Buy a Kuanyin calligraphy wall scroll here!
Personalize your custom “Kuanyin” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Kuanyin” title below...
観音 is the specifically Japanese version of Bodhisattva of Compassion or Guan Yin.
In Japanese, this is pronounced Kannon and occasionally spelled Kwannon. The Chinese version is a bit more commonly seen in Asia. However, in Japanese, there is a slight variation with the first character.
Some time ago, a camera company in Japan named their company after this Buddhist deity. That camera company is still known as Canon (they chose a “C” instead of a “K” when they Romanized this name).
Long or more formal Japanese version of this title
観世音 is the more extended and more formal Japanese version of Bodhisattva of Compassion or Guan Yin.
In Japanese, this is pronounced Kanzeon. The Chinese version is a bit more common in Asia, but in Japanese, they use a slight variation of the first character. Choose this version only if your intended audience is specifically Japanese.
觀音/観音 is the Buddhist deity known as the Goddess of Mercy or Bodhisattva of Compassion.
In Chinese, the proper name of this being is Guan Yin. There is some debate as to whether Guan Yin is female. The argument comes from some scripture that suggests Buddhist deities take on the male form. Others say that Guan Yin has no sex. And still, others are okay with the female representation of Guan Yin.
This bodhisattva is also known or Romanized in the following ways:
Mandarin Chinese: Guan Yin, Kuan Yin, Kwan Yin.
Japanese: Kannon, Kwannon.
Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Korean: Gwan-eum.
Vietnamese: Quan Âm.
Thai: Kuan Eim.
English: Bodhisattva of Mercy and Salvation, Goddess of Compassion, Buddha of Mercy, et al.
Note: The first character has a slight variation in Japanese. If your audience is specifically Japanese, you may want to select that version.
See Also: Buddhism | Goddess | Namo Amitabha | Bodhisattva
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your kuanyin search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
觀音鄉 观音乡 see styles |
guān yīn xiāng guan1 yin1 xiang1 kuan yin hsiang |
Guanyin or Kuanyin township in Taoyuan county 桃園縣|桃园县[Tao2 yuan2 xian4], north Taiwan |
千手觀音 千手观音 see styles |
qiān shǒu guān yīn qian1 shou3 guan1 yin1 ch`ien shou kuan yin chien shou kuan yin Senshu Kannon せんじゅかんのん |
(out-dated kanji) thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara; thousand-armed Kannon Sahasrabhuja-sahasranetra. One of the six forms of Kuanyin with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes. |
千手千眼觀音 千手千眼观音 see styles |
qiān shǒu qiān yǎn guān yīn qian1 shou3 qian1 yan3 guan1 yin1 ch`ien shou ch`ien yen kuan yin chien shou chien yen kuan yin Senju sengen Kannn |
Sahasrabhuja-sahasranetra. One of the six forms of Kuanyin with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes. |
千眼千臂觀世音 千眼千臂观世音 see styles |
qiān yǎn qiān bì guān shì yīn qian1 yan3 qian1 bi4 guan1 shi4 yin1 ch`ien yen ch`ien pi kuan shih yin chien yen chien pi kuan shih yin Sengensenhi Kanseon |
Sahasrabhuja-sahasranetra. One of the six forms of Kuanyin with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes. The image usually has forty arms, one eye in each hand; and forty multiplied by twenty-five is the number of regions in this universe. For the 二十八部 or retinue, the maṇḍala and signs v. 千手經. |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Goddess of Compassion | 観音 | kan non / kannon | guān yīn / guan1 yin1 / guan yin / guanyin | kuan yin / kuanyin |
Goddess of Compassion | 観世音 | kan ze on / kanzeon | guān shì yīn guan1 shi4 yin1 guan shi yin guanshiyin | kuan shih yin kuanshihyin |
Goddess of Mercy and Compassion | 觀音 / 観音 观音 | kan non / kannon | guān yīn / guan1 yin1 / guan yin / guanyin | kuan yin / kuanyin |
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.
Some people may refer to this entry as Kuanyin Kanji, Kuanyin Characters, Kuanyin in Mandarin Chinese, Kuanyin Characters, Kuanyin in Chinese Writing, Kuanyin in Japanese Writing, Kuanyin in Asian Writing, Kuanyin Ideograms, Chinese Kuanyin symbols, Kuanyin Hieroglyphics, Kuanyin Glyphs, Kuanyin in Chinese Letters, Kuanyin Hanzi, Kuanyin in Japanese Kanji, Kuanyin Pictograms, Kuanyin in the Chinese Written-Language, or Kuanyin in the Japanese Written-Language.
40 people have searched for Kuanyin in Chinese or Japanese in the past year.
Kuanyin was last searched for by someone else on Oct 10th, 2024