"Destiny"

Reader "ZZ" emails:

"Hi Tian! That it's my first tattoo and it is supposse to mean 'destiny' is it correct? Thanks"

The translation for the tattoo is correct, but the second character 命 is missing a horizontal stroke.

Typically in Chinese, "fate" or "destiny" is translated as 命運; and in Japanese, both 命運 and 運命 are accepted.

運 = luck, fortune; ship, transport
命 = life; destiny, fate, luck; an order, instruction

"Fascism-Party Member"

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A10925/high/4b3e088.jpg

I was a bit surprised by this person's Japanese tattoos. There is nothing wrong with characters themselves, but the context.

It is obvious that he is Caucasian and the middle tattoo states that he is a believer of "racial/ethnical superiority", then why did he get a tattoo in an Asian language?

反対者 = foe, opponent, adversary, dissenter

民族主義者 = Nationalist (or person believes in racial/ethnical superiority)

フアシスト党員 = Fascism-party member

"Entering Dragon's Luck"

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A30404/high/tatoo11.jpg

The top character appears to be a miswritten 進, which is missing a horizontal stroke in the right side partial. When written correctly, the charact would mean "advance, make progress, enter".

The middle character was suppose to be 龙, which is a simplified version of 龍, and it means "dragon". Too bad it is also incorrectly written, it is missing a dot on the right upper corner.

The bottom character 祥 is correct and it means "good luck, good omen; happiness".

"Outside Residence"

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A30419/high/pictures2153.jpg

The character 外 means "out, outside, external; foreign", and the character 宅 means "residence, dwelling, home".

If the tattooed phrase was read from right-to-left, it would mean "the exterior of a house".

But if it was read from left-to-right, then it would mean "outside house" or "out house":

outhouse n : a small outbuilding with a bench having holes through which a user can defecate.

Loving Mother's Hope, Infurating Father's Knowledge

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A50418/high/bmegl051849.jpg

愛 = love, be fond of, like
母 = mother; female elders; female
望 = to look at, look forward; to hope, expect

愛母望 could be translated as "loving mother's hope", or "love mother's gaze".

氣 = air, gas, steam, vapor; spirit
父 = father
智 = wisdom, knowledge, intelligence

氣 can also be interpreted as "angry" or "mad", as in "氣死你" which means "making you mad [to death]".

氣父智 could then be translated as "infurating father's knowledge".

It is probably fitting, especially after when this person's father finds out he/she got random Chinese characters tattooed on his/her legs.

Something Extra on the Bed Sheets

Anonymous reader emailed me from Germany:

"Hi, I found this bed-cloth ad in a brochure of a German wholesale market (www.selgros.de). Perhaps its interesting for your site, dont know, cant read kanji :)"




The verticle stroke in this character, what appears as 生, is too long.

生 = life, living, lifetime; birth




The circled character 女 has an extra dot to it.

女 = woman, girl; feminine

女生 = co-eds; female students

"Oil Crisis"

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A50420/high/bmegl053655.jpg

油断大敵 is a Japanese phrase that means "unpreparedness is one's greatest enemy" or "he that is too secure is not safe".

But in Chinese, the tattoo above would then read as "lack/sever of oil, big enemy/problem" or "oil crisis".

Perhaps the owner of this tattoo drives a large SUV?

油 = oil, fat, grease, lard; paints
断 = sever, cut off; interrupt
大 = big, great, vast, large, high
敵 = enemy, foe, rival; resist

Mark of the Bovinae

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A50414/high/bmegl050199.jpg

Here is a question for all the ladies out there:

Would anyone of you mark yourself with a tattoo saying you are a "cow", or perhaps a "heifer"?

If your answer is "no", then why would you do it in another language that you probably don't fully understand?

Granted, there are cultures that do regard highly of the animal, but it is doubtful in the Western world. Just think when is the last time some guy could start a conversation by complementing a woman's cow-like features?

The character 牛 is a general term used for any member of the Bovinae family. If there is not a secondary character to specify, then 牛 on a female could be interpreted as "cow".

Update: Correctly Done and it means "pig".


http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A50429/high/bmegl057082.jpg

"Peaceful Prisoner"

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A50418/high/bmegl051075.jpg
http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A50418/high/bmegl051080.jpg
http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A50418/high/bmegl051071.jpg

My first impression of this tattoo was "it could be a screwed up 智 (wisdom)".

The top half of 智 is suppose to be 知, not 和; and the bottom partial should be 日, not a 囚.

Or the guy really wanted "peaceful prisoner".

和 = harmony, peace; peaceful, calm
囚 = prisoner, convict; confine