What does this mean?

[Sweetie2012]

Hi guys,

When I was a young silly girl I got this tattoo, thinking it meant love, now I don't have a clue what it means and I really need it to be translated for an application!

Would really appreciate the help!!!

Thanks xx

[Demonic_Duck]

I can't see any pictures attached to your post.

[Shelley]

Usually the character for love is 爱. If it looks like this it could be ai4 for love. If not, you will have to post a picture

[li3wei1]

Just curious, what sort of application asks for translations of all your tattoos?

[Lu]

And do they know Chinese, would they know if you mistranslated? I and others will be happy to help translate your tattoo, but for the application, if I were you I'd just say it means love, because that's what you told the tattoo artist to write and to the best of your knowledge, that's what it says.

[Sweetie2012]

Hiya, not sure why my image hasn't come up, will re post. Also yes it's for joining the police force. They have been very specific on the meaning.

[imron]

It is the character 恋, however unless you have reversed the image, it looks like it has been written in a mirror.

[Kobo-Daishi]

Are the two characters, 爱 and 恋, interchangeable? Are they both equivalent to the English "love" in all senses of the word? Both as verb and noun?

I was re-watching a Korean movie titled 假如爱有天意 (English title: The Classic) in Korean, but, with Chinese subtitles when I came across this.

It's a young lady going through her mother's personal possessions and saying that this box contains her mother's first love. (No, not his ashes or anything like that.) The old love letters from the ex-beau. And they use the character 恋.

在这里 有妈妈的初恋

Could you say 在这里 有妈妈的初爱 instead?

Or for "I love you", could you use 我恋你?

Kobo.

[Kobo-Daishi]

Also yes it's for joining the police force.

Are you for real?

I read somewhere that the American military have instituted new regulations regarding tattoos. That they shouldn't be visible in uniform, but, the police force?

What country? State/province? County? City?

I remember a time when no one wore tattoos except for sailors and possibly convicts.

Kobo.

[imron]

I remember a time when no one wore tattoos except for sailors and possibly convicts.

Add gang members to that list, and you'll see why the police force wants to check things like the meanings of tattoos.

[li3wei1]

I'm surprised they leave it up to the applicant to provide the translation, though.

[renzhe]

Are the two characters, 爱 and 恋, interchangeable? Are they both equivalent to the English "love" in all senses of the word? Both as verb and noun?

No. 初恋 is a fixed phrase.

[muyongshi]

They can be used together as 恋爱 as well but as renzhe said, they are not interchangeable. Similar yet different meanings. But for your application "love" definitely works.

[Lu]

恋 means 'love', but more with the connection 'romance, dating'. But yah, for your application there's not really a difference. It doesn't mean anything negative or violent (or weird).

[Sweetie2012]

Thank you to everyone for your fantastic and very helpful answers!!!

[lingo-ling]

I think Chinese character tattoos look far better when they're traditional rather than simplified.

[Demonic_Duck]

I think Chinese character tattoos look far better when they're traditional rather than simplified.

I think dark-haired girls are far prettier than blondes. So what?