Chinese Tattoo - Forever Love?

Below is a Chinese tattoo confirmation request sent from Russ:

"I was told it was eternity and love, on my shoulder by itself."

Hi Russ,

Individually, both characters are written correctly and do mean what you mentioned - "forever" and "love".

However, because most Chinese words require compound characters nowadays, the word "forever" is more often translated into the two characters shown in the link below.

For the word "love" -- it is more often translated as "to feel attached to" specifically in a romantic sense, and not, say, the love for your parents, your siblings, for your pets, or for the world, but for one single partner who you're in love with, or it could also be interpreted as the kind of love when one is "in love with oneself".

Put together, these two words do not accurately convey the meaning directly translated from English - "forever love", as Chinese grammar is very much different from that of English. The good news is, they are correctly written.. And although may attract some unwanted attention from Chinese readers for being somewhat "unauthentic", the concept could be made out.

Hope that helps!

Simplified Chinese characters for "Eternity" or "Forever" 永远: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B8%E8%BF%9C
Simplified Chinese character for "Romantic Love" 恋: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%81%8B

Wine and Liquor in Chinese Characters and Japanese Kanji

Charles sent in the email with the following message and image:

"... its on the inside of my wrist...Thanks."

HI Charles,

This is a correctly written version of traditional Chinese character -- meanings range from any alcoholic drink, including beers, liquors, liqueurs, and wines.

And it means the same thing in Japanese Kanji.

Hope that helps!

Further information on the character 酒: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%85%92

Chinese Tattoo of "Alphabets" KH or Water Stops Flowing?

Kristina sent me this image below with this message:

"Hi, I am one those people who impulsively got a tatoo and naively believed it said what I wanted it to say.  I was young.  Now, 20 years later, I really want to know what it says and how I can fix it to say something meaningful.  I was told that it was my initials, KH.  I later had someone tell me that it said something roughly translated to "never stop flowing"  refering to water.  I would love to have something that actually did say something about flowing water.  I always associated flowing water to seeking truth and knowledge.  Water always flows toward a greater body of water.  The tatoo is on the back of my neck, just left of center.  I plan on getting a back tatoo of the rugged coast line with the ocean at some point in the future.  I'd like to tie it all together."

Hi Kristina,

Here are the explanations of the individual characters:

The first character (on the left): A watery waste; famine, barren - simplified character * see more on the differences between traditional and simplified character below
The second character (on the right): To stop; prohibit; to cease, halt; until - simplified and traditional character

The bad news: It does not mean KH (there are no Chinese characters for English alphabet -- we would just use English alphabet). Instead, putting both characters together, it says "barren stop". In other words, it doesn't mean anything at all.

The good news: Both characters are written correctly.

The semi-good news: If you put three more dots on the left character (see attached), it will become the word "a water way", "to flow" or "to drift" among a list of other meanings including "to move or circulate downwards", "to exude" or "class/style". The word will become a traditional character; and it will be okay because the second character on the right is used in both the simplified and traditional writing.

The semi-bad news: It will read something like "flowing ceases" - in Chinese grammar it's still incorrect and does not mean anything.

With situations like this (not uncommon), I usually recommend clients to just forget about getting another Chinese character -- and either accept the current design for its looks alone (is it perhaps better to be a person who really does flow like water, rather than one who just has a tattoo that says they go with the flow?)... OR, if you're super unhappy with what other people might think of the tattoo, then you might talk to a tattooist about covering the whole thing with a pictograph.

* Note: The difference between Traditional and Simplified Chinese characters:
Traditional - used in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other overseas Chinese communities, longer history since 5th century AD.
Simplified - used in Mainland China and Singapore, shorter history, invented by the Communist leader Mao Zedong in China. 

Strength or Courage... or is it just a Big Mistake?

Jorg sent the image below and asked the following question for a friend who had the tattoo done in Berlin:

"1) Apparently they were meant to mean: strength, courage or determination, or some such thing.
2) on the back, on the right shoulder blade
3) no further tattoos.

Some Chinese people who saw the tattoo said the two characters mean "dog" and "pass" or "good mannered dog" and "pass", where "pass" by itself makes no sense."

Hi Jorg,

I hate to disappoint you, but unfortunately it doesn't mean "courage". In Chinese, the design consists of two characters that look really smashed together (the dot on top should be in the middle closer to the character to the right; if the dot is read together with the character to the left, it means dog, but then the character on the right without the dot will be incorrect and non-readable). The tattoo reads "major demerits", or "serious mistake".

I've seen this design being misinterpreted a few times before. For reference, please see http://www.starchamber.com/2006/04/tattoos-sacred-and-profane.html and http://www.tattoodonkey.com/chinese-tattoos-that-include-authentic-characters-and-symbols-can-form-/chinasuccessstories.com*wp-content*uploads*big-mistake.jpg/

If you get a chance, please let me know where you found this design (in a book? at a tattoo parlor?) It seems someone is distributing some bad information.

Thank you!

-

I never obtained any information on which parlors are distributing the incorrect information. If anyone has any knowledge of the origin of this design, or has seen it in a sample book at a parlor, please feel free to email me at mail at ChineseTattoos dot com and let me know. Thanks!

Chinese Proverb for a Tattoo - Never Satisfied?

Margaret sent in this Chinese tattoo confirmation with the message below:

1) I was told it says 'never satisfied'
2) It is on my left lower leg
3) It is not near any other tattoo

Hi Margaret,

Yes - your tattoo does indeed say what you were told, but with a little more depth than you might expect. It is actually a Chinese proverb that... It is a Chinese proverb that literally refers to the feeling of caring greatly about the gains and losses in one's life. Word by word it reads "to worry about gains; to worry about losses", as in one is worried about not gaining what one wants, and after gaining it one is worried about losing it. Thus, the meaning "never satisfied".

