Chinese translation for 'hope'

[jonnob]

Hey, i was wondering if anyone could translate "hope" into chinese for me. I searched the internet but found a few different symbols! I was wondering if it was one symbol as i wanted it for a tattoo on my shoulder! any help would be appreciated.

[muyongshi]

For a discussion on hope [also that was wanting to be used in a tattoo] check out this discussion.

[leeyah]

In simplest terms, hope is usually referred to as 希望 xī wàng, as in Kelly Chen's (陈慧琳) theme song by the same name: ...希望的翅膀一天终张开... = ...when the Wings of Hope are spread, Heaven opens it's Doors... where 希 conveys the meaning of 渴望 yearn for, long for, while 望 means looking into the distance (future)远看,希盼.

The meaning of 望 is 'readable' from the composition of the character: it's present form has 亡 + 月 + 王 and an be analyzed as: 流亡在外， 家里人期盼着归来 expecting the return of someone dear who has left long ago. So 望 on it's own is not very indicative of the meaning of Hope you have in mind, IMHO.

On the other hand, 希望 basically means the same as 心愿 = what one's heart desires, and that's the closest to the meaning of hope in English. Quite OK for a tatoo.

For more info on Chinese Character Tatoos read:

http://www.hanzismatter.com/2009/02/hope.html

http://www.supplytattoo.com/board/showpost.php?p=53776&postcount=10

http://www.orientaloutpost.com/hope.php

[jonnob]

hey leeyah, thanks for the great reply! the problem is where i wanted the tattoo there is only really room for one symbol! is there anything else with a similar meaning that could be shown with one symbol, like "faith"? thanks again.

[renzhe]

"Hope" and "Faith" don't mean similar things at all. Hope implies uncertainty, faith implies certainty.

Character 信 can mean "believe" or "trust". But depending on what you understand under "faith", this may or may not be the right concept.

I'd recommend against getting a Chinese character tattoo if you don't speak the language.

[stonelee]

I think “信”and“愿”will be more suitable.

信：信念 [xìn niàn]

belief

faith

conviction

愿：愿望 [yuàn wàng]

wish

desire

[leeyah]

There's nothing wrong in the desire to have a Chinese character tattoo, even if you don't speak the language, IMO. That's why OP asked for help from us here.

Faith:

信

meaning 诚实, so consider also

誠

More ideas：Loyalty 忠 or Revelation 悟, etc, etc

[jadeblomma]

I was wondering about the same thing, but the expression "faith, hope, love". Does it exist in Chinese, and if so, what would be the correct characters for the cross, the anchor and the heart? 相信爱？

[skylee]

the expression "faith, hope, love". Does it exist in Chinese

There are many Chinese versions of the Bible, so the expression does exist in Chinese. It is usually rendered as “信、望、愛".