Recently updated on November 25th, 2025 at 06:38 pm
Chinese calligraphy tattoos have been a raging phenomenon in the Western world for the past few decades.
On a stroll down the street in New York, you can easily spot people with trendy and fabulous Chinese calligraphy tattoos etched onto their bodies. The funny part is that many of them have no idea what the characters mean, and sometimes the strokes are off, or the words get mashed together in ways that might spark a laugh from anyone who can understand them.
And that always makes us wonder, as translators who work with characters all day, why do people get Chinese calligraphy tattoos, especially those wrongly translated or written?
What is Chinese Calligraphy?
Chinese calligraphy is the traditional way of writing Chinese characters with a brush and ink. But it’s more than just writing, by changing the speed or pressure of the brush, the characters start to look like little image.
What Are Chinese Calligraphy Tattoos?
Chinese character tattoos are done in a calligraphy style. Calligraphy is one of China’s most admired arts, and its beauty has made these tattoos popular over the past few decades.
What Are the Five Types of Chinese Calligraphy?
There are five major styles of Chinese calligraphy: Seal Script (篆书 zhuàn shū), Clerical Script (隶书 lì shū), Cursive Script (草书 cǎo shū), Semi-Cursive Script (行书 xíng shū), and Standard Script (楷书 kǎi shū).
| Calligraphy Styles | Chinese Characters | Pinyin | Other English Translations |
| Seal Script | 篆书 | zhuàn shū | Zuan Shu, Zhuan Shu, Seal Script |
| Clerical Script | 隶书 | lì shū | Li Shu, Official Script, Clerical Script |
| Cursive Script | 草书 | cǎo shū | Tsao Shu, Cao Shu, Grass Script, Cursive Script |
| Semi-Cursive Script | 行书 | xíng shū | Hsin Shu, Hsing Shu, Semi-Cursive Script |
| Standard Script | 楷书 | kǎi shū | Kai Shu, Regular Script, Block Script, Standard Script |
Which script do you like the best?
29 Fantastic Chinese Calligraphy Tattoos That Will Definitely Inspire You
Chinese culture, history, and folklore have inspired people around the world to get different parts of their bodies tattooed.
It’s a good idea to look at simpler tattoo examples, like Chinese calligraphy tattoos, before delving into more mythical designs like dragons, phoenixes, snakes, and others. Finally, you can immerse yourself in the list of the most popular Chinese tattoo translation ideas we found on Pinterest and other sources and come up with an idea of your own.
Single Chinese Character Tattoos
Two-Character Chinese Tattoos
Chinese Proverb Tattoos
Chinese Tattoo Translation Services by Chinese Copywriter
Chinese character tattoos have gone viral around the world. The only problem, however, is that these characters are often gotten wrong.
That’s why it’s super important to get someone who knows the meanings behind the symbols to translate them before tattooing them permanently onto your body.
That’s what we are good at. Send us an inquiry about your Chinese tattoo translation needs, and we’ll get back to you soon.
Chinese Copywriter Team consists of talented linguists, project managers, localization engineers, and SEO experts. Since 2012, we have been providing translation, localization, and marketing services for various international businesses targeting the Chinese markets as well as Chinese businesses expanding their global reach.