I was thinking about getting a tattoo, in memory of my brother. Something like: « Rest in peace Trevor John Freeman ».
I want to make sure the characters for the spelling is right.
Any ideas, or links would help.
Thanks.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2008 06:22AM by Olive.

'Rest in peace' can be directly translated as 安息 in simplified chinese characters. In normal conversations, we usually say 安息吧 instead of just 安息。

So.. in a single sentence, 'Rest in peace, Trevor John Freeman' can be directly translated as '安息吧, Trevor John Freeman'

With no disrespect to you or your brother, '安息吧, Trevor John Freeman' will actually seem weird and even possibly, funny to some chinese people. Not to mention, that it is not 'space' saving, if you are considering tattoo-ing at your arm region.

So.. you should not make direct translations from English to Chinese.

However, there are BETTER alternatives..

The simplified chinese characters 怀念 can mean 'In loving memory of' and 'Missing' someone beloved to you. (in this case, not necessarily deceased)

An better variation will be 永怀 which can only mean you are 'Forever in loving memory of' that someone who is deceased.

Lastly, mixing English words and Chinese characters will be very unsightly.
John is commonly translated as 约翰 in chinese.

So it becomes a much more meaningful 永怀约翰
(I am only able to translate the middle name and i can't translate the last or last names.. so perhaps you need to consult someone else on this..)

Instead of the left-to-right reading order, chinese characters can be re-arranged to be read from top-to-down instead.

And you can have a beautiful chinese character stamp tattoo on your arm
Here is an example of what it can look like.

DO NOT use the characters in the above image, which roughly means that guy's heart is with Hong Kong..

Finally...you can use
Simplified Chinese Characters: (means 'Forever in loving memory of')

-------
[ 永约 ]
[ 怀翰 ]
-------

OR

Recommended
Traditional Chinese Characters: (means 'Forever in loving memory of')
(same meaning, except traditional chinese is a older form or writing and looks more nicer)


-------
[ 永約 ]
[ 懷翰 ]
-------


Last but not least, you should always be patient and get more advice before getting the tattoo done as others may give better advice than me.

PS: this is my 1st post

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2008 03:02PM by Hiddentemujin.