Guardian angel tattoo in tribal style
Description: Guardian angel tattoo in Maori inspired style for the shoulder. This design is also suitable for the calf and lower leg
Tribal butterly tattoos
Description: Butterfly tattoo in tribal style with two eyes in the center of the design. This tribal tatoo is suitable for various places on the body.
Maori calf / lower leg tattoo design
Description: Eleptical tattoo design with a Maori pattern. This tatoo is suitable for the lower leg or calf and could also be used for the shoulder
Maori tribal tattoo pattern
Description: Maori style tattoo with lines, curles and simple fills. This tribal tattoo is suitable for various places on the body.
Maori koru forearm tribal tattoo
Description: Forearm/lower arm tattoo in tribals style inspired by the Maori Kirituhi designs. This koru tatoo is suitable for multiple parts of the body.
Polynesian lizard shoulder tattoo
Description: Polynesian tattoo for the shoulder with a tribal lizard and and mask/eyes at the top center of the shoulder.
Intricate wave- and arrow patterns in a Neotribalism style.
Polynesian shoulder sleeve tattoo
Description: Polynesian sleeve tatoo.Tribal patterns, like triangles, spearheads and turtle shells in a quarter sleeve design.
Polynesian quarter sleeve tattoo with mask
Description: Polynesian quarter sleeve with a tribal mask in the center of the shoulder.
Intricate spearhead- and triangle patterns in a Neo-tribalism style and some Kirituhi/Maori koru shapes.
Half sleeve tattoo Maori style
Description: This half sleeve tattoo is Maori kirituhi, lots of flowing koru patterns and intricate fills.
Size: 30 x 26 cm (12 x 11,5 inches)
Place on body: Shoulder
Product code: SH 118
Price: 41,65 euro (57 USD)
from: Tanya A.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 4:07 PM
subject: another stupid tattoo question
Dear Tian,
I just ran across your blog and love it!
Question: about ten years ago I took the character for "Courage" that I found in a Chinese Dictionary into a tattoo parlor. I really wanted the character for "courage" on my back, but the dictionary said that the character also stood for "gall bladder."
I wasn't sure that I actually wanted the character for "gall bladder" on my back, so when I saw a character that also supposedly meant "courage" on a sign full of symbols and pictures hanging on the tattoo parlor wall I said to myself, "tattoo parlors don't lie!" and asked for that one instead.
I was recently told by a Chinese friend that my tattoo actually says "Dog Passing."
(I've known for years that the second character says "passing," but only recently found out about the "dog" part. I was told that this particular symbol for dog is archaic, which is why many of the non-Asian students of Chinese and Japanese that I asked before didn't know it....)
I'm hoping you might verify.
Thank you!
It is not "dog passing" or 犬過.
大過 [たいか] serious error; gross mistake
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 4:07 PM
subject: another stupid tattoo question
Dear Tian,
I just ran across your blog and love it!
Question: about ten years ago I took the character for "Courage" that I found in a Chinese Dictionary into a tattoo parlor. I really wanted the character for "courage" on my back, but the dictionary said that the character also stood for "gall bladder."
I wasn't sure that I actually wanted the character for "gall bladder" on my back, so when I saw a character that also supposedly meant "courage" on a sign full of symbols and pictures hanging on the tattoo parlor wall I said to myself, "tattoo parlors don't lie!" and asked for that one instead.
I was recently told by a Chinese friend that my tattoo actually says "Dog Passing."
(I've known for years that the second character says "passing," but only recently found out about the "dog" part. I was told that this particular symbol for dog is archaic, which is why many of the non-Asian students of Chinese and Japanese that I asked before didn't know it....)
I'm hoping you might verify.
Thank you!
It is not "dog passing" or 犬過.
大過 [たいか] serious error; gross mistake
japanese tattoo
from: Roxanne P.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Tue, Apr 19, 2011 at 9:11 PM
subject: please help me asap
so my boyfriend got this tattoo the other day and was told it ment loyalty in japanese kanji and just so happens my friend has loyalty also in jap kanji and they dont look anything alike please helppppp me asap
I sure hope Roxanne's boyfriend really enjoys eating noodles.
麺 [めん] noodles
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Tue, Apr 19, 2011 at 9:11 PM
subject: please help me asap
so my boyfriend got this tattoo the other day and was told it ment loyalty in japanese kanji and just so happens my friend has loyalty also in jap kanji and they dont look anything alike please helppppp me asap
I sure hope Roxanne's boyfriend really enjoys eating noodles.
