Chinese Symbols??

Kimbot

Folks,

Looking at my next tattoo now.

I have an image of what I want done

---

(X)

---

---

Y

---

---

(X)

---

(X)

---

X= Chinese Symbols (Love - Protect - Honor)
Y= Chinese Symbols (My Son's Name)

X Will be in Circles/Orbs.
Y will be in the middle

Its will be surrounded with a Celtic/Tribal Band (Not sure which yet)
However I am finding it very hard to get the symbols I need 100% right. I see variations of them alright online but I don't want to mess this up and have someone in a few years that they don't mean what I think they mean.

Is there somewhere that is 100% accurate I can get the real symbols from?

ZzubZzub

If you are really really set on Chinese symbols, go to a Chinese restaurant, and ask staff. (Assuming they are Chinese)

Then take their answer, go to another one, and ask what it means. That's what my mate did!

CK2010

i really dont mean to be rude or anything, im just genuinely curious- why do you want chinese symbols if you cant read them? im not being negative or questioning your choice of tattoo, just wondering.

pippington

i think its quite nice to have something on u that not the whole world cant read....only however many million ppl in china

Star Lord

CK2010 wrote: »

i really dont mean to be rude or anything, im just genuinely curious- why do you want chinese symbols if you cant read them? im not being negative or questioning your choice of tattoo, just wondering.

Because a lot of people like the aesthetic of Chinese/Japanese characters.
To that end, it is no less valid a tattoo than any other tattoo that people choose because they like how it looks.

I would just exercise a lot of caution that you are getting the right thing. When you can't understand it yourself you can't be sure what it says!

Tristram

Be careful!

Lornen

I think your concept is good. It's a nice idea, with the words and name in English i'm assuming? But I definitely would leave out the surrounding celtic band. I think you have enough going on as it is, and tattoos can look messy/silly if you have several themes running through them that don't necessarily go together.
As previous posts have said, be very careful with the symbols. So many people are over dependant on their tattooist when it comes to picking out the symbols, and alot of the blame can be shifted to them if the symbols turn out to be of a different meaning, so as this is YOUR tattoo, make sure you do your best to make sure the symbols are legitimate.

CK2010

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

Because a lot of people like the aesthetic of Chinese/Japanese characters.
To that end, it is no less valid a tattoo than any other tattoo that people choose because they like how it looks.

I'd like to point out that i never once questioned the validity of your tattoo- each to their own and all that. its none of my business what you get done on your body, i was purely asking why you wanted those particular symbols if you couldnt read them. not at all telling you that you shouldnt get them- just genuinely curious as to why you want them if you cant read them.

Teferi

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

I would just exercise a lot of caution that you are getting the right thing. When you can't understand it yourself you can't be sure what it says!

Follow this advice if nothing else. I can't find it right now but I was on a site a while back dedicated to Chinese tattoos that don't say what the person thinks they mean. Some of them were pretty funny.

Kimbot

I am aware of that hence why I am asking if anyone knows the best way to research it.
Its something I have toyed with in my head for years and now I feel its the time to get ti done or start trying to design what I have in my head on paper. If it looks well then I will go ahead with it.

Kimbot

CK2010 wrote: »

i really dont mean to be rude or anything, im just genuinely curious- why do you want chinese symbols if you cant read them? im not being negative or questioning your choice of tattoo, just wondering.

Its going to form a much larger tattoo, I like the look of chinese characters and want to see if what I ahve in my head matches up on paper first.

tread_softly

jonny24ie wrote: »

Y= Chinese Symbols (My Son's Name)

Hmmm, I'd be careful of this part.

As far as I know, a lot of Chinese characters are compound ones like the kanji, that are comprised of a few words. Concepts like love, honour etc. are easy enough to form into one symbol.

However, names are now, especially English/Irish sounding names.

Myself and the other half have each others names written on our wrists in Japanese.

Firstly, Japan is a pretty special place to us, secondly, I personally think Japanese looks nicer then Chinese and thirdly, Japanese is an easier language to translate names to.

The tattoos we have are written in katakana, which is like a translation of syllables. So if you want your son's name in an Asian language, I'd go for Japanese katakana, because you should be able to get an accurate translation no matter what the name is, as it's essentially translating the different sounds.

This means tho, his name will have to be tattooed in 2 or 3 characters as opposed to one, but at least you know it would be accurate.

As said before though, check, check and recheck any translations you're getting BEFORE you even let the needle touch your skin