# Reliable site for Chinese Kanji



## punisher73 (Jun 5, 2008)

I had a friend ask me today for a reliable site to get some chinese kanji for a couple of tattoos.

I remember finding one, but I can't remember where or what it was to refer him to it.

He is very paranoid about getting something tattooed on himself that doesn't really mean what he thought it does.

So, does anyone know any reliable websites to get chinese kanji from?


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## Xue Sheng (Jun 5, 2008)

Chinese Kanji 

Do you mean the Chinese characters used by the Japanese or do you mean Chinese Characters. 

Kanji is Japanese so I am a bit confused.


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## Jade Tigress (Jun 5, 2008)

I tried to thank you for the above post Xue, but something messed up. Anyway, I think the OP means Chinese characters. 

I like this site.

**edit**
Don't know what happened, but the thanks worked after all.


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## MBuzzy (Jun 5, 2008)

I'm currently working on learning Hanja - which is the Korean name for Chinese Characters, just like Kanji is the Japanese name for Chinese characters.

The two best sites that I have found and use very frequently are:
http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php
http://zhongwen.com/

They are very different sites with different outputs and input methods.  

If you friend is seriously considering putting Chinese characters on his body FOREVER, they definately need to check it with a native.....a trustworthy native.  Chinese is VERY hard to interpret and the words do not always have a direct translation, so BE CAREFUL.  I am fully convinced the 90% of the people with chinese tatoos are walking around with the words "I'm a stupid american." tatooed on their arms.


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## Errant108 (Jun 5, 2008)

Don't get Kanji tattoos.

Many of the Asians I've spoken to do not have a high opinion of Westerners who dabble in their culture in this way.  I have one Asian American male friend (not the brightest guy) who will go out of his way to pick bar fights with white guys with Kanji tattoos.

And I have seen a girl who had &#31528;&#25305;&#30333;&#27544;&#39192;&#29289; as her tramp stamp.

It's a rough translation of "stupid white trash".

From my point of view, it always seems very superficial and insulting, even if you actually know what your Kanji tattoo says.  You've literally stamped your body with a piece of someone's culture...just because you think it's cool.   It just seems trite, but then, that's what we tend to do to other people's cultures.


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## MBuzzy (Jun 5, 2008)

Errant108 said:


> Don't get Kanji tattoos.
> 
> Many of the Asians I've spoken to do not have a high opinion of Westerners who dabble in their culture in this way. I have one Asian American male friend (not the brightest guy) who will go out of his way to pick bar fights with white guys with Kanji tattoos.
> 
> ...


 
And what did she THINK it said?  Seems fitting to me....unless of course that she actually wanted that tatooed there.  If you have a language that you can't read placed permanently on your body....it seems that you deserve to get things that you don't want there.


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## Sukerkin (Jun 5, 2008)

Whereas we just used to conquer other peoples cultures .  

It's obviously a delicate point with some people but I think what they need here is a sense of perspective.  

It is, without a doubt, annoying to have bits of your culture hi-jacked.  It's even worse to have bits of your culture denied to you (as we have poor English have) but you have to put up with it.

Japanese and Chinese objecting to other races getting 'chinese-character' tattoo's had better have an effective law-suit in waiting for copyright infringement or else learn to 'let go', as we have with American's and Australian's abuse of our linguistic heritage :lol:.


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## MBuzzy (Jun 5, 2008)

Personally, I relate the issue to my time in Korea.  I went to many markets and saw many many people wearing t-shirt with completely unintelligible gibberish on them.  There are also many signs written in English that make no sense whatsoever.  Just random words that sometimes relate loosely to the topic at hand. It is the same as when we tatoo ourselves or sell signs with chinese on them.  Most of those things are probably just as unintelligible to them.


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## Errant108 (Jun 5, 2008)

Sukerkin said:


> Whereas we just used to conquer other peoples cultures .
> 
> It's obviously a delicate point with some people but I think what they need here is a sense of perspective.
> 
> ...



The problem, from an Asian American perspective however, directly relates to white privilege and the commodification and exploitation of Asian culture.

I wouldn't say that "letting go" is the right response,.


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## Jade Tigress (Jun 5, 2008)

Errant108 said:


> And I have seen a girl who had &#31528;&#25305;&#30333;&#27544;&#39192;&#29289; as her tramp stamp.
> 
> It's a rough translation of "stupid white trash".



What is with the *?* marks? I have seen them in different numbers. Sometimes 2, or 3, etc. Can someone explain?


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## Errant108 (Jun 5, 2008)

Your browser doesn't read Asian characters.


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## Jade Tigress (Jun 5, 2008)

Errant108 said:


> Your browser doesn't read Asian characters.




Ohhhhhhh....heh. NOW I get it!  Is there a way to change that?


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## MBuzzy (Jun 5, 2008)

If you have your original Windows disk, you can install the asian character sets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Multilingual_support_(East_Asian)
That should do it for you....good description!


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## punisher73 (Jun 6, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> Chinese Kanji
> 
> Do you mean the Chinese characters used by the Japanese or do you mean Chinese Characters.
> 
> Kanji is Japanese so I am a bit confused.


 
Yes, my fault I was typing in a hurry and know that "kanji" is japanese, I meant Chinese characters.

I see many of the points about not getting chinese symbols or other foreign words.  But, it's not for me it's for a friend (yeah, I know sounds like the proverbial excuse) and it's something he really wants to do.


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## Jade Tigress (Jun 6, 2008)

I actually have Chinese characters tattooed, and yes it's a *tramp stamp*, I got it back when it was still called a "lower back" tattoo.