麺 [めん] noodles
from: John C.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Tue, May 17, 2011 at 12:58 PM
subject Tattoo Translation
Hi there,
I got a tattoo a few years back saw the image in a shop alongside a few others, and decided to get it. It is supposed to be Outlaw, though someone I used to game online with from China told me it actually directly translates to Out of the Law. I can live with that if that is true. Though now that it is time to get my tattoos touched up due to fading, I want to double check before I get a new coat of ink put on it. Here is the attached image from when it was still freshly done.
Thanks,
John
躲藏 means "[in] hiding" and 犯 is "criminal".
However the translation of 躲藏犯 is equivalent of "snitch" or "rat". It is associated with someone has betrayed his duty and honor to exchange for freedom but in a life of hiding. Definitely not glamorous in either law enforcement or crime syndicates' eyes.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Tue, May 17, 2011 at 12:58 PM
subject Tattoo Translation
Hi there,
I got a tattoo a few years back saw the image in a shop alongside a few others, and decided to get it. It is supposed to be Outlaw, though someone I used to game online with from China told me it actually directly translates to Out of the Law. I can live with that if that is true. Though now that it is time to get my tattoos touched up due to fading, I want to double check before I get a new coat of ink put on it. Here is the attached image from when it was still freshly done.
Thanks,
John
躲藏 means "[in] hiding" and 犯 is "criminal".
However the translation of 躲藏犯 is equivalent of "snitch" or "rat". It is associated with someone has betrayed his duty and honor to exchange for freedom but in a life of hiding. Definitely not glamorous in either law enforcement or crime syndicates' eyes.
from: Redd G.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 9:35 PM
subject: tat translation...
She is a moron... so I'm wondering if her tattoo really says "love is a slow form of suicide".
If it does, I will be nothing short of shocked...
I have consulted this with Alan, and this is what he had to say about the tattoo:
The tattoo is properly written in Japanese (except for the horizontal line in フォーム which should be vertical in vertical writing like this).
愛は自殺の遅いフォームです
But this is rather puzzling and difficult to understand.
It literally means:
"Love is a late form of suicide."
"Late" is really supposed to be "slow" (遅い can mean either) so I guess this really was intended to be a translation of "Love is a slow form of suicide."
The word フォーム is borrowed from the English word "form," but in Japanese this word is usually used only for paper "forms" or such. It certainly would not appear in a poem in the intended sense of the word "form." A different Japanese word would be used for that. Since the "paper form" word is used, a Japanese person reading this would be very confused about what a "late form" is and what it has to do with love or suicide.
My guess is that someone just threw the sentence "Love is a slow form of suicide." into Google translate, translated into Japanese and tattooed the puzzling results onto the arm of the unsuspecting customer.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 9:35 PM
subject: tat translation...
She is a moron... so I'm wondering if her tattoo really says "love is a slow form of suicide".
If it does, I will be nothing short of shocked...
I have consulted this with Alan, and this is what he had to say about the tattoo:
The tattoo is properly written in Japanese (except for the horizontal line in フォーム which should be vertical in vertical writing like this).
愛は自殺の遅いフォームです
But this is rather puzzling and difficult to understand.
It literally means:
"Love is a late form of suicide."
"Late" is really supposed to be "slow" (遅い can mean either) so I guess this really was intended to be a translation of "Love is a slow form of suicide."
The word フォーム is borrowed from the English word "form," but in Japanese this word is usually used only for paper "forms" or such. It certainly would not appear in a poem in the intended sense of the word "form." A different Japanese word would be used for that. Since the "paper form" word is used, a Japanese person reading this would be very confused about what a "late form" is and what it has to do with love or suicide.
My guess is that someone just threw the sentence "Love is a slow form of suicide." into Google translate, translated into Japanese and tattooed the puzzling results onto the arm of the unsuspecting customer.
from: Victor H. Mair
to: Tian
date: Wed, May 25, 2011 at 7:30 PM
subject: smatter
Hanzi Smatter circa 1700
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3160
A friend of Dr. Mair sent him a photograph of Dutch chinoiserie tile panel from the late 17th-early 18th century, and asked him to help her identify some of the curious scenes represented on it. Dr. Mair, however, was immediately drawn to the cartouche in the upper left corner.
