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Personalize your custom “鯉” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “鯉” title below...
鯉 is the Japanese Kanji that created the title “koi fish.” 鯉 is pronounced “koi” in Japanese.
Here is the reality: 鯉 actually means “carp” in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja. Koi fish really are carp (by species) and were bred to obtain colorful variations in ancient China. Some generations later, some of these colorful fish were transported to Japan, where they also became vastly popular.
Note: Please see our other entry for koi fish (Nishiki Goi) which is a more normal selection for a Japanese koi fish enthusiast to have on their wall.
If you like or collect and maintain koi fish, 錦鯉 is the wall scroll for you.
Technically, this is a certain and revered species of “koi fish” in Japan, but it is the most normal selection for a wall scroll (more normal than the actual Kanji for “koi” or “fish” alone.
This literally means “brocade carp” or “embroidered carp.” This term is also used to mean the same thing in China (which is the origin of koi fish breeding and cultivation, several generations before they became popular in Japan).
For those of you that don't know, the Kanji for “koi” (which is pronounced “goi” in this entry) really means “carp.” If you want the word that means “koi fish,” it would just be the generic word for “carp fish.” That would include both colorful carp and the more mundane gray carp (the ones people eat if they don't mind lots of bones).
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 鯉 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
鯉 鲤 see styles |
lǐ li3 li koi(p); koi こい(P); コイ |
More info & calligraphy: Koi Fishcommon carp (Cyprinus carpio); koi carp; (personal name) Ri |
錦鯉 锦鲤 see styles |
jǐn lǐ jin3 li3 chin li nishikigoi にしきごい |
More info & calligraphy: Koi Fish / Nishiki Goicoloured carp; colored carp |
鯉魚 鲤鱼 see styles |
lǐ yú li3 yu2 li yü |
More info & calligraphy: Carp / Koi Fish |
万鯉 see styles |
mari まり |
(female given name) Mari |
似鯉 see styles |
nigoi; nigoi にごい; ニゴイ |
(kana only) Hemibarbus barbus (species of cyprinid) |
佐鯉 see styles |
sakoi さこい |
(surname) Sakoi |
依鯉 see styles |
ikoi いこい |
(female given name) Ikoi |
勝鯉 see styles |
shouri / shori しょうり |
(personal name) Shouri |
夕鯉 see styles |
yuuri / yuri ゆうり |
(female given name) Yūri |
寒鯉 see styles |
kangoi かんごい |
(See 鯉) koi carp caught during the cold season |
川鯉 see styles |
kawagoi かわごい |
(surname) Kawagoi |
希鯉 see styles |
kiri きり |
(female given name) Kiri |
愛鯉 see styles |
airi あいり |
(female given name) Airi |
松鯉 see styles |
shouri / shori しょうり |
(given name) Shouri |
海鯉 海鲤 see styles |
hǎi lǐ hai3 li3 hai li |
sea bream |
由鯉 see styles |
yuri ゆり |
(female given name) Yuri |
真鯉 see styles |
magoi まごい |
black carp; black koi; (female given name) Mari |
紅鯉 see styles |
akari あかり |
(female given name) Akari |
緋鯉 see styles |
higoi ひごい |
red carp; golden carp |
舞鯉 see styles |
mari まり |
(female given name) Mari |
茉鯉 see styles |
mari まり |
(female given name) Mari |
裸鯉 裸鲤 see styles |
luǒ lǐ luo3 li3 lo li |
naked carp (Gymnocypris przewalskii) |
養鯉 see styles |
youri / yori ようり |
(rare) carp breeding |
香鯉 see styles |
kaori かおり |
(female given name) Kaori |
鯉丈 see styles |
rijou / rijo りじょう |
(given name) Rijō |
鯉乃 see styles |
rino りの |
(female given name) Rino |
鯉也 see styles |
koinari こいなり |
(given name) Koinari |
鯉住 see styles |
koizumi こいずみ |
(surname) Koizumi |
鯉佳 see styles |
rika りか |
(female given name) Rika |
鯉内 see styles |
koiuchi こいうち |
(surname) Koiuchi |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Koi Fish | 鯉 鲤 | koi | lǐ / li3 / li | |
Carp Koi Fish | 鯉魚 鲤鱼 | lǐ yú / li3 yu2 / li yu / liyu | li yü / liyü | |
Koi Fish Nishiki Goi | 錦鯉 锦鲤 | nishiki goi nishikigoi | jǐn lǐ / jin3 li3 / jin li / jinli | chin li / chinli |
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
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.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.