If you've been learning Japanese for a long time, then it's likely that Japanese characters have become part of your everyday life and are not something outlandish. However, for a beginner or someone completely unfamiliar with Japanese writing, Japanese characters can evoke a lot of feelings, from complete misunderstanding of the meaning of these mysterious squiggles to intense curiosity.
If you see a hieroglyph, for example, as a tattoo or on someone's wall as a decoration, then it is likely that you will want to know its meaning. Well, it’s not just that a person chose this set of lines and sticks, which intricately adds up to a meaning accessible to a select few.
Eastern culture remains popular in Russia, and a large number of people strive to understand the mysterious eastern world.
For what purposes do people look for specific hieroglyphs?
Primarily for tattoos. A hieroglyph tattoo attracts the attention of others (it is likely that many people, having seen the tattoo, will want to know the meaning). A stuffed hieroglyph is an identifier of belonging to a secret for its owner, and can also tell others (if they know the meaning of the kanji) what the person with the hieroglyph pays attention to, for example, health, love or wealth, and in some cases all of this at once.
For a person of European culture, hieroglyphs carry an aura of mystery and a kind of magic. For the same reason, people buy talismans or amulets in the form of hieroglyphs and believe in their protection, trying to join Eastern wisdom.
Some people are fascinated by the magic of calligraphy . Beautiful writing of hieroglyphs is an entire art, which consists not only of using a brush competently, but also focusing your mind on the meaning of the hieroglyph, gathering all the power of the brush, drawing the treasured sign.
Another area of application of hieroglyphs is Feng Shui. This is an ancient Chinese teaching about the harmonization of space. It is believed that characters placed in the right place (for example, the Japanese character for “Wealth” in a wallet) attract what they mean. They contain deep meaning and are believed to have great power.
So, below you can get acquainted with the hieroglyphs that are in greatest demand, as well as the order in which they are written. Imagine the surprise of your friends when you can easily not only tell the meaning of a hieroglyph depicted, for example, on the hand of your interlocutor, but also read it.
Chinese symbol of love, with and without heart
New Tang Dynasty Television once broadcast news of more than 100 Taiwanese entrepreneurs living in Shanghai returning to Taiwan to hire young people to work in their companies. When asked why they had to recruit from Taiwan when there were so many talented people in Shanghai, a manager at a human resources company explained, “It's because of the wolfish nature of the youth in mainland China.” He also said that youth in Taiwan have greater creativity and greater loyalty to the company they work for.
Young people of the same race speak the same language, so why do they retain the qualities of loyalty and fidelity built into traditional Chinese culture on the one hand, but a heartless nature on the other? Perhaps we can find the key to the Chinese character 愛 (ai), which means love. The hieroglyph originally depicted a symbol that had no deep sentimental meaning associated with a person or event, rather it was an expression of gratitude from a hungry person.
When the concept of 愛 was created, the following version was first written - 㤅 (an expression of gratitude for receiving food). 旡 at the top looks like a hungry man with a big open mouth. The bottom part is the symbol 心, meaning heart, this is a literal representation of the physical heart. During the Qin Dynasty over 2,000 years ago, the image of a slow walking pace, 夊, was added at the bottom to show reluctance to part with something. This completed the final meaning - the Japanese character for "love". If one is truly in love or truly grateful, one must do it with heart.
However, in a simplified version of the Chinese character, the heart in the center has been removed:
Young people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and even Japan write the symbol of love with a heart, while young people from mainland China write "love" without a heart. This makes one wonder whether the real motive behind simplifying the Chinese script was to undermine the traditional values of the Chinese people.
How to say "I love you" in Japanese
The Japanese language has several characters for the word love: firstly, 愛(ai) and 恋(koi). Secondly, the Japanese often declare their love by saying 好き(suki) - “like you”. Therefore, the first thing you should do is figure out what so many words are for and whether there is any difference between all these concepts.
