Respect John! Chinese, Japanese or Thai character symbol?

John sent in this picture of his tattoo with the following message:

"Hi, I was told that this tattoo means John. This was done by someone who was Chinese but I would just like my mind to be put at rest. The tattoo was done at the top of my arm. If you could help me with this I would be most grateful."

Hi John,

As far as I know, this is not the name "John." Attached is a copy of the correct version of "John." Your tattoo is a correctly written traditional Chinese character that means "to respect", "to honor", or a character that addresses the senior generation.

Hope that helps!

~

In a follow-up for further clarification, John emailed and asked:

"Ok thanks, I guess it could be a lot worse. Do you think it could be a different language? Such as Thai, Japanese or something like that. Or is it definitely Chinese?"

-

Hi John,

No - this won't be any other Asian languages (Thai uses a completely different writing system - close to Arabic), except that the Japanese does borrow many Chinese characters in their written language. Most of these borrowed characters are understood by both Chinese and the Japanese, although the Japanese sometimes slightly change the meaning (e.g. the same characters saying "geisha" as understood by a Japanese person are understood as "prostitute" in Chinese). "Respect" is a widely shared virtue in both cultures - as far as any negative meanings are concerned, I would not worry about it at all.

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.

"No Regrets"... or "I don't regret it?"

Mike sent in this Chinese tattoo confirmation with the following message:

"It is on my arm. In college I looked up No Regrets online (English to Chinese) translator.  I have been told at my tai chi class that "Unless you are trying to impress a Chinese linguistics professor" you're fine.  I have no idea though, I thought I had done my homework, but who knows.  You help is greatly appreciated.  I do know the first character appears to be Bu', for no or not.

Thanks so much for the help!!"

Hi Mike,

It could be loosely translated as "no regrets", but the word "regret" (jiu in pinyin) here should really be translated as "remorse". Regret carries no explicit admission that one is responsible for an incident, while remorse implies a sense of guilty responsibility and a greater feeling of personal pain and anguish. So in a way, you're really saying you feel no remorse for something that you directly, depending on different parties' perspectives, may or may not have responsibility in the specific consequence (i.e. you do not regret doing something you have already done).

So it may not be the perfect translation (depending on your intention), but is definitely not an incorrect tattoo.

I have attached in the file the correct translation for "No Regrets" if it had been the sense that prevailed in the English language.

Hope that makes sense!

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.