Tattoos Leaving You Permanently Lost In Translation

January 12, 2012 by admin

Get a Free Quote

Our Accreditations

  • ATA Logo
  • ATC Logo
  • BSI 9001 Logo
  • BSI 9001 Logo
  • DIN EN 15038 Logo

Recent Updates

Language oppression: The Treachery of the Blue Books

Prompted by the long dark evenings that dominate January and February in the UK, I am finally catching up and watching David Olusoga’s highly praised 2023 BBC series “Union”, which describes the historical origins and evolution of the country… Read More

I have a tattoo, something which I don’t necessarily regret now, but should I have had my time again I think I would probably not choose to ‘scar’ myself for life with one Japanese symbol. I often forget it’s there until someone spies it and then asks what it means; I laugh in a slightly embarrassed fashion and say it’s the Japanese Kanji character for ‘woman’. Slightly cringe-worthy, but at least I do know what the symbol means, and I knew at the time what I was going to be permanently inked with. By no means did I want to run the risk of being stuck with a symbol that had a funny meaning.

It seems many people don’t do their research properly before leaping into the tattoo artist’s chair and go for Chinese, Hebrew, Sanskrit etc. and place their faith in the interpretation that the shop has provided.   If you don’t know the language thoroughly yourself you do hope that the person wielding the tattoo gun has a working knowledge and can give you an accurate translation. In a lot of cases it’s like the blind leading the blind and the result is a tattoo which doesn’t mean what it is supposed to.

It could even happen in languages closer to home, French for example, in the case of the pop singer Rihanna. She wanted ‘rebel flower’ to be inked on her neck in French. ‘Rebelle fleure’ is what she got, but it should have been ‘fleure rebelle’ to follow the rules of adjective placement in French. There are also many other examples of tattoos gone wrong, how about Britney Spears who has a Chinese character on her abdomen, instead of ‘mysterious’ it apparently says ‘weird’ instead!

At best your tattoo may be a load of gibberish, at worst it could mean something completely different. For example, ‘rice’ instead of ‘chi’, ‘palace’ instead of ‘princess’ or ‘green’ instead of ‘destiny’ (all examples found on a tattoos gone wrong website). There is a great collection of images of tattoos with spelling mistakes, Chinese characters written upside down, Hebrew written in reverse and nonsensical combinations of words/symbols/characters.

As a translation company we do get a request now and again to translate a certain phrase or word into a different language for use as a tattoo. Our linguists do their research and often provide different options as to how the phrase in question could be expressed. The person getting the tattoo can then rest assured that their tattoo will be correct. I would definitely recommend anyone to do their homework if considering a tattoo in a different language so that you don’t end up in the same boat as the guy who has ‘Idiot’ forever inked on his arm!

Share This Post

Comments

Add Comment








Andreea Mohan

Taylor Wessing LLP

We are very pleased with the services provided by Rosetta Translations. They always send very prompt responses, transparent prices and deliver their work product at the highest standards.

More Testimonials

Jackie Brook, Sr Product Manager

American Express

Thank you very much for your prompt and efficient service.

More Testimonials

Conor McLarnon

Maximus Crushing and Screening

I have translated multiple projects with Rosetta now and I cannot emphasise how great the service they provide is; quality, turnaround time and pricing is the best I have found yet. The qualities of translations we receive are of the highest standard and communication from the start of a project to the end is consistent.

For a company looking into translations, I would highly recommend Rosetta as first pick, as the support and service they provide is first class.

More Testimonials

Get a Free Quote

© 2024 All Rights Reserved
Rosetta Translation, 133 Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QA · 0207 248 2905