Takae i have a question you might be able to answer, a couple i know had each others names tattooed on them in chinese. Is that even possible? We are talking western names and its not like there was a symbol for each letter. I think they said the tattooist looked it up on a website?
I wondered if certain sounds had a symbol or if its all just a huge con in the tattoo world.
Sorry, I missed your edit. Well, I don't know about Chinese (I know some, but certainly not fluent), but for Japanese, yes and no.
It's possible to convert a name to katakana. Off my head: Jack is ジャック (jakku). It's not a literal translation as it's phonetics only. There are some names that can't be phonetically rendered, though.
Otherwise, it's fairly impossible to have an English name translated to kanji. There are equivalents that carry the same feel, age and such. The English equivalent of my name Takae, for instance, is Winifred or Edith. A direct translation? Nope.
As for a tattooist looking it up on the internet? This makes me want to bang my head on a wall. Repeatedly.
Many people here have laughed at photos of signs, tattoos and t-shirts in 'Engrish'. This is how it is for Japanese- and Chinese-speaking people when they see signs, tattoos and t-shirts in mauled Japanese or Chinese.
Many people here have laughed at photos of signs, tattoos and t-shirts in 'Engrish'. This is how it is for Japanese- and Chinese-speaking people when they see signs, tattoos and t-shirts in mauled Japanese or Chinese.
I really hope there is a website that features the funniest ones, like the 'Engrish' site
OP, please don't get a tattoo in a language you don't know.
I have seen too many 'Japanese' tattoos that were total gibberish. Some were upside down, reverse, poorly done (missing or misplaced strokes) or fake. Some were grammatically horrible.
If you have to have one, please don't rely on the Internet or a tattooist. Not even me. Find a qualified translator who can assist you in finding the one that fits best. Explain what you're looking for, what you want it to convey and how you want the others to perceive it.
I would take heed of what Takae has written, op, it might save you getting something something which is not quite what you hoped for.
You dont speak chinese but you want the chinese for hamster tattooed on yourself? You have no idea whether or not the symbol you pick will be correct, hell you probably wont ever know!
You could be ultra creative and design your own tattoo which looks like a chinese symbol but on a closer look is a hamster?
Takae i have a question you might be able to answer, a couple i know had each others names tattooed on them in chinese. Is that even possible? We are talking western names and its not like there was a symbol for each letter. I think they said the tattooist looked it up on a website?
I wondered if certain sounds had a symbol or if its all just a huge con in the tattoo world.
I worked with a chap form Hong Kong and he told me that sometimes people think they're getting their name tattoo'd in Chinese characters but it's just something generic like 'chicken soup'.
Do you already have a sleeve with hamster/mouse tattoos?
It's a work in progress, I have three of my mice, a hamster and a tribal mouse so far
I still want hamster and mice paw prints, the Chinese or Japanese writing and something to symbolise the passed hamsters/mice (probably a angel mouse and angel hamster)
I worked with a chap form Hong Kong and he told me that sometimes people think they're getting their name tattoo'd in Chinese characters but it's just something generic like 'chicken soup'.
Reminds me of when a tattoo artist friend of mine, who did a few of my tattoos, told me about one client who came into her studio with a page of beautifully drawn Chinese script that she wanted inked, proper calligraphy and all. Trouble is, my mate can read Chinese and it read something along the lines of "If you can read this, then your Chinese is better than mine".
A friend of mine back in England had a tattoo that she thought meant "follow your dreams" and was most upset when I told her that it simply meant dream. She had it lasered off in the end.
OP, it's your skin and your tattoo so use whatever kanji/katakana you want. Just be aware that to anyone who can read Japanese, it'll possibly look out of place and a little stupid.
If you want to do something slightly different and Japanese-esque, why not go for an anime style hamster or mouse? You can google ハム太郎 (Hamtaro) for some ideas.
The wheel's certainly spinning in your head, but the hamster's clearly dead.
