Jump to Navigation

EDITION:

  • INTERNATIONAL
  • U.S.
  • MÉXICO
  • ARABIC

TV:

  • CNNi
  • CNN en Español
CNN International
  • Home
  • Video
  • World
  • U.S.
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • Middle East
  • Business
  • World Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • iReport
  • Travel Home
    • Activities
    • Aviation
    • Culture
    • Events
    • Food and Drink
    • Hotels
    • Opinion
    • Offbeat
    • Shopping
    • Tips, Tech, Gear
  • Travel News
  • Destinations
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
    • North America
  • Guides
  • TV & Video
    • CNNGo
    • Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown
    • Business Traveller
    • Inside Africa
    • Inside the Middle East
    • Mainsail
    • More Videos
  • Galleries

Search form

Tattoos gone wrong: Permanently lost in translation

Tattoos gone wrong: Permanently lost in translation

10 of the worst "tatt-tastrophes" from The Hanzi Smatter blog, which translates Asian-language tattoos
By Chris Anderson 22 December, 2011
Tweet
  • mistranslated tattoo
  • Asian tattoos
  • funny tattoos
  • Chinese tattoos
  • tattoo gone wrong
  • "I am slow"
  • bad tattoo
  • terrible tattoo
  • bad tattoos
  • crazy tattoos

The girlfirend's name a week before the break up; the Tweety Pie on a 300-pound body builder. Many tattoos can be considered mistakes. 

But there is a special place on the Internet for what we are calling Chinese "tatt-tastrophes." 

Tian, an Arizona-based amateur linguist, runs the Hanzi Smatter blog -- a site dedicated to Asian language tattoos gone wrong. Tian translates Chinese tattoos for people who probably should have sought him out, or any Chinese-speaking friend, before getting their flesh indelibly inscribed. 

Tian says more than 90 percent of the email inquiries he receives about tattoos have incorrectly written characters. There are now more than 400 examples on his site.

Most emails are from people who never bothered to verify meanings or get second opinions before they inked their bodies, Tian says. Tian's art -- he has no tattoos himself -- is to bluntly inform them of the damage that has already been done.

Scroll through the gallery above to see 10 of the best/worst. 

Got your own terrible tattoo translation? Let us know in the comments.

Chris Anderson is the former associate editor of CNNGo based in Hong Kong and is now senior editor at Huffington Post Media Group.

Read more about Chris Anderson
Tags: 
tattoos in Asia
tattoo art
Chinese tattooing
  • Top
  • Tweet
  • Email|Print
  • Comment

MOST POPULAR

The cat that saved a Japanese train station
Barcelona officials: 'Space hotel' a concept far,...
2 arrested in UK after flight from Pakistan diverted
Opinion: Why I hate the beverage cart
Asia snubbed in latest TripAdvisor awards

best of USA travel

Taos Pueblo
10 classic American experiences
8 best beer towns in the USA
America’s most amazing hotel pools
Sections
  • Activities
  • Aviation
  • Food and Drink
  • Hotels
  • Offbeat
  • Travel News
Regions
  • Africa
  • Asia Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • Middle East
  • North America
Elsewhere
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • YouTube
  • iReport
  • RSS
About
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Guidelines
Some content supplied by TripAdvisor
 
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.