Please help! Got a Chinese symbol tattoo but people say it's the wrong meaning!

[Alexlee9]

Okay this is kind of embarrassing but my girlfriend and I looked online and found a nice Chinese phrase which meant 'Two Hearts One Soul'. We got that tattoo'd on our body. Can anyone please let me know what it really means?

Here's the link of where I saw it:

http://www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese-symbol-two-hearts-one-soul.htm

[mokushiroku]

Maybe it's a poor translation. Typically, this term means you have a dual personality disorder ala [what most people call schizophrenia].

I don't know if this is a joke post or not, because you're asking about a tattoo that basically states you have a personality disorder in which you think you are two people and at the same time you say YOU and YOU GIRLFRIEND got a tattoo on "OUR BODY" as if you are sharing one body.

Because I am now confused, you should post a picture.

[joshuawbb]

The translation is incorrect I'm afraid. The term literally means "person with twin personalities". This meaning depends on context - a doctor may use this as a simplified way of describing someone with dissociative identity disorder, or someone might use it to describe a person who in a social way seems to have two personalities; that being said, it's a bit too formal and friends probably wouldn't use it to describe another.

Anyway, a better translation, and don't take this as authoritative, would be 两心一魂 心心相印. I'm throwing this in for scrutiny because I'm not quite at the level yet for coming up with poetic phrases.

@mokushiroku

I hate to nitpick, but schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder (aka multiple personality disorder) are separate illnesses - DID being the true twin personality disorder, and schizophrenia a complex disorder characterised by psychosis, hallucinations, social disruption, etc.

*Edited: revised translation

[Alexlee9]

WOW. I cannot believe this... I feel very sad to know what it actually means now...

Thank you all for the input.

[外国赤佬]

Sorry, but I laughed. 活该的.

It was probably put on that website as a cruel joke, but still, people like you are too gullible.

[imron]

It was probably put on that website as a cruel joke,

Never attribute to malice what could equally be attributed to stupidity. I'm guessing the site didn't know any better. The fact that on the main page of that site it refers to them as "Chinese Symbols (all called Chinese characters, Chinese alphabets or Chinese signs)", should be a giveaway.

On the other hand, they do list "soul mate" as '情人‘, so perhaps they are just having a laugh.

[daofeishi]

This is just precious. "I love you, mother"

[imron]

Oh the difference a comma, or lack thereof, can make.

[liuzhou]

As has been pointed out by someone much more clever than me, punctuation is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit.

[yaokong]

eats, shoots and leaves

[xiaocai]

Maybe it will be a bit extreme, but sometimes I just feel that all online Chinese dictionaries (actually dictionary of any language) should carry a mandatory warning sign something like: If this intended for tattooing purposes, it is strongly recommended to verify the translation with native speakers of the target language BEFORE you have it done.

[shinewind]

心心相印

Sounds nice to me.