Here is what happened...
to: Tian
date: Wed, May 25, 2011 at 7:30 PM
subject: smatter
Hanzi Smatter circa 1700
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3160
A friend of Dr. Mair sent him a
Here is what happened...
Tattoo
from: Fryeda K.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Fri, May 20, 2011 at 1:20 PM
subject: Tattoo
This idiot went to get "his name", but now gets "lots of laughs in Chinese restaurants".
So, the question is, what does it really say?
Thanks!
Although top character is 積, however it would not make any sense combining with 神.
Most likely it was a typo and intended tattoo is 精神, or spirit.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Fri, May 20, 2011 at 1:20 PM
subject: Tattoo
This idiot went to get "his name", but now gets "lots of laughs in Chinese restaurants".
So, the question is, what does it really say?
Thanks!
Although top character is 積, however it would not make any sense combining with 神.
Most likely it was a typo and intended tattoo is 精神, or spirit.
from: Gunnar
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 11:16 AM
subject: Funny tattoo "Ride Hard Die Free"
Hi,
I stumbled across this tattoo online, and I haven't seen on your blog before. It is supposed to say "Ride Hard Die Free" but as you can see Google Translate made a creative interpretation of the phrase. I hope you enjoy it!
http://beckmansbruk.blogg.se/2010/january/7-e-januari-1.html
Thank you for a great blog!
Regards,
Gunnar
Grammatically speaking, this tattooed phrase is Chinese, however its translation back to English is far from "Ride Hard Die Free".
Granted, 免費 does mean "free of charge", 乘坐 does mean "riding, or being passenger", 硬 does mean "hard", but 模 or 硬模 is not verb for "die, or dying". Rather it is the noun "die" as in "die-casting" or "die-molding".
I guess this young man is quite proud and wants everyone to know he enjoys "freely shoving die-casted figurines up his ass"?
Kinky!
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 11:16 AM
subject: Funny tattoo "Ride Hard Die Free"
Hi,
I stumbled across this tattoo online, and I haven't seen on your blog before. It is supposed to say "Ride Hard Die Free" but as you can see Google Translate made a creative interpretation of the phrase. I hope you enjoy it!
http://beckmansbruk.blogg.se/2010/january/7-e-januari-1.html
Thank you for a great blog!
Regards,
Gunnar
Grammatically speaking, this tattooed phrase is Chinese, however its translation back to English is far from "Ride Hard Die Free".
Granted, 免費 does mean "free of charge", 乘坐 does mean "riding, or being passenger", 硬 does mean "hard", but 模 or 硬模 is not verb for "die, or dying". Rather it is the noun "die" as in "die-casting" or "die-molding".
I guess this young man is quite proud and wants everyone to know he enjoys "freely shoving die-casted figurines up his ass"?
Kinky!
My father has forwarded me this news story about hilarious mistranslated signs used by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. It appears Royal Caribbean Cruise Line did not verify the Chinese translation's accuracy and blindly trusted Google Translate.
Luckily paper signs can be reprinted, unlike tattoos.
Corned Beef Hash => "salted beef jumbled signal"
Ham and Bamboo Shoot Salad => "clumsy actor and bamboo's salad"
Garden Greens => "[botanical] garden became green color"
Chicken and Mushroom tart => "timid and rapidly grown prostitute(s)"
Regular Milk => "policy milk"
Half & Half => "secondary butter blended mixture"
Green Split Pea Soup => "green separation pea soup"
English Bacon => "English [language] cultivate root"
* Update: several readers have informed me that 培根 is an acceptable transliteration for "bacon" in Taiwan. However, the sign is still incorrect for using "English [language]", instead of "English [cuisine style]".
Creamy Italian Dressing = "butter Italy costume"
Original Story:
中式英文令人啼笑皆非 美国人英译中菜单更搞笑(图)
Language Log:
Timid and Rapidly Grown Prostitutes
Luckily paper signs can be reprinted, unlike tattoos.
