Translation of a symbol

[iByee]

Heya folks, Im in desperate need of help. Im about to make a tattoo and I have no idea if the symbol means whats stated. The symbols im looking for is courage, unique and hope. I found 2 different symbols for unique.

http://www.chinese-symbols.com/u-chinese-symbol-for-unique

http://www.chinese-word.com/chinese/u/uzz110.html

http://www.chinese-symbols.com/c-chinese-symbol-for-courage

http://www.chinese-symbols.com/h-chinese-symbol-for-hope

Well, lets say I want to make hope, do I need to make both symbols? Or do both mean Hope?

[imron]

Yes, if you want it to say hope, you need both of those characters, likewise for courage and unique. Imagine someone wanted to get the English word "hope" tattooed, but then decided to only get the first two letters "ho" tattooed, and you'll understand why it's not a good idea to just go mixing and removing characters。

See also this website for what can happen when you decide to just start mixing and matching random characters.

Also, I think a better phrase for unique would be 独一无二, although if you're going for a tattoo, you might prefer the traditional characters: 獨一無二. However getting a tattoo in a language you don't understand, after getting advice from random people on the internet isn't necessarily such a good idea (once again, have a good read through the website linked to above).

[iByee]

Thanks you for the replay, so there are no words, like hope as 1 symbol? Because I dont think I got room for 1 symbols. Well, that is not a problem, I got some people I can ask when Ive decided if the symbol is what I really want.

[enetguru]

some other choices: 绝无仅有, 天下无双, 前无古人 后无来者, 只此一家 别无分号

[skylee]

Yes, if you want it to say hope, you need both of those characters, likewise for courage and unique.

From the bible -

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

如今常存的有信，有望，有愛這三樣，其中最大的是愛。(歌林多前書 13:13)

[imron]

But separated from context:

望 - gaze into the distance; look; observe; hope

You can't just say it means hope, because it has other meanings too, and relies on context. I think if someone is going to get something tattooed permanently on their body, it's better to err on the side of caution.

[skylee]

I don't disagree with imron's view.

I watched ER last night (can't believe I still watch it) and there was this character whose name was "Hope". Guess what her name was in the subtitles? It was 小望.