Learn how the name John is written in Chinese and Japanese. Decorate your home with a cool wall scroll that says John.
1. Eternal Life / Everlasting Life / Immortality
2. John
3. John 14:15
4. John 14:18
5. John 3:16
6. John 8:8
7. John
8. John-Paul
永生 are the last two words from John 3:16 in the Chinese Union Bible.
Although not specifically Christian, this is the way to express ever-lasting life or eternal life in Chinese.
In Japanese, this can either mean eternal life or immortality.
See Also: Eternity | Rebirth | Reincarnation | Immortality
你們若愛我就必遵守我的命令 is the translation of John 14:15 into Chinese.
This comes from the Chinese Union Bible which comes from a revised King James version. This Chinese Bible was originally translated and printed in 1919 (several revisions since then).
Because of the origin being the KJV, I'll say that in English, this would be, “If ye love me, keep my commandments...”
In basic English, this would be, “If you have love for me, you will keep my laws.”
我不撇下你們為孤兒我必到你們這里來 is the translation of John 14:18 into Chinese.
This comes from the Chinese Union Bible which comes from a revised version of the King James. This Chinese Bible was originally translated and printed in 1919 (several revisions since then).
Because of the origin being the KJV, I'll say that in English, this would be, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you...”
In basic English, this would be, “I will not let you be without a friend: I am coming to you.”
神愛世人甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們叫一切信他的不至滅亡反得永生 is the full translation of John 3:16 into Chinese.
This is from the Chinese Union Bible which comes from a revised version of the King James. This Chinese Bible was originally translated and printed in 1919 (several revisions since then).
Because of the origin being the KJV, I'll say that in English, this would be, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
As with any translation, there are interesting cultural and linguistic issues. For instance, the word used for “world” in Chinese can also mean “common people.” So you could say that it means “For God so loved the common people...”
This does not take away from the text, as it will be understood with the same meaning and connotation.
There is no direct Greek-to-Chinese translation in print (that I know of), so this is the best available. Of course, you can ask any Greek person of faith, and they will claim that a bit is lost from the original Greek of the New Testament to any of the English versions of the Bible in print.
Here is the full translation of John 3:16 into Japanese.
This translation comes from the Shinkaiyaku Bible (a preferred translation by many Japanese Christians).
Just for reference, from the KJV, this reads, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Eternal Life Everlasting Life Immortality | 永生 | eisei | yǒng shēng yong3 sheng1 yong sheng yongsheng | yung sheng yungsheng |
John | 約翰 约翰 | yuē hàn / yue1 han4 / yue han / yuehan | yüeh han / yüehhan | |
John 14:15 | 你們若愛我就必遵守我的命令 你们若爱我就必遵守我的命令 | nǐ mén ruò ài wǒ jiù bì zūn shǒu wǒ de mìng lìng ni3 men2 ruo4 ai4 wo3 jiu4 bi4 zun1 shou3 wo3 de ming4 ling4 ni men ruo ai wo jiu bi zun shou wo de ming ling | ni men jo ai wo chiu pi tsun shou wo te ming ling | |
John 14:18 | 我不撇下你們為孤兒我必到你們這里來 我不撇下你们为孤儿我必到你们这里来 | wǒ bù piě xià nǐ mén wéi gū ér wǒ bì dào nǐ mén zhè lǐ lái wo3 bu4 pie3 xia4 ni3 men2 wei2 gu1 er2 wo3 bi4 dao4 ni3 men2 zhe4 li3 lai2 wo bu pie xia ni men wei gu er wo bi dao ni men zhe li lai | wo pu p`ieh hsia ni men wei ku erh wo pi tao ni men che li lai wo pu pieh hsia ni men wei ku erh wo pi tao ni men che li lai |
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John 3:16 | 神愛世人甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們叫一切信他的不至滅亡反得永生 神爱世人甚至将他的独生子赐给他们叫一切信他的不至灭亡反得永生 | shén ài shì rén shèn zhì jiāng tā de dú shēng zǐ cì gè tā mén jiào yí qiè xìn tā de bú zhì miè wáng fǎn dé yǒng shēng shen2 ai4 shi4 ren2 shen4 zhi4 jiang1 ta1 de du2 sheng1 zi3 ci4 gei3 ta1 men2 jiao4 yi2 qie4 xin4 ta1 de bu2 zhi4 mie4 wang2 fan3 de2 yong3 sheng1 shen ai shi ren shen zhi jiang ta de du sheng zi ci gei ta men jiao yi qie xin ta de bu zhi mie wang fan de yong sheng | shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang t`a te tu sheng tzu tz`u kei t`a men chiao i ch`ieh hsin t`a te pu chih mieh wang fan te yung sheng shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang ta te tu sheng tzu tzu kei ta men chiao i chieh hsin ta te pu chih mieh wang fan te yung sheng |
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John 3:16 | 神は 實に そのひとり 子をお 與えになったほどに 世を 愛された. それは 御子を 信じる 者が ひとりとして 滅びることなく 永遠のいのちを 持つためである. | kami wa, minoru ni, sono hitori ko o o atae ni natta hodo ni, yo o aisare ta. Sore wa miko o shinjiru mono ga, hitori toshite horobiru koto naku, eien no inochi o motsu tame de aru. | ||
John 3:16 (first half) | 神愛世人甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們 神爱世人甚至将他的独生子赐给他们 | shén ài shì rén shèn zhì jiāng tā de dú shēng zǐ cì gè tā mén shen2 ai4 shi4 ren2 shen4 zhi4 jiang1 ta1 de du2 sheng1 zi3 ci4 gei3 ta1 men2 shen ai shi ren shen zhi jiang ta de du sheng zi ci gei ta men | shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang t`a te tu sheng tzu tz`u kei t`a men shen ai shih jen shen chih chiang ta te tu sheng tzu tzu kei ta men |
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John 8:8 | 於是又彎著腰用指頭在地上畫字 于是又弯着腰用指头在地上画字 | yú shì yòu wān zhe yāo yòng zhǐ tou zài dì shàng huà zì yu2 shi4 you4 wan1 zhe yao1 yong4 zhi3 tou zai4 di4 shang4 hua4 zi4 yu shi you wan zhe yao yong zhi tou zai di shang hua zi | yü shih yu wan che yao yung chih t`ou tsai ti shang hua tzu yü shih yu wan che yao yung chih tou tsai ti shang hua tzu |
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John | ジョン | jon | ||
John-Paul | 約翰保羅 约翰保罗 | yuē hàn bǎo luó yue1 han4 bao3 luo2 yue han bao luo yuehanbaoluo | yüeh han pao lo yüehhanpaolo |
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John-Paul | ジョンポール | jon pooru / jonpooru / jon poru | ||
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.