the third as the heart.

家とは心がある場所だ is, “Home is where the heart is,” in Japanese.

Most Japanese will take this to mean:
If you are with the person or at the place you love most, it becomes your true home.

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

子を持って知る親の恩 literally translates as: Only after you have a baby, you would appreciate your parents (feel the way they do, etc).

This is a bit like the “walk a mile in another man's shoes” saying. Basically, it's about you cannot fully understand the plight of others until you experience it yourself. It also shows appreciation for the plight of parents.

This Japanese proverb can also be translated a few more ways:

No man knows what he owes to his parents till he comes to have children of his own.

One knows not what one owes to one's parents till one comes to have children of one's own.

Only after you have a baby, you will appreciate your parents or feel the way they do.

Only after becoming a parent yourself do you realize how much you owe [how indebted you are] to your own parents.

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

兒童 is how to write “child” in Chinese.

There are several ways to write child or offspring in Chinese, but this is the best form for calligraphy, or written (versus oral) form.

If children are essential to you, this might be the scroll you want. Or if you are a child at heart, this also works.

In Japanese, they use a slightly-morphed version of the original Chinese first character. If you want the special Japanese version, please click on the Kanji image shown to the right, instead of the button above. Note: Japanese people would still be able to understand the Chinese version and vice versa.

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.”

手足情 is the love between siblings.

When you love, protect, care for, and have a deep bond that only brothers or sisters can.

The actual translation is “Hand and Foot,” but the relationship between brothers or sisters is like that of hands and feet. They belong together and complete the body. Even though this says “hand and foot,” it will always be read with the brotherly and sisterly love meaning in Chinese.

Note: During the past 20 years, the “One child policy” in China is slowly making this term obsolete.

教女 is the title for a female child, 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.

孫娘 is granddaughter in Japanese Kanji.

母娘 means “mother and daughter” in Japanese Kanji.

母娘 is an unusual selection for a calligraphy wall scroll and can be read in many different ways. Your native Japanese friends might wonder what you are trying to say.

Note: This will not make sense in Chinese.

See Also:  Mother and Son

媽 is the oral way that most Chinese people refer to their mothers. Often, they will put this together twice (two of the same character in a row) to create a word that sounds like “Mama.” That's absolutely what little kids call their mothers in China. This Chinese “Mama” is the rough equivalent of “Mommy” in English. Beyond a certain age, Chinese will start to just say “Ma,” which is like saying “Mom.”

This entry is just here for a language lesson. This would make a strange wall scroll by Chinese standards. In Chinese, there are sometimes oral words that don't seem appropriate when written in calligraphy, and this is one of them. See our entry for “Loving Mother” for a better selection.

See Also:  Loving Mother

慈母 create the title of a loving mother, affectionate mother, or merciful mother.

A great gift for your mom.

The first character means “eternal” or “forever,” and the second means “not” (together, they mean “never”). The last two characters mean “give up” or “abandon.” Altogether, you can translate this proverb as “never give up” or “never abandon.”

Depending on how you want to read this, 永不放棄 is also a statement that you will never abandon your hopes, dreams, family, or friends.

See Also:  Undaunted | No Fear | Hope

知子莫若父 can be translated as “No one knows a son better than his father.”

This idiom is based on the idea that after spending many years together, family members know everything about each other. Better than anyone else, a father knows the qualities and shortcomings of his son.

If you are looking for something about “father and son,” this is probably the best selection.

While this is the original proverb (very old), others have been composed about various combinations of mothers, sons, daughters, and fathers. Let me know if you need a custom version.