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.
The middle character look like a handwritten character written in a hurry and/or without looking.
ReplyDeleteliterally a 'hiding criminal'...
ReplyDeleteThe translation of 'outlaw' into Chinese does not carry the feeling of 'cool' or 'wow' at all. Please understand it's totally different imagination world in Chinese, triple check before tattoo.
The only character that is half-decently written is the first, 躲. The 藏 looks like it was crossed out, because it is not written correctly. As to 犯, barely legible. But again, not 'cool' or 'wow' at all, just scum that were dragged into daylight to have their heads chopped off. Definitely let this one fade!!
ReplyDeleteCan't help but laugh at the irony of it. Gamer wanted to be all cool and sh!t, got a tattoo in a language he does not speak, and was branded the opposite of cool. I can imagine him reading Tian's post, thinking: "Rats!"
ReplyDelete