I am looking to get a tattoo. I want a chinese symbol. I haven’t decided which one to get though. For some words like "Love" there is only one chinese symbol. But for other words like "Peace" there are two different chinese symbols listed. Can someone tell me if both of those symbols together mean "peace" or if just one or the other means "peace"? Could I choose either symbol I want and have it still mean the same thing?
The two character representation of peace is 和平, but generally it is entirely possible and accepted to represent "peace" with the single character of 和.
Because 和 is the defining word for other "peace" related characters, like:
和諧 – harmonious
和氣 – literally peaceful airs; meaning politeness amongst people
調和 – harmony
And finally 和平 – Peace (in a country; on Earth)
So the character 和 itself is generally accepted as meaning peace and/or harmony. Such is the versatility of the Chinese written language that is rather difficult to explain… but at any rate, if you’re getting these as tattoos, try not to place the words too close to one another like 愛和 or 愛和. It looks awkward as these two characters don’t make sense when put together.
March 4th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Yup, some English words translated to Chinese have two characters. And I think you would have to choose both symbols because only when the two characters are together will that mean "peace". If you just chose one character it would mean something else, or nothing at all.
References :
March 4th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
The two character representation of peace is 和平, but generally it is entirely possible and accepted to represent "peace" with the single character of 和.
Because 和 is the defining word for other "peace" related characters, like:
和諧 – harmonious
和氣 – literally peaceful airs; meaning politeness amongst people
調和 – harmony
And finally 和平 – Peace (in a country; on Earth)
So the character 和 itself is generally accepted as meaning peace and/or harmony. Such is the versatility of the Chinese written language that is rather difficult to explain… but at any rate, if you’re getting these as tattoos, try not to place the words too close to one another like 愛和 or 愛和. It looks awkward as these two characters don’t make sense when put together.
References :
March 4th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
I think you must have to the two Chinese characters 和平to mean “peace.”
References :
March 4th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
The characters for 和平 (hépíng) mean “peace.” You need both of the characters to express the meaning of peace. You can use just one Chinese character “爱 (ài)” to mean “love.” But 爱 (ài) can refer to all kinds of love. So if you want to mean the love between you and your girl or boy friend, you should say “爱情 (àiqíng).” If it is the love between you and your family, it is “亲情 (qīnqíng).” Just to let you know, “和平(hépíng)” is more specific and standard than爱 (ài). If you have any other Chinese questions, please feel free to contact me at
jennifer.zhu@echineselearning.com (www.eChineseLearning.com). I will always be glad to help you. If you want to know more Chinese characters, you can look for them on http://www.echineselearning.com/resources/chinese-dictionary/index.html?ecl=ptEEEEEEyayy022501
–Jennifer
Source:http://www.echineselearning.com/free-trial/index.html?ecl=ptEEEEEEyayy022501
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March 4th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
as there are English words — there are Chinese words…
just like English, Chinese words can be "full form" and "short form"
like "mathematics = math, university = uni, laboratory = lab" etc
so you need two English words
1 love and 2 peace in Chinese
here you are:
love = 爱情 (full) = 爱 (short)
peace = 和平 (full) = 和 (short)
References :
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Chinese language = Simple hanzi + pinyin = 中语 (汉语)
Cantonese language = Trad hanzi + Jyutping = 粵語
Taiwanese language = Trad hanzi + pinyin = 中語(汉語)