Get Chinese Symbol Tattoos - But Don't Ruin Your Life!

Chinese symbol tattoos can be amongst the most beautiful and meaningful of tattoos - OR - they can be a cheesy, embarrassing faux pas. The choice is yours.

The problem arises because most Westerners can not read or understand written Chinese.

Consequently they have no idea what they have inked onto their body.

They're at the mercy of whatever source of information they used.

I wonder who advised the young lady in the image above?

So many Westerners come unstuck at this very early stage of choosing their design.

They choose a Chinese symbol that "looks pretty" or that "looks meaningful".

Now tell me - what does "look meaningful" actually mean? If you don't know what that Chinese symbol says then you have NO IDEA whether it is meaningful or not. Sorry to state the obvious but it is true.

I'm sure the young woman who had the Chinese symbol tattoos shown above thought they "looked meaningful".

There are some very cruel people out there who really don't care if you make a fool out of yourself and have a silly, crude, or offensive symbol made into a tattoo.

You're probably searching the internet to find a free Chinese symbol tattoo design and I do understand how you feel. I felt the same way because I don't have a lot of money to spare after I've paid for the essentials each week and I was doing the same. But finally I realized that a computer or an untrained person could not give me what I needed.

Which was to know with absolute certainty that I was not going to shame myself, my parents and grandparents by getting an inappropriate Chinese symbol. It was harder for me because I'm supposed to know better! But I don't live in China and I don't speak Chinese - and I couldn't discuss it with my grandparents.

But I found a translation service that I could trust.

So go to an experienced translator and tell them the word or phrase you want translated.

You might want to read this page on translating English names in Chinese symbols to understand more about the difficulties involved.

Translating is an art. The translator must be fluent with the nuances of both languages to make a satisfactory translation.


Remember those "meaningful" Chinese characters at the top of the page.


It means "abusive husband pimps me out"!!!

Is that really what you want tattooed on you.

Now before you go any further spend a couple of weeks reviewing HanziSmatter, a web site dedicated to the misuse and abuse of Chinese characters, especially with tattoos.

It will, I think, bring about the right degree of caution!

Don't choose your design from the flash on display inside the tattoo parlor.

Whilst most tattoo parlors sincerely wish to do a good job, most of the operators are not fluent in the Chinese language. So it is likely that no one at the parlor really knows what that "meaningful symbol" you've got your heart set on says.

That's likely what happened with the young lady in the image above.

Don't choose your design from the free translation services on the web. They use computer software to do the translation. It is a sure-fire way of getting a wrongly worded tattoo.

Winged Dragon Chinese
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