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KANJI TATTOO SYMBOL PRIMER - Writing Your Name as an Example

The first thing to note when choosing kanji symbols is that they are only one of three writing systems used in Japan -- which is where kanji is used (not China). Kanji is the oldest and most complicated of the three writing systems. The other systems are hiragana and katakana, with katakana being the most familiar to westerners. Why the most familiar? Because katakana is used specifically to write foreign words (and science words and a few other things) and foreign names.

The main thing that sets kanji apart from these other two systems of writing is that kanji are ideograms -- a lot like Egyptain heiroglyphs. One symbol can stand for a whole concept or idea. Hiragana and katakana are much like our own alphabet and they literally spell things in a phonetic manner.

To use the name Pamela as an example, below we have the hiragana symbols that literally spell the sounds pah-may-lah or pah-may-rah (since the Japanese language has neither an "l" or an "r" but instead it has a 'liquid r' that we find hard to pronounce). Reading top to bottom, as is normal for Japanese, the top symbol is pronounced 'pah,' the second symbol is pronounced 'may,' and the bottom symbol is pronounced 'lah.' Without a doubt, these Japanese symbols spell out the name Pamela -- or pretty darn close.


The Name Pamela in Hiragana

ENGLISH HIRAGANA
PA
ME
LA


But let's say you really want your name spelled in kanji. Your choices here are many. That's because there are many different kanji, which each represent a different concept, that sound alike. For the sound 'pah', there are at least three different kanji symbols pronounced that way. However, they have radically different meanings. In the first row of the table below, the sound 'pah' can be expressed by three different kanji, the first of which means "feather", the second of which means "to break", and the third of which means "leaf". It's up to you which one you choose.

The decision of which meaning you choose (feather, to break, or leaf) makes using kanji interesting because you can give the name Pamela a second meaning, in addition to just the phonetic spelling. Let's say we make the following choice, highlighted in orange.

Kanji Choices for the Name Pamela

ENGLISH
KANJI CHOICES
PA
feather
to break
leaf
ME
eye
female
jade
sprout
woman
LA
good
gong
companion
ivy
silk


Below are our three kanji choices for the three sounds in the name Pamela. These kanji characters would be pronounced (approximately) Pamela and could be interpreted as "Sprouting Leaf of Ivy."


The Name Pamela in Kanji

Sprouting Leaf of Ivy
PA

leaf


ME

sprout
LA

ivy

As another example, let's say we choose three different kanji symbols, highlighted in green.


Kanji Choices for the Name Pamela
ENGLISH
KANJI CHOICES
PA
feather
to break
leaf
ME
eye
female
jade
sprout
woman
LA
good
gong
companion
ivy
silk



Below are our three kanji choices for the three sounds in the name Pamela. These kanji characters would be pronounced (approximately) Pamela and could be interpreted as "Break Good Jade."


The Name Pamela in Kanji

Break Good Jade
PA

to break


ME

jade
LA

good

For more conventional kanji tattoo symbols, follow the links at the top of the page. For something a little different, consider a tattoo design of your own name in kanji symbols.

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