Chinese Tattoo Expert

Chinese tattoo translation, checked by a native speaker.

Type a name, a word, or a phrase. AI helps draft options. Duane checks and decides every one.

You get a stencil image and a meaning note in plain English. Sample lettering uses a clean regular script (楷书) font, the same brush-style family as the 欧体 Duane has practiced since childhood. Want it closer to classic 欧体 calligraphy? Choose Hand-brushed by Duane.

Duane is a native Chinese speaker who grew up in China, lives in Ottawa, and has practiced 欧体 calligraphy since childhood. He started this because too many tattoos end up wrong, meaningless, or unintentionally funny, and one check by a calligrapher could easily have avoided that. Instant AI generators often make exactly these mistakes, picking a literal word that reads oddly to Chinese speakers, so a check by someone who knows not just the language but Chinese calligraphy, culture, and literature is worth it before anything goes on your skin. If you describe the feeling you want, he may suggest a better word or a classic phrase when he reviews your request.

Send a request

Common mistakes

Literal translations such as 力量 for strength or 和平 for peace are what instant generators commonly produce. A human check matters for something permanent.

How to avoid a wrong Chinese tattoo: 8 checks before you ink

Readings Duane approved

A personal name does not get its own page. Names are not dictionary words. Use the form and say what you want the name to express.

Prices

Sending a request is free. You pay only after you approve your options. Payment is by a secure link sent by email. There is no checkout on this site. Duane normally replies within 48 hours of receiving your form. If you need it sooner, say so in the Anything else box.

Character check, $15. 1–4 characters. Duane checks the meaning, notes any pitfalls, and sends a clean stencil (PNG and PDF) in simplified or traditional.
Phrase or name, $25. 5–12 characters, or an English name sounded out in Chinese. 2–3 options with notes, and one revision.
Hand-brushed by Duane, +$40. Duane writes the final characters himself with a brush, scanned for your tattoo artist.

Request a check

Type a name, a word, or a phrase. The form emails your request to Duane through Web3Forms, a form service. This site does not keep its own copy.

Your nameEmailConfirm your emailName, word, or phraseWhat do you want it to mean? Tell us the story or feeling (optional)

When Duane reviews a request, he reads this. He may suggest a better word or a classic phrase, and a short note on why.

Where it will go on the body (optional)About how big (optional)Anything else (optional)

Which script do you prefer?SimplifiedTraditionalNot sure

Simplified is mainly used in mainland China and Singapore. Traditional is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and classic Chinese calligraphy, including Ou style (歐體). Readers in all these places generally recognize either.

Which option do you want?Character check ($15)Phrase or name ($25)Not sure yet

Lettering styleClassic (汇文正楷, slightly rough printed edges)Smooth (LXGW WenKai, clean edges)Hand-brushed by Duane (+$40)

I am 18 or older.

What happens after you send a request

You send the form. Sending is free.
AI helps draft candidate characters and notes.
Duane reviews them, then picks or corrects, and emails you the options.
After you approve, you pay by a secure link in the email. Duane then emails the result with a stencil image.

What this site does

You send a request for free. AI helps draft options. Duane checks and decides. You pay only after you approve. He then emails a stencil image and a meaning note.

What this site does not do

It does not tattoo you, and it does not promise how the ink will look on skin. It does not send a character out until Duane has checked it. It does not take payment or open accounts. A suggestion on a meaning page is not an approval.