It is correctly written - no worries there.

Hope that's what you're looking for!

A Dragon named "Feist"? Or a crossbreed dog...?

Tim sent in the Chinese tattoo confirmation below:

"It was part of a dragon, you can see three claws on the picture.
It´s on the left body-side.

Waiting for an answer :)

Thx for translating."

Hi Tim,

According to my research, it looks like the characters are an incorrect version of the name "Feist".

This obviously is a name, as they are merely characters that are close to English sounds, and by themselves don't have any meaning.

If this is, indeed, the name "Feist", please see the attached for the correction version (read from left to right).

Note that Feist in English also refers to a small hunting dog. But I assume that this is a name rather than the name of a croosbreed dog..?

If it's not Feist, let me know what the intended name was and I'll see if it's anywhere close.

(Tim never responded to the above answer. Hope it was what he was looking for!)

The Chinese -Simplified- Characters for the word FRIENDSHIP

Colton sent a Chinese tattoo confirmation for his tattoo below:

Hi Colton,

This is a correctly written design of the word "friendship" in simplified Chinese characters (as opposed to traditional Chinese characters).

For a brief intro to the differences between SIMPLIFIED Chinese characters and TRADITIONAL Chinese characters:

    *  Simplified Chinese characters are used in China and Singapore. Traditional characters are used in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and will also be seen on most Chinese menus and newspapers found overseas (US, UK, Australia, Canada, etc).

    * Character simplification was part of Mao Ze-Dong's pre-Cultural Revolution in 1960's China, which explains why Hong Kong and Taiwan continue using traditional characters. Because the simplified system is based on the traditional one, many characters are actually exactly the same in both systems.

Source: http://www.learnchineseez.com/learning-chinese-languages/

Therefore, depending on your audience, or if political ideals matter to you, the system of writing does make a difference.

Chinese Tattoo or Japanese Tattoo?

Kimberly sent me the Chinese tattoo confirmation below:

"I was told that it meant "Love Hurts." I do not remember what language, but I believe it is Chinese. I want to know if it's correct or not. If not, please send me the correct image because I can't find it anywhere, and if there is a different meaning to the tattoo I have, please let me know what it is.

Sincerly,
  ~Kimberly"

Hi Kimberly,

As far as I can tell, this is a Japanese Kanji tattoo. Japanese Kanji is derived from the system of writing "with" Chinese characters. Although they look the same (meaning that an average Chinese who does not read or speak any Japanese could understand these characters), their meanings could sometimes vary in the two languages (e.g. the word "geisha" in Japanese means "prostitute" in Chinese).

Unfortunately I am not Japanese and cannot offer any reliable insight. This reads to me as "love" and "pain", and something that is in Japanese that I cannot understand. Although the characters mean "love" and "pain" individually, the grammar is incorrect in Chinese, and I would hardly read it as "love hurts" in the Chinese language.

(I have attached the translation in Japanese for "Love Hurts" below the picture *Click to view Source)

I would suggest that you look for a Japanese translator for further clarification.

Thank you and good luck!

A Chinese Tattoo - More than just Early Morning

Irakli sent in this Chinese tattoo confirmation email indicating that this tattoo is on his "back right upper side".

Hi Irakli,

Here is a list of all the possible meanings of this Chinese character:

1. the fifth of the twelve Earthly Branches which in combination with the Heavenly Stems were used by the ancients to designate years, months, and days
2. 5th earthly branch; 7-9 a.m.
3. early morning

The character is correctly written (no mistakes at all), and there is not really an other meaning that would risk negative interpretation. Furthermore, the placement you mentioned should not lead to any misunderstandings.

"Fake" Hanna Tattoo in Chinese

Justin sent in a simple confirmation request for a hanna tattoo: "My friend got this fake chinese tattoo but what does it mean?"

Hi Justin,

In Chinese, the character means somewhere along the lines of "contrary", "opposite", "against" or "opposed to", or "to turn over". Although rarely seen by itself, it would give an average Chinese passerby the connotation of "rebellion" and "opposing forces".

According to the Kanji dictionary, it has the same meanings in Japanese, plus a few others like "to violate" or "to infringe".

Hope that helps!

Chinese Tattoo for Karma

Beez emailed me and with this picture and asked this:

"I was told my tattoo was one from the phrase Karma.  More specifically, I was told it means cause and effect; or causality (Punitive Justices, Retribution for Sin, etc).  The tattoo is located on my back.  There are no other tattoos.  Lately, for whatever reason, I have just been paranoid the tattoo means something else - I don't really know why.  Thank you!"

Hi Beez,

Nothing to worry about. The tattoo says exactly what you think it means.

And a follow up from Beez:

Thanks so much.  You've made my day!

Example of Chinese symbol tattoo meaning same thing as Japanese Kanji tattoo

Although there are many differences in meanings between Chinese characters and Japanese Kanji, there are also cases where they are written and used in the same context and that they do mean the same thing.

Here is a Chinese tatooo confirmation request below that illustrates the point:

--

Hi,

I got this tattoo about 10 years ago.  The place I went to had a printed/published book which I got the symbol from.  The book said the symbol means "Will or determination".  I don't remember if it was Chinese or Japanese.  I've looked all over the web and cannot find it anywhere.

Thank you very much,

Brian

Hi Brian,

Not a worry - this is exactly what you think it means, both in Chinese character and in Japanese Kanji, and a good choice for a tattoo. * The free samples on my site contain only a very general idea of words, i.e. the word "will/determination" would vary depending on one's target/what one's after. But the design that you have is commonly used as a highly regarded virtue in the Chinese culture, all the way since the School of Confucian began in China.

It's nice to do a confirmation once in a while that isn't bad news!