Eternity

[HamsterParagon]

I've just started learning mandarin (been studying it for a grand total of three days now). I want to get a tattoo of the word "eternity". I've been doing some research, and I've found some conflicting results, can anyone help me out? I'm particularly curious because one of the symbols I've found is only one character, and all the others are that one character plus a few various others. Is there some simple and expanded meaning that I'm missing? It may be helpful if I clarify that I'm looking for "eternity" as an abstract concept, not necessarily like "eternal" or "lasting forever". All of your insight is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

HP

[anon6969]

There are, as you rightly say, several ways to say this in Chinese.

I'd go with “傻瓜” or ”笨蛋“ as they are the most poetic so you can choose which one looks prettiest.

[ABCinChina]

Be nice anon... I like these three options:

1. (n) 永遠 - yǒng yuǎn

2. (adj) 永恒 - yǒng héng

3. (idiom) 無窮無盡 - wú qióng wú jìn

[randall_flagg]

ABC in China

is 永恒 really and adjective? I seem to remember a song by Wang Fei where she sings; “就说到永恒”

[HashiriKata]

If I were you, HamsterParagon, I'd have just 永, which has the meaning you want and if the tattoo is done by a competent Chinese-literate artist, I'd say 永 should be the best looking character you're likely to find.

[Yeke]

"笨蛋" Looks better than "傻瓜" IMO

[Hofmann]

笨蛋 FTW!

[HamsterParagon]

Yeah, right. Like I'm not going to look this stuff up before I have something permanently etched on my skin. But thanks for making fun of me, much appreciated. For anyone who is NOT mocking me, what exactly is the difference between 永遠 and just 永?

Thanks

HP

[necroflux]

Before you get a chinese character tattoo, think about what you'd think if you saw a Chinese person with the English word "eternity" tattooed on their arm. If you still think that's cool then by all means go for it.

[gougou]

Before you get a chinese character tattoo, think about what you'd think if you saw a Chinese person with the English word "eternity" tattooed on their arm

Even better, think about what you'd think if you saw a Chinese person with "forever and ever, amen" on their arm, because most likely your tattoo won't mean just what you think it does.

[renzhe]

For anyone who is NOT mocking me, what exactly is the difference between 永遠 and just 永?

The first one is a word, meaning "forever", the second one is a character meaning the same thing.

Whatever you tattoo on yourself will not mean exactly what you think it means anyway. So you can even tattoo a random character, and choose a pretty one.

[HamsterParagon]

Thanks guys. You raised some good issues that I hadn't really considered, and as a result I'm seriously considering whether or not I'm going to get this. But thanks for all the help, and for clearing up my confusion.

Thanks

HP

[Hofmann]

It originally meant "swim."

吾文處處黥惑者

[renzhe]

Even better, think about what you'd think if you saw a Chinese person with "forever and ever, amen" on their arm, because most likely your tattoo won't mean just what you think it does.

Even better, it's a Chinese guy with "Always" tattooed on his arm.

He thinks it means "eternity" and has all these mystic connotations, but to a random English speaker, it is confusing, and the first association would be "I'm ready for it, whenever!"

Single words taken out of context are always difficult to interpret, especially if you want them to mean something in your own language, but insist on tattooing them in a different language (which probably uses the same concept differently).

[yersi]

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[Lu]

Well, at least 平 does mean 'peace'. Imagine getting 安 and then going to Japan.

And give the OP a break, at least he had something that's quite translatable, and he asked before he inked.

[yersi]

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