my tattoo

[cakoehler25]

please help translate.

[Shelley]

What do you think it is supposed to mean?

Do you think it is Chinese?

[Lu]

無, perhaps? 舞?

[cakoehler25]

found my answer. sorry for wasting your time before using my noodle. it means Mu and thats what i wanted it to mean and was hopeing. thanks anyway. @ lu, I have a japanese friend whom teaches Japanese to americans that guessed dance... intresting that you would as well. how did you come to this conclusion? the only one to ever get it was my chinese GP. doctor who seemed awe struck upon seeing it.

[Shelley]

Don't worry about wasting our time, its all good fun

By the way 無 or 舞 is pronounced wu2 or wu3 in Chinese. It may be mu in Japanese, i freely admit to knowing absolutely nothing about Japanese.

舞 is wu3 to dance.

[Ruben von Zwack]

Now this is actually different, for a change. In a good way I mean. I guess Lu guessed right because she can read cursive script. I can't read it, but I know it's knowledge, not sorcery. Or is it... ?

[淨土極樂]

No, it doesn't mean 'mu'. 'Mu' is simply the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese character 無, which means "without", "to not have". I've no idea what kind of statement you wanted to make with such a tattoo.

[Lu]

@ lu, I have a japanese friend whom teaches Japanese to americans that guessed dance... intresting that you would as well. how did you come to this conclusion?

Because it looks like the upper part of 無 with some stuff going on below that, and as said stuff didn't look like 灬 to me, I figured it might be 舞. I usually can't read cursive either, but that element (the upper part of 無) rather stands out.

[cakoehler25]

@ 淨土極樂 zach.chambana.net/gallery/zarf/tat.html look here. im not saying its difinitive, i did an img search and this was at the top.

[Ruben von Zwack]

So you wanted to get the prefix wú, like "un-". And not "dancing" wǔ.

Anyway, it's a nice calligraphy!

I think though that the artwork incorporates a Japanese Kana under the character 無, it looks like there could be a こ (ko). 無 + こ written horizontally under each other if you know what I mean. Or something completely different.

Which is why Lu thought it was rather 舞 cause there was too much going on under it for a simple 無.

[Lu]

I think though that the artwork incorporates a Japanese Kana under the character 無, it looks like there could be a こ (ko). 無 + こ written horizontally under each other if you know what I mean. Or something completely different.

Which is why Lu thought it was rather 舞 cause there was too much going on under it for a simple 無.

Oh it could easily be someone getting creative with those 灬. I think you can do all kinds of things with it, including writing the fire part vertical for all I know. But you'd have to ask someone who actually knows something about caoshu. Either way, as tattoos go this is quite a nice one (provided it says what you want it to say).

[Glenn]

In Japanese, on its own and read "mu", it can be a Zen term for the pure consciousness before having attained experience or knowledge.

３禅宗で、経験・知識を得る以前の純粋な意識。「―の境地」

http://dictionary.go...2/214416/m1u/無/

[cakoehler25]

the whole reason i got it is because i am a huge fan of philosophy and made a very large change to my life by empting my proverbial box so to speak, i changed my nurture and nature by doing so for the positive. thank you everyone for your help.

[lingo-ling]

Mu comes from a well-known Zen koan. It's the reply "No" ("does not have") to the question "Does a dog have Buddha-nature?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_%28negative%29