translate these symbols

[mrsjonathan]

can anyone tell me what these symbols mean? they are metal and have hooks on the back to hang on the wall. all the pictures are sideways the top is the right end. the last one is very similar to a print i have on a mug that is labeled "Happiness" ...???

[YuehanHao]

With an assist from my wife on the second, perhaps they should be

囍 - double happiness (used for weddings)

祿 - good fortune

壽 - long life

福 - happiness

[andysun731]

囍(double喜)-双喜临门，double celebration, usually used in decoration for wedding.

禄-good fortune, rich

夀(寿)-long life

福-fortune, luck, blessing

[mrsjonathan]

thank you! I am also doing some painting and i like decorating with "chinese" style of stuff. I need four characters, four words... In English here we would probably Live, Laugh, Love, Dance or something down that line. Would that be wierd in chinese? or what would you do in china? ;)) I'd like for it to be different characters than the ones I already have... I saw on a different post something about Body, Mind, Spirit, maybe something down that line??? would there be a fourth word I could add to that????

[jbradfor]

"Live" is a bit of a problem to translate. If you mean it in terms of "live life well", Chinese don't usually have a set character for that. "活" is probably the closest translation, but it means more to live ones life in a neutral sense (your day-to-day life), and not an exhortation. e.g. the movie "To Live" is "活着", but if you've seen that movie, you'll know that "To Survive" is probably a more accurate translation.

I would suggest "夀" instead, although it really means "wish you long life", it's a much more common character, and in fact is one of your origional four.

Laugh: 笑

Love: 愛

Dance: 舞