It's an asian style tiger crawling up my spine with the characters for "courage". I had the characters verified by several reliable sources. I love my tattoo, it has *high* personal significance for me, and I don't give a rip what an "Asian" might think of it. 

If your friend has his reasons for the tattoo, that's his choice. :asian:


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Jun 6, 2008)

I have a Kanji tattoo in fact I have my wifes Kamon (family crest) drawn by her.  The Asians I have talked to do not care about my tattoo.

I think of tattoos as artwork and meaningful to that person. It is not stealing someones culture in fact it is embracing it and identifying with it.

I would not be insulted if I saw an Asian person with a tattoo in English let alone think they are stealing culture.


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## Xue Sheng (Jun 6, 2008)

http://www.ancientscripts.com/images/chinese.gif

http://www.mandarinbook.info/chinesewords/monosyllabic/

I think having a character that is correct and means what you want it to mean is a good thing and any Chinese speaker would not be insulted just as long as what you use is not considered insulting by their standards.

Examples; call a man from Beijing a Turtle and you just insinuated his wife is having an affair. Call a woman a chicken and you have just insinuated she is a prostitute. Call some one crazy and you are looking for a fight. But they tend to be a bit more forgiving to us westerns. I know my wife has seen things in Chinese on cars and on people that she has thought were pretty funny or in the wrong order or never EVER used in that way in China. But then I have seen the same in Beijing on kids tee-shirts with English words in Beijing. "If it swells, ride it" comes to mind and knowing the culture there I am fairly certain the wearer had NO Idea of all the possible meanings.

A friend of mines wife bought a shirt with a Chinese character on it because she thought it was pretty. It was not until a waiter in a Chinese restaurant asked her if she knew what it meant (she didn't) that she found out it meant she liked to fight.


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## DavidCC (Jun 6, 2008)

punisher73 said:


> I had a friend ask me today for a reliable site to get some chinese kanji for a couple of tattoos.
> 
> I remember finding one, but I can't remember where or what it was to refer him to it.
> 
> ...


 
if he's so nervous about it, get a tattoo in english, or just make up some designs that look like chinese characters but are not 


if Kanji is Japanese for "Chinese Characters" what is the Chinese word?


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## Jade Tigress (Jun 6, 2008)

DavidCC said:


> if he's so nervous about it, get a tattoo in english, or just make up some designs that look like chinese characters but are not
> 
> 
> if Kanji is Japanese for "Chinese Characters" what is the Chinese word?



I believe they're just called Chinese characters. Xue?


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## Sukerkin (Jun 6, 2008)

David, I don't recall ever hearing the chinese 'alphabet' ever referred to as anything other than Chinese Characters.  I'm sure there must be a collective noun for them or for sections of them or regional variations etc but I've never heard it.  

After all, we just call our alphabet "the alphabet" and our words "English" (or perhaps "Written English" or "English words").


That said, I don't know if this will answer your question directly but it does seem to cover the right ground:

http://www.chinese-tattoos-symbols.com/chinese-characters.html


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## Xue Sheng (Jun 6, 2008)

Jade Tigress said:


> I believe they're just called Chinese characters. Xue?


 
Kanji is the Japanese word used by the Japanese and it is the Japanese name for the Chinese characters that the Japanese use in their writing system.

I have no idea what the Japanese call the entire Chinese writing system.

The Chinese do not use the word Kanji and at the moment the word for their alphabet that the Chinese use escapes me that is assuming I ever new it in the first place


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## DavidCC (Jun 6, 2008)

Jade Tigress said:


> I believe they're just called Chinese characters. Xue?


 
I'm sure the Chinese have a word for it...


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## Xue Sheng (Jun 6, 2008)

DavidCC said:


> I'm sure the Chinese have a word for it...


 

OK this was driving me nuts so I went and looked it up.. and I did know it before... I'm just old and forgetful.

And it is (Drum roll please) Hànzì (This is Mandarin I do not know what it would be in other Dialects)


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## Kembudo-Kai Kempoka (Jun 6, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> OK this was driving me nuts so I went and looked it up.. and I did know it before... I'm just old and forgetful.
> 
> And it is (Drum roll please) Hànzì (This is Mandarin I do not know what it would be in other Dialects)


 
And if you it the "H" hard, you can see where the Japanese got Kanji from. Hm.


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## Xue Sheng (Jun 7, 2008)

Kembudo-Kai Kempoka said:


> And if you it the "H" hard, you can see where the Japanese got Kanji from. Hm.


 
Kanji, I believe, means Han Character which is a reference to the Han Dynasty and the majority of people in China today still refer to themselves (ethnically) as Han people

Chinese - Hanzi
Japanese - Kanji
(and please correct me if necessary)
Korean  - Hangul or Hanja
Vietnamese - Han Tu


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## MBuzzy (Jun 7, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> Kanji, I believe, means Han Character which is a reference to the Han Dynasty and the majority of people in China today still refer to themselves (ethnically) as Han people
> 
> Chinese - Hanzi
> Japanese - Kanji
> ...


 
Since you asked....

Korean - Hanja or Hanmun.

BIG difference between Hangul and Hanja.  Hangul is actually the native Korean writing system commissioned in 1443 as a way to increase literacy and give Korea its own written language rather than using strictly Chinese characters or Hanja.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul

And if you ask me...WAY easier than Chinese!  A simple alphabet, very easy to read and completely poenetic based.


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Jun 7, 2008)

Xue is correct about Han=Kan  Ji=letters and from the Han period. I have no idea how much came from the Han period :idunno:


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