Takae, you make complete sense with your concerns about using Chinese/Japanese writing for tattoos. Unfortunately, Ebony will not take on board anything she doesn't want to hear, however much sense it makes....
Sorry, I missed your edit. Well, I don't know about Chinese (I know some, but certainly not fluent), but for Japanese, yes and no.
It's possible to convert a name to katakana. Off my head: Jack is ジャック (jakku). It's not a literal translation as it's phonetics only. There are some names that can't be phonetically rendered, though.
Otherwise, it's fairly impossible to have an English name translated to kanji. There are equivalents that carry the same feel, age and such. The English equivalent of my name Takae, for instance, is Winifred or Edith. A direct translation? Nope.
As for a tattooist looking it up on the internet? This makes me want to bang my head on a wall. Repeatedly.
Many people here have laughed at photos of signs, tattoos and t-shirts in 'Engrish'. This is how it is for Japanese- and Chinese-speaking people when they see signs, tattoos and t-shirts in mauled Japanese or Chinese.
Thank you , thought so!
Yeah this couple werent planning on having tattoos but went in a tattooists while they were at the seaside who offered to do them for £20. Personally i wouldve been more worried about other things than the spelling but there we go.
Apparently they told him the names, he looked them up on a site which they didnt see and then tattood them on!
I suppose most names wouldnt exist, but of you had a name which had another meaning then it would but not as you would expect! Eg someone called bill, the word might be translated into something like payment, or invoice.
It's ridiculous to get a tattoo of a symbol you don't understand, have likely never seen before and is of no actual significance to you.
It's also not at all interesting getting a tattoo you have to explain to literally everyone who sees it - even if they happen to read fluently in Chinese and Japanese.
It's ridiculous to get a tattoo of a symbol you don't understand, have likely never seen before and is of no actual significance to you.
It's also not at all interesting getting a tattoo you have to explain to literally everyone who sees it - even if they happen to read fluently in Chinese and Japanese.
Actually i disagree. Ebony wont ever be sure what she has tattooed will say hamster. Since she never goes out she might as well pick a symbol she likes the look of, have it tattooed and tell her oh and maybe 2 or 3 other people she ever makes contact with that it says hamster.
The liklihood of her oh or any of the few people she knows being able to read chinese is remote so nobody will question it.
If she cant read it and nobody she comes into contact with can, she might as well pick a pretty symbol. Theres no guarentee the correct one would be correct so might as well pick one that looks nice.
Presumably this would be in a clear context or we would be wondering why someone is keeping a supermarket trolley as a pet...
Seriously though, because a common sound word is usually distinctive enough to be understood without context. A trolley wheel - or anything metal that squeaks, like a door hinge - has own sound words: キーコ or キイ (squeak).
A mouse/rat has more than one sound word to show each state of being. I know only two: チュウチュウ (squeak squeak (relaxed or chatty; similar to 'Hey, dude')) and チューチュー(squeak squeak (excited, startled, surprised or panicked; similar to 'WTF is that, dude?!')).
Takae, you make complete sense with your concerns about using Chinese/Japanese writing for tattoos. Unfortunately, Ebony will not take on board anything she doesn't want to hear, however much sense it makes....
Thanks for the reminder. Yes, you're right. In that case, I'll bow out of this thread. Thanks.
Comments
Sorry, I missed your edit. Well, I don't know about Chinese (I know some, but certainly not fluent), but for Japanese, yes and no.
It's possible to convert a name to katakana. Off my head: Jack is ジャック (jakku). It's not a literal translation as it's phonetics only. There are some names that can't be phonetically rendered, though.
Otherwise, it's fairly impossible to have an English name translated to kanji. There are equivalents that carry the same feel, age and such. The English equivalent of my name Takae, for instance, is Winifred or Edith.
As for a tattooist looking it up on the internet? This makes me want to bang my head on a wall. Repeatedly.
Many people here have laughed at photos of signs, tattoos and t-shirts in 'Engrish'. This is how it is for Japanese- and Chinese-speaking people when they see signs, tattoos and t-shirts in mauled Japanese or Chinese.
