That Tattoo Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means

Chinese and Japanese character tattoos have been sweeping the West for a decade or more now, to the extent that most of our readers probably know someone who has one. Perhaps it's just a single discreet Chinese hanzi tucked into the inside of a lady's wrist -- or it could be several huge Japanese kanji blazed across a man's back. They may tell you they know what their tattoo means. But do they really?

The blog Hanzismatter has been translating odd tattoos, tee-shirts and other misused Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters in the West since 2004, and over the years has exposed some truly ridiculous body inkings. (The site was overwhelmed with traffic the last time I checked it; I had to use the Wayback Machine to find these great examples.)

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