好き(suki) This one is simple. 好き(suki), as already mentioned, corresponds to our “like”. Or also 大好き(daisuki) - “I like you very much.”
恋(koi) and 愛(ai) This is where it gets more interesting. Both of these words are translated as “love.” The difference is that 恋(koi) is a more selfish feeling. It can be described as "romantic love" or "passionate love".
愛(ai) cannot be created by one person. 愛(ai) is always a mutual feeling. This is true mutual love. This is when someone is so dear to you that their happiness is more important to you than your own.
At the same time, 愛(ai), like the Russian word for “to love,” has many meanings that have nothing to do with romantic love. So you can love a dog, and music, and a book - whatever you want. This is family love, and love for people, and love for God.
There is also the word 恋愛(ren'ai), which contains both of these characters. In general, the Russian equivalent of this word is “love affair”, that is, in essence it is not a feeling, but the fact that people meet.
Now, knowing exactly what you really feel, you can safely admit it to the object of your feelings.
As already mentioned, the Japanese often say 好き(suki) when declaring their love. The full “I love you” will be: 私はあなたが好きです。(watashi wa anata ga suki desu) or 私はあなたの事が好きです。(watashi wa anata no koto ga suki desu).
For stronger feelings, we add 大(dai), that is, respectively, 私はあなたが大好きです。(watashi wa anata ga daisuki desu) or 私はあなたの事が大 好きです。(watashi wa anata no koto ga daisuki desu ).
But the word 愛してる (ai shiteru), which seems to be more suitable in its essence, is practically not used by the Japanese. The fact is that earlier this word was used when talking about Buddha. Then, about a hundred years ago, the English word love came to Japan, and 愛(ai) began to mean romantic love, but the Japanese are still unusual in using it in this meaning.
And, apparently, to say this, you need to experience truly unearthly love. Although it is interesting that Japanese men or Japanese women who date foreigners often declare their love by saying 愛してる (ai shiteru).
Source: vk.com/subarashii.nihon
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Traditions of the East
People have always been surprised by other cultures and traditions. Everything alien, at a minimum, arouses interest, and sometimes fascinates and forces you to follow you. The spiritual treasures of other cultures, not related to the Slavic ones, enter our lives with a firm and confident step, introducing a certain amount of diversity, mystery, and novelty. Take, for example, Feng Shui, designed to arrange space according to the principles of harmony and fill it with love, happiness and prosperity.
Japanese and Chinese characters for “love” are written almost identically. What is this connected with? Hieroglyphs came to Japan from China. But they were not simply copied. The Japanese have managed to introduce many poetic and personal touches that gracefully complement the traditional ancient roots. Both the Chinese and Japanese characters for "love" are very powerful and can attract these feelings into real life. Believe it or not? You decide.
About names
It seems that writing a Chinese or Japanese word in Russian is painfully easy. This is done by everyone who services or sells radio equipment, cars or other equipment from the Land of the Rising Sun or the Middle Kingdom. There are many brands: Mitsubishi (or Mitsubishi?), Subaru, Matsushita (again, maybe Matsushita?). And there are other names (for example, Ruler Hirohito).
How our accent matches the original can be judged by the unique Japanese accent. If the lady’s name is Anything, the Japanese, addressing her, will say “Ryuba”. What if he is afraid of forgetting and needs to write down the name? Is there a suitable hieroglyph? Lyubov Petrovna, for example, may not realize that they are addressing her. But the resourceful inhabitants of the Japanese islands find the necessary radicals, trying to convey with them all the heritage of the Russian language. It turns out, however, with difficulty.
Hieroglyph “love”: photo and transcript
When you look at the symbol, the following association may arise: a beautiful butterfly fluttering airily over a closed flower bud. The hieroglyph “love” is happiness and peace for existing relationships, and attracting a soul mate promises a symbol for single people. If we decipher the hieroglyph in parts, then it consists of four elements: claws, blanket, heart and friend. Love is something that very strongly and deeply, like claws, digs into the heart and covers. It's like friendship, but much more.