I really hope there is a website that features the funniest ones, like the 'Engrish' site
There is one for English readers, actually. A tattoo site. I can't remember what it is called. I'll try to find it now.
Edited:
http://hanzismatter.blogspot.co.uk -
Found a couple more from Google search results:
http://epic-chinese-tattoo-fails.tumblr.com
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/ridiculous-chinese-character-tattoos-translated
I would take heed of what Takae has written, op, it might save you getting something something which is not quite what you hoped for.
Do you already have a sleeve with hamster/mouse tattoos?
I worked with a chap form Hong Kong and he told me that sometimes people think they're getting their name tattoo'd in Chinese characters but it's just something generic like 'chicken soup'.
It's a work in progress, I have three of my mice, a hamster and a tribal mouse so far
I still want hamster and mice paw prints, the Chinese or Japanese writing and something to symbolise the passed hamsters/mice (probably a angel mouse and angel hamster)
Paaahahahhahahahahahha!!
Well I don't think they are shit and I didn't get them for you, I got them for myself so your opinion means bugger all to me ^_^
Reminds me of when a tattoo artist friend of mine, who did a few of my tattoos, told me about one client who came into her studio with a page of beautifully drawn Chinese script that she wanted inked, proper calligraphy and all. Trouble is, my mate can read Chinese and it read something along the lines of "If you can read this, then your Chinese is better than mine".
Deleted
Why say something then delete it?
OP, it's your skin and your tattoo so use whatever kanji/katakana you want. Just be aware that to anyone who can read Japanese, it'll possibly look out of place and a little stupid.
If you want to do something slightly different and Japanese-esque, why not go for an anime style hamster or mouse? You can google ハム太郎 (Hamtaro) for some ideas.
Why bother with all the 'exotic' bs and just have a picture of a hamster inked into you.
The wheel's certainly spinning in your head, but the hamster's clearly dead.
Takae, you make complete sense with your concerns about using Chinese/Japanese writing for tattoos. Unfortunately, Ebony will not take on board anything she doesn't want to hear, however much sense it makes....
Presumably this would be in a clear context or we would be wondering why someone is keeping a supermarket trolley as a pet...
fried rice 90p extra
Thank you , thought so!
Yeah this couple werent planning on having tattoos but went in a tattooists while they were at the seaside who offered to do them for £20. Personally i wouldve been more worried about other things than the spelling but there we go.
Apparently they told him the names, he looked them up on a site which they didnt see and then tattood them on!
I suppose most names wouldnt exist, but of you had a name which had another meaning then it would but not as you would expect! Eg someone called bill, the word might be translated into something like payment, or invoice.
It's ridiculous to get a tattoo of a symbol you don't understand, have likely never seen before and is of no actual significance to you.
It's also not at all interesting getting a tattoo you have to explain to literally everyone who sees it - even if they happen to read fluently in Chinese and Japanese.
Actually i disagree. Ebony wont ever be sure what she has tattooed will say hamster. Since she never goes out she might as well pick a symbol she likes the look of, have it tattooed and tell her oh and maybe 2 or 3 other people she ever makes contact with that it says hamster.
The liklihood of her oh or any of the few people she knows being able to read chinese is remote so nobody will question it.
If she cant read it and nobody she comes into contact with can, she might as well pick a pretty symbol. Theres no guarentee the correct one would be correct so might as well pick one that looks nice.
Seriously though, because a common sound word is usually distinctive enough to be understood without context. A trolley wheel - or anything metal that squeaks, like a door hinge - has own sound words: キーコ or キイ (squeak).
A mouse/rat has more than one sound word to show each state of being. I know only two: チュウチュウ (squeak squeak (relaxed or chatty; similar to 'Hey, dude')) and チューチュー(squeak squeak (excited, startled, surprised or panicked; similar to 'WTF is that, dude?!')).
Thanks for the reminder. Yes, you're right. In that case, I'll bow out of this thread. Thanks.