Corned Beef Hash => "salted beef jumbled signal"
Ham and Bamboo Shoot Salad => "clumsy actor and bamboo's salad"
Garden Greens => "[botanical] garden became green color"
Chicken and Mushroom tart => "timid and rapidly grown prostitute(s)"
Regular Milk => "policy milk"
Half & Half => "secondary butter blended mixture"
Green Split Pea Soup => "green separation pea soup"
English Bacon => "English [language] cultivate root"
* Update: several readers have informed me that 培根 is an acceptable transliteration for "bacon" in Taiwan. However, the sign is still incorrect for using "English [language]", instead of "English [cuisine style]".
Creamy Italian Dressing = "butter Italy costume"
Original Story:
中式英文令人啼笑皆非 美国人英译中菜单更搞笑(图)
Language Log:
Timid and Rapidly Grown Prostitutes
Steve Caires of Engrish.com sent me this today:
http://www.kirainet.com/english/hemorrhoids-%E7%97%94/
From Hector Garcia's A Geek in Japan:
"At first glance, it seems like a kid with a supercool sweater with a Japanese character. The problem is that the character 痔 means “hemorrhoid” in Japanese. Probably the designer confused the character 侍, which means “samurai” and is pronounced “ji”, with the character 痔 that means “hemorrhoid” and is also pronounced “ji”… Both characters are graphically very similar but the meaning is totally different!"
http://www.kirainet.com/english/hemorrhoids-%E7%97%94/
From Hector Garcia's A Geek in Japan:
"At first glance, it seems like a kid with a supercool sweater with a Japanese character. The problem is that the character 痔 means “hemorrhoid” in Japanese. Probably the designer confused the character 侍, which means “samurai” and is pronounced “ji”, with the character 痔 that means “hemorrhoid” and is also pronounced “ji”… Both characters are graphically very similar but the meaning is totally different!"
Dr. Victor Mair at Language Log has a nice piece on how Google Translate became the de facto tool for anyone wants to communicate in a foreign language. Even though in some cases, translation it provided are incorrect.
This young man holding the sign at "Occupy Wall Street", probably wanted "No More Corruption". However, Google Translate gave him "There isn't any more corruption."
By the way, why is he holding a sign written in Chinese?!
Has this naive young man ever done business in China?
How about 關係, 後門, and 紅包?
from: Fedor M.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 8:23 AM
subject: hanzi smatter in DFW
This is a sign for a Chinese restaurant in Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. The characters are upside down and seem to say "blue bamboo".
蓝竹 does mean "blue bamboo" and it is displayed upside down.
According to Yelp, its food is terrible and only has one star.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/blue-bamboo-xpress-dallas
from: Laura R.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 1:14 AM
subject: "Chinese" trash can
Hello and thank you for your awesome blog!
We recently visited the "Phantasialand" amusement park close to Cologne in Germany.
This is what the trash cans in the "Chinatown" section look like. It says "garbage" in German, and while I instantly recognized the second character as being upside down (have been studying Japanese for a while now), I'm not sure whether the first one is a correct character at all or if there is any meaning to this combination.
There were loads of upside down or gibberish characters in the "Chinese" ghost train ride, too ^^;
Thanks in advance!
Laura
Not only the second character 圾 is upside down, the first character 垃 is missing a stroke.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 1:14 AM
subject: "Chinese" trash can
Hello and thank you for your awesome blog!
We recently visited the "Phantasialand" amusement park close to Cologne in Germany.
This is what the trash cans in the "Chinatown" section look like. It says "garbage" in German, and while I instantly recognized the second character as being upside down (have been studying Japanese for a while now), I'm not sure whether the first one is a correct character at all or if there is any meaning to this combination.
There were loads of upside down or gibberish characters in the "Chinese" ghost train ride, too ^^;
Thanks in advance!
Laura
Not only the second character 圾 is upside down, the first character 垃 is missing a stroke.
from: Elsa M.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Sun, Nov 6, 2011 at 10:41 PM
subject: Hanzismatter-worthy shirt
I actually laughed out loud when I saw the Chinese on this shirt. Thought I would share. Some smart alec designer had finally had enough.
Presumably the intended sentence is:
這是傳統中文的寫法
which means "this is traditional Chinese way of writing",
with missing "文" & "的".
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Sun, Nov 6, 2011 at 10:41 PM
subject: Hanzismatter-worthy shirt
I actually laughed out loud when I saw the Chinese on this shirt. Thought I would share. Some smart alec designer had finally had enough.
Presumably the intended sentence is:
這是傳統中文的寫法
which means "this is traditional Chinese way of writing",
with missing "文" & "的".
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