Chinese literacy in practice
Each hieroglyphic symbol consists of so-called radicals, which have an independent meaning. Is it necessary for those who have started studying Chinese or Japanese to memorize them all? Their number amounts to a five-digit figure, but in everyday life it is used “quite insignificantly” - 5 thousand. To read periodicals and popular literature, knowledge of 2 thousand is enough. But the main thing is not cramming, but awareness of the system by which you can figure out the meaning of a word (and sometimes a whole sentence). For example, you can see the hieroglyph “love”, which means an important concept in the life of every person, regardless of language, race and nationality. How do the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun and the Chinese write it (or rather, draw it)?
Hieroglyph “love”: tattoo with meaning
Dancing fancy Chinese and Japanese characters are quickly becoming one of the most famous tattoos. Nowadays, it’s quite common to see people with a tattoo that looks like a mysterious oriental alphabet. The reason for the huge popularity of such tattoos is that they are not just letters. People believe that if you hang images of Chinese and Japanese characters at home, symbolizing good luck, wealth, love, happiness, you can actually attract them into your life.
Direct application to your skin will help enhance the effect. At least that’s what those who get tattoos with Chinese characters believe. This is quite bold, it is not just wearing a T-shirt with a symbol of happiness, for example. Therefore, before you get this or that tattoo, carefully and thoughtfully study the information on the desired symbol, so that together with the hieroglyph “eternal love” you do not end up with “eternal problems”.
Choose a hieroglyph!
Select a hieroglyph, look at the image, read the description, decide
Hieroglyph "Love"
A classic symbol for attracting love. The hieroglyph Love has a very powerful force and is able to attract not just a soul mate to you, but also joy, happiness and peace in an existing relationship. The hieroglyph “Love” attracts the energy of love, promotes long-term and mutual love, happiness in love, and creates harmony and mutual understanding in marriage. This hieroglyph not only strengthens the joint bonds of marriage, but also extinguishes mutual conflicts. You will find harmony and peace, tranquility and a decent life with your loved one. If you don’t have it yet, then put this hieroglyph in the sector of love and marriage, and you yourself will not notice how you will meet your soul mate.
Hieroglyph "Eternal Love"
Will give you eternal happiness in love and an unbreakable marriage. This hieroglyph is used as a love talisman and amulet; it will strengthen and help preserve love energy in your home. Will improve your relationship with your significant other. It is also very good to give such a hieroglyph to your parents with a wish of eternal love. The hieroglyph “Eternal Love” is placed in the sector of romantic relationships to the southwest. He will give you the flame of eternal and unquenchable love. This hieroglyph is used as a love talisman so that nothing can destroy this deep and tender feeling.
Hieroglyph "Happiness"
A sign of good wishes. This symbol awakens spiritual strength and internal energy. Happiness is different for everyone, for some it is to find love and family, for others it is to achieve career heights, for others it is success in creative activity. So, this hieroglyph “Happiness” helps you obtain what exactly is happiness and well-being for you.
Hieroglyph "Double Happiness"
This is one of the most popular images, this hieroglyph will bring you complete harmony in your marriage. The symbol of double happiness implies that this hieroglyph will help not only you, but also your life partner. You will double your family happiness and the luck of your family members. It is also very good to give a similar hieroglyph to other people to whom you wish happiness in their marriage. It is recommended to place the image of this hieroglyph to the southwest in the sector of romantic relationships. Since this is double happiness, this hieroglyph helps not only the owner of this symbol, but also his other half. Success becomes the success of both, happiness becomes twice as great! If you give this hieroglyph, then you sincerely wish the person happiness, fulfillment of all desires and show an expression of deep friendship.
