A man who spent £800 to have the Samurai bushido code tattooed onto his arm in Japanese was left with something completely meaningless when the tattoo artist missed out a line and got the spelling wrong.
Chris opted for a Samurai tattoo because he "loves samurais and the code they lived by", especially the seven virtues of bushido - Integrity, Respect, Heroic Courage, Honour, Compassion, Honesty & Sincerity, Duty & Loyalty.
Within his Samurai tattoo, Chris wanted to take the keywords ‘gardener and warrior’ from the Japanese quote: "It’s better to be a warrior in a garden than to be a gardener in a war", as he couldn’t fit the whole quote.
But few days after he got his tattoo that a friend revealed to him that his tattoo was spelled wrong and that it had no meaning. The tattoo artist had missed one line, which meant the quote didn't say anything at all.
The tattoo cost Chris £800.
Lettering tattoo artist, Hinin Prod said: “When looking at the most commonly used languages in the field of lettering tattoos, the social prism and its influences should be acknowledged. In multicultural cities, you meet many people from different cultures and environments. I have many requests for lettering in Japanese, Latin, Chinese, or Arabic. Old Nordic runes are also popular among ‘ink heads’ and could also be treated as lettering in their own way."
Hinin, who works in Germany, said: "Despite being my country’s national language, German is not as popular from my experience. One of the most popular languages remains English – probably because English sounds “the coolest” and is on everybody’s mind being internationally mediatized for so many decades.
"When it comes to the most common types of language tattoos, the majority of my clients request quotes, sayings, lines from a favorite song, or just individual words. Names are also popular, although people seem to become more and more cautious about such choices. It is common to see parents tattoo the names of their children. However, often the names are reduced to initials so that they do not obviously represent an existent person.
"From my experience, the internet, especially Instagram and Pinterest, has been the biggest factor that drives people to get lettering tattoos. However, most tattoos from these sources are small-word tattoos in the fine-line area. Bigger tattoos are often equally desired by the customers as a saying or message. There is not much room left for real individuality. The internet has shown the beauty of tattoos to the masses, but it has also reduced the unique art in them.
"All I can recommend to others is to choose the tattoo artist wisely and let him or her be creative with your idea. Do your research and always try to get a native speaker to advise on your language tattoos.”
Online language learning platform Preply has investigated the most common types of language tattoos, the top celebrities inspiring the world's tattoo decisions, and countries with the most tattoo regrets.
Language tattoos include everything from inspirational quotes and lyrics to names and phrases. But have you ever wondered what the most common type of language tattoo is?
To investigate, the online language learning platform Preply analysed global demand to reveal the most common types of language tattoos, the languages trending this year for tattoos, and the top celebrities inspiring the world’s body art.
Sometimes the message can get lost in translation for foreign language tattoos. So Preply has also investigated which countries have the most tattoo regrets from mishaps such as incorrect translations or spelling.
Name tattoos are the most common type of language tattoo
Looking at the number of tagged Instagram posts and annual Google search demand Preply discovered the top five types of language tattoos around the world.
Name tattoos are the most common type of language tattoos, with over 298,000 Instagram posts and 2.6 million annual Google searches. Single-letter tattoos follow in second with a total of 2.2 million Instagram posts and Google searches.
Ranging from inspirational to funny, quote tattoos are the third most popular type of language tattoo with 87,400 Instagram posts and 896,640 annual Google searches.
Japanese is the most common language to have as a foreign language tattoo
You’re not limited to your first language when getting a language tattoo. Many opt to get foreign words or phrases tattooed on them. Some may prefer the look of certain languages, while others may like the mystery of a language their peers won’t know.
The top 10 most popular languages to get tattooed:
Japanese tops the list of languages with an impressive 231,240 searches a year. It is closely followed by Chinese with 184,800 searches. This could be due to these languages using symbols in their writing that many may find aesthetically pleasing.
Arabic is the third most popular language to get tattooed, with 81,600 annual searches. At the bottom of the top 10 is English, with 9,240 searches. Hindi only just misses the top 10, coming in just after English with 8,040 searches.
Persian is the current trendiest language to get tattooed
Tattoos trends vary year on year. Preply has taken a look at which languages are most popular this year, based on the average year-on-year change in demand.
Tattoo’s written in Persian has seen the biggest change with a 312% increase in demand across the world year on year. Persian is an Indo-European language native to countries such as Iran and Afghanistan.
This is followed by Polish with a 200% increase and in third is Punjabi with a 129%+ increase.
London is UK’s city with the most tattoo regrets
Next Preply looked into which cities had the most tattoo mishaps.
In the UK, London has had the most searches for tattoo removals by far with 34,920. This is followed by Birmingham with 4,800 and then Liverpool with 2,640.
