Help with translation of Chinese dog's name

[narcnh]

Hi,

This is probably a weird one for all of you, but here goes. Late last year I lost my dog to old age. He was my constant companion and best friend for almost 14 years. Cord was a Chow, and I thought I would honor him by having his name tattooed on me (I have other tattoos). Since he was a Chinese dog, I decided to go with Chinese characters. I've waited until now to make sure it still sounds like a good idea to me (and it does.). His name was Cord (like rope), but a homophone for cord is chord. Being a musician, I like the double meaning of that word better. And, besides, Cord/Chord never knew the difference, when I called his name, because he couldn't spell. My last name is Greenrose, which conveniently breaks up into two syllables, each with a meaning in both English and Chinese. So, after searching around, I came up with the following:

和弦

綠

玫瑰

Could anyone advise me if 1) this makes sense in Chinese, 2) if it does, does it convey the meaning I want, 3) is it even a good idea (not the tattoo, the translation), and/or 4) offer alternatives? I am aware of the pitfalls of trying to translate names from English into Chinese, but in this case, each syllable has a meaning unto itself, which, in turn, has (I think) a Chinese character, so I thought is was not too crazy of an idea.

Many, many thanks,

Bill

p.s. For those who are curious, Cord was named after the protagonist in Circle of Iron / The Silent Flute.

[yersi]

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[prateeksha]

Totally off-topic, but how about getting it tattooed in some language like Sanskrit where it would be written exactly as it sounds? I love my dogs dearly, so I can understand and respect your thought.

[shinewind]

All three words seem fine for me but I’d prefer “和弦” over other two. I think it’s a beautiful name. 和弦can mean something else other than chord – harmony or deep love for example. I know you are worried about being stupid but to me it makes perfect sense.

[Lu]

I'd recommend not doing this. Your dog's name wasn't 和弦, it was Cord. Translating Greenrose the way you do in the example looks like gibberish.

Perhaps you can get 'Cord' tattooed in a nice font? Or a tattoo of the silhouette of your dog?

[Shelley]

I agree with yersi and Lu.

If you do not live in China most people will not understand what is it you have tattooed on you.

If you want to do this in memoery of your dog ( i have had a dog and many cats so i understand how you feel) why not do it in a language people around you ill understand.

Lu's suggestion of a silhouette of your dog is good, why not put the name Cord inside in a nice font in English. This would be self explanitory and would be understood without people continualy asking what's that mean?

Remeber its there forever. As I always say Tattoos - think once, think twice, and then think somemore.

At least you have asked the question BEFORE having it done. Well done:)

[animal world]

The best way to honor your deceased dog is by making a donation to an animal shelter. They are always short on funds because the good ones will take in any animal to prevent it from going to a kill shelter. There may be a rescue service specifically for Chows in the country where you live (there is one in the US). Another great way to honor your deceased canine friend is to do some volunteering in an animal shelter.

[Shelley]

What an absoulutly brilliant idea animal world. Donate what you would have spent on a tattoo or a little more:)

Animals all over the world always need help.

[yersi]

I second Shelley. +1 to animal world for this suggestion.

[Guest realmayo]

Come on, the guy came asking about a tattoo, he doesn't need to be told what to do with his money. If someone came here saying that they liked China and wanted to know what textbook they could buy for some occasional part-time study I doubt anyone would say 'you''ll never learn much by just a bit of study and there are lots of poor children in China so you're better off spending your textbook money on a donation to a Hope School'.

Lots of people who study Chinese think that using Chinese characters for unrelated tattoos is a bit odd: if a Chinese person had the English tattoo "go-go" we might think it odd, even though he thought he was rendering the Chinese name of his dog into an approximation of how that Chinese name might sound to an English speaker.

But, to non-Chinese people who aren't learning Chinese, Chinese characters on tattoos are pretty common aren't they?

If you can corroborate shinewind's statement that 和弦 works as a good-sounding word in Chinese, and as long as you're not trying to impress anyone Chinese with it, I wouldn't be put off by the comments above -- not for one second though am I encouraging you to get the tattoo, not my kind of thing really.

[narcnh]

Thanks for all the advice. I waited this long to make sure it wasn't a knee-jerk reaction to his passing. Guess it wasn't such a good idea. Appreciate the suggestion about the silhouette (and I did think about it these past few months), but I don't think an image of a fuzzy dog would blend well with a Samoan tribal sleeve, Dharmachakra, etc., which are mostly line art. It was really for me, and not the rest of the world. Ah well, his memory lives on, which is what matters.

Again, thanks.

[xiaotao]

Wait 6 months and if you still want a taoo, go ahead

[yersi]

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[Guest realmayo]

Ah, but it's not my body!

[yersi]

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[Guest realmayo]

The guy said in his initial post that he has other tattoos. He also said he'd spent a while thinking this idea over.

But, if you can easily equate suicide with a tattoo then no wonder you're taking it seriously and I can understand why you'd feel strongly about it.

[yersi]

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[narcnh]

There is a lag in my replies, because they need to be reviewed by the moderator, and several posts came in while my last one was under review. So, this time I waited a bit before replying.

Did not intend to create any issues on the forum, sorry about that. I understand everyone is just trying to help and that for many tattoos are an immediate red flag. I did not go into much detail in my original post, because I wanted to just focus on the issue of my dog's name in Chinese (and I ramble too much, anyway). But, in the interest of clarity and full disclosure, yes, I already have significant ink, although you would not see any of it under normal business circumstances, Each tat design took a lot of time to develop (and execute, some taking 15+ hours over multiple visits) in conjunction with the artist, who does all my work, and who provides reality checks along the way. So, I don't take these things lightly, because tattoos are, well, tattoos. They don't come off with soap and water. That's why I posted here - part of my research. Yes, I waited over six months, before bringing up the subject on this forum, to make sure it was not a snap decision, and it will be a while, if and when I decide to have it done (the advantage of a lot of business travel is it forces you to wait on personal things). I was considering adding Cord's name as part of a much larger dragon tattoo (as an homage to my protector of almost 14 years), none of which would typically be visible, so would not expect comments from native Chinese speakers. The dragon tattoo will eventually happen, with or without his name. I am 55 (not a kid), reasonably well-adjusted (which some would challenge), a career businessman, who has traveled to China, and single (don't need a spouse's approval, heh heh), and the latter probably explains the emotional attachment to my dog. Finally, I do have a charitable organization donation program.

So, thank you, everyone, for the comments and suggestions, both positive and negative. I appreciate your time and thoughtfulness. Everything goes into the decision-making pot and is considered.

Bill

[Shelley]

I am glad you are so level headed and sensible. Enjoy whatever decision you make:)