Hieroglyph “100 years of married happiness”
It must be placed in the southwest of your home; it is a wonderful family amulet and talisman. The energy of this hieroglyph will bring harmony to your family relationships, increase your happiness in marriage and help preserve your marriage until old age. This hieroglyph reliably promotes a strong family union and happiness in marriage. It is used as a talisman for the family against the invasion of third parties, helps prevent spouses from cheating and gives them happiness and love. Year after year, their married life only gets better and better.
Hieroglyph "Health"
The hieroglyph “Health” helps to achieve excellent well-being and good health. In our wishes to loved ones, first of all, we wish you health, since no amount of money can buy it. This hieroglyph not only helps to maintain health, but also contributes to the speedy recovery of patients. Give your loved ones and friends this hieroglyph with wishes of good health.
or "Longevity"
The hieroglyph “Longevity” is a symbol of health and long life. One of the most popular hieroglyphs, it is customary to give it to elderly people with the wish of long life. This hieroglyph should be placed in the health sector in the east or can also be placed in the bedroom.
Hieroglyph "Wealth"
Helps increase income and obtain all kinds of material benefits. This hieroglyph can be placed in the wealth zone: wallet, safe and other “money” places. The hieroglyph “Wealth” helps to acquire not only material benefits, but also spiritual ones, and creates positive QI in the home and office. This hieroglyph, in principle, like all others, is usually given to friends. After all, the more we wish for good, the more we ourselves receive it.
Hieroglyph "Money".
One of the most popular hieroglyphs in Feng Shui. Attracts prosperity and monetary wealth in the places where it is located. Unlike the hieroglyph “Wealth”, it attracts precisely monetary energy and everything related to money. Promotes the formation of multiple sources of income. Money will make you free to do whatever you want.
Hieroglyph "Prosperity".
Promotes growth and prosperity in all aspects of life. Therefore, it can be placed in any Bagua sector that you want to further activate. This generalized hieroglyph will bring good luck, health, love and material well-being to your home. If you do not strive for wealth, then you will find spiritual peace and tranquility.
Hieroglyph "Abundance".
Will bring an abundance of everything you desire into your home, be it money, fame, success or love. This hieroglyph, like “Prosperity,” attracts the energy of abundance and growth in any area of life. This hieroglyph can be used in conjunction with other hieroglyphs whose symbolism is important to you at the moment.
Hieroglyph “Fulfillment of desires.”
Helps awaken the energy that is associated with your dreams and desires. This hieroglyph is very good to have at home; it will help with the fulfillment of desires and the implementation of all your plans, both personal and business. It is customary to give this calligraphy to friends with wishes of all the best and the fulfillment of all cherished desires.
Hieroglyph "Business success".
Good for both businessmen and people of creative professions. It attracts clients and business partners, ensures success in all endeavors, and contributes to the birth of new ideas and opportunities. This hieroglyph is usually placed in offices, on the desktop or at home in the office to attract energy, activity and creativity.
The hieroglyph “Strength” is a symbol that creates a favorable atmosphere and strengthens spiritual and physical strength. It will be appropriate in the zone of love and marriage, as well as in the family zone. The hieroglyph “Beauty” is a symbol that creates a favorable harmonious atmosphere in the room. Suitable for the creative area. The hieroglyph “Luck” is a symbol that creates a good atmosphere in the room and brings good luck. A good place for this symbol is in the Career zone.
Such different hieroglyphs: ideography
Hieroglyphs are not only Japanese and Chinese, there are also Egyptian, Arabic and Korean. It's kind of an elegant combination of painting and writing. It’s beautiful, but writing even a small text can take quite a long time if you do it by hand. As you know, hieroglyphs are not letters, but entire morphemes, words and even phrases.
Ideography (“writing an idea”) is a writing principle in which the unit of graphic designation is most often a whole word. It is from here that the development of writing originates. The most ancient are considered to be ancient Egyptian, Sumerian and Chinese. The first two are no longer used, but the Chinese honor the traditions of their ancestors and continue to use special characters as a modern means of writing.
Initially, hieroglyphs took the form of pictograms, simpler images of an everyday nature. However, not everything can be depicted with a picture. Difficulties arose when it was necessary to express abstract concepts in writing. For example, the symbol for “bao (guard)” is a combination of the characters for “man” and “child.”
Mysterious and beautiful Asia
For the average European, hieroglyphs are an obscure combination of dashes and hooks. But every stroke has its own meaning, every uneven loop is a prototype of the surrounding world. They are considered to be symbols and effective talismans for acquiring happiness, love, prosperity, health or wealth in a miraculous way. Take, for example, a hieroglyph to attract love. According to Feng Shui, such a powerful talisman is best hung in the southwest. You can also write it on a piece of paper and always take it with you. They say you should wear it close to your heart. Some even get a tattoo in this area.
Japanese character for "happiness"
If everything is fine with love, but you are missing a little happiness, then the Japanese character for “happiness” will help you. Here are some options for his image:
幸 and 福, and you can often find their combination 幸福.
Place it in your home and you will be happy. There is even a separate hieroglyph for “double happiness.” It is written as shown in the picture below:
heart
For all peoples, this organ is the home and receptacle of affectionate and, on the contrary, fierce feelings. Both love and hatred live in him, grow and die. Why do people in the world think this? Surely, therefore, a faster heartbeat is a more clearly felt sign of excitement. And the sign of this blood pump is indicated by 2 lines intersecting at an angle.
Another similar inclined cross, but with a small segment added to the upper part of the stick, going from right to left and upward, and means something completely incomprehensible to a person who thinks in a European way. This radical symbolizes some slowly moving creature with many legs. But you can find logic in this figure, just remember the love languor that deprives you of strength. My head is spinning, my legs are tangled...
In general, if you combine all four components, it turns out that the hieroglyph “love” contains the following information: “a feeling has settled under the roof of the heart, which has sunk its claws, disturbing the peace so much that you want to go somewhere, but have no strength.”
Love comes in different forms
The Japanese character for love, 愛 (pronounced ai), is a very popular choice. But it should not be confused with another image of love - 恋 (read koi), which specifically means a romantic feeling, the desire to possess the object of one’s adoration. In the first version, love is presented in a general sense, for the weather, nature, and so on, not only for a specific person.
What do claws and paws have to do with it?
Chinese writing does not seem ordinary, and in order to understand it, you must immerse yourself in the world of complex association rules. Only those who understand to some extent the way of thinking of the stately and old people will be able to learn how to accurately reproduce signs in calligraphy.
The hieroglyph “love” consists of 4 radical parts, located from top to bottom. The top sketch, reminiscent of an inverted Russian letter “Ш”, written in bold strokes, with a wide base and an inclined last stick symbolizes a claw or paw. Apparently, this is how the ancient Chinese understood the cruelty of feeling and its tenacity. We also say that love is not like potatoes, and if you throw it out the window, it will come through the door. And Cupid's arrow is a rather sharp object. In general, it’s easy to hurt your heart, and it’s great if the feeling is mutual, otherwise it will hurt.
Chinese philosophy
Yin Yang – Yīnyáng – 阴阳. In Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang (dark - light, negative - positive, masculine and feminine) describe how seemingly opposing forces can actually be complementary, interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they can give rise to each other as they interact between themselves. Many material dualities (such as light and dark, fire and water, expansion and contraction) are seen as physical manifestations of duality.
Some of the Feng Shui tips are:
- Don’t get carried away too much and clutter the entire space with images of happiness and good luck; use no more than three positive hieroglyphs with different meanings in the corresponding areas of the house.
- If you want to give a gift to a loved one, then send your positive vibrations along with the talisman with a mental visualization of what you wish for him.
- Connect the meaning of the hieroglyphic symbol with the image and energy of the recipient.
