Arabic tattoos are definitively in fashion in the world of the rich and the famous. And I don’t mean temporary tattoos done with henna. This is perhaps surprising, because there are hardly any tattoos to be seen in the Arab World. In the West, however, tattoos have come a long way from the time when they were essentially associated with sailors and soldiers. Nowadays, having a permanent inking on your skin is no longer a sign of low class.
Recently, celebrities like actress Angelina Jolie, football player Zlatan Ibrahimović, and pop star Rihanna have been getting Arabic phrases and words tattooed on their bodies. But, do they really know the meaning of the words they are eternalizing on their skin? Let’s take a look at the tattoos and their meanings:
Angelina Jolie: the firm will
First off is Angelina Jolie who it seems has already filled every inch of her skin with some writing or other. Her latest addition is this Arabic tattoo:
Angelina Jolie's Arabic Tattoo
Taking a closer look we can make out the Arabic word العزيمة (al-‘azeema), meaning “the determination” or “the firm will” on her right forearm. Jolie certainly strikes me as a woman who knows what she wants – so it seems that this tattoo is quite fitting. However, the word can also mean “the incantation” or “the spell”.
While the Arabic script chosen for the tattoo is pretty plain, Angelina (or one of her assistants) has at least done enough research to ensure that the word is spelled correctly – no slipups here.
Zlatan Ibrahimović
Moving on to Zlatan Ibrahimović, the top football player:
Zlatan Ibrahimović's Arabic Tatoo
For those learning Arabic, the tattoo might be pretty confusing. Fear not, the solution is simple: the inscription is simply a transliteration of Ibrahimović’s surname – in Arabic إبراهيموفيج (ibraaheemoofeedj).
Since the Arabic letters don’t correspond one-to-one with our English letters, the tattooist (or someone who speaks fluent Arabic) had to choose something that is as close as possible to the actual pronunciation of the name Ibrahimović. For example, there is no “v” in the Arabic alphabet. The next best thing is the “f” sound.
Maybe the egocentricity demonstrated by Ibrahimović’s choice of word is not to everyone’s taste. But, at least the tattoo is spelled and written correctly.
Rihanna
Finally, let’s see what singer Rihanna has engraved on her waste:
Rihanna's Arabic Tattoo
The Arabic reads الحرية في مسيح (al-horriya fi maseeh), or in English “the freedom in Messiah”. Huh? Seems like Rihanna is quite a religious one, but why hide the message of salvation in Arabic rather than show it off to her (supposedly) bigger English-speaking audience? Perhaps her religious convictions are more of a private thing for her after all?
Well, be that as it may. What is certain, is that the phrase should have read correctly الحرية في المسيح (al-horriya fi al-maseeh), or “the freedom in the Messiah”. Not all is lost, though, since there still is ample space to insert the Arabic article AL before the word Messiah. So, Rihanna, another visit to the tattooist?
If you want to follow the celebrities’ example and get an Arabic tattoo yourself, then make sure that you know exactly the meaning of the words you are engraving for life. Better yet, why not learn the Arabic alphabet yourself so that you can be sure that the words are written correctly?
Watch out for my next post to be published soon on embarrassing errors to avoid when you are getting an Arabic tattoo.
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Update: The second article about Arabic tattoos is up.
Update: If you want to see some good examples of tattoo templates, check out my two blog posts where I fulfill reader requests:
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Hi I am sorry to be a pain as I can see you have a lot of people asking for your help but i was wondering if you could please translate “you are my sunshine” for me.this is what I have at the moment but I’m not sure if it is correct, your help would be greatly appreciated. كنت لي الشمس المشرقة
Hi can you please translate my daughter Chyanne and son Baby Boy. Thank you
Hello everybody..
@katie… “YOU’RE MY SUNSHINE” what you got is not right..
the right one is ” أنت ضوء شمسي”
this is definitely the right one.. i’m an arabic guy..
and i can tell you that all online translators get helpless when it comes to translate a sentence..
Hi sir.
i was wondering since sarah was originally named sarai in the bible before she changed it wouldnt the two names be the same?
and if so, can you translate “women of high rank” in arabic.
cause i want to get that tattoo’d on my foot cause my name is Sarai.
than you so much
I don’t actually know if they would be the same name but the translation is
نساء المراتب العالية
Hi, I was wondering if someone could check this translation for me:
“All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” -Walt Disney
يمكن لجميع أحلامنا تتحقق ، إذا كانت لدينا الشجاعة لمتابعتها.
& “Mistakes are the portals of discovery” -James Joyce
الأخطاء هي مداخل الاكتشاف
Hi, i just wanna know if this is the correct spelling:
باسم الأب والابن والروح القدس، آمين.
[bi esm l ab wal eben warou7 l kodos. amin.]
(in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit. amen.)
Hello!
I need help translating, any help would be greatly appreciated!
I’m looking to get ‘Liberate my soul’ tattooed in Arabic.
Can anyone tell me if this is the proper way to say that, or if there is a similar saying in Arabic better suited?
تحرير نفسي
Thanks in advance!
Hello..
@bailey the first one should be يمكن لجميع احلامنا ان تتحقق, اذا كانت لدينا الشجاعة لملاحقتها
the second one is good
@Patrick Abde.. you got it right.
@TattoGirl you… it is the proper way to say that.
itmeans that RIHANNA loves jesus “الحرية في المسيح” = freedome in jesus
<3 jesus
HELLO can you send me a picture of the words only God can protect me in Arabic? possibly in different fonts? THANK YOU!
“Only God can protect me”
THANKS!
Hi I please can you translate “Nana & Grandad” to Arabic I can’t find any where
hi can you translate this. samsean,vergo
hahaha
))
A lot of the word are JUST wrong !! And this come from arabic women (( thats me
Not anyone can translate english to arabic
You must have arabic pirson to translate to you cous arabic is so hard to traslate
Hi how are you my name is jorge I was interested in getting a tatto in arabic letters but I don’t kno how to write it in arabic what I want to get tatted is — IN GOD I TRUST— can you please help me and thank you
Hi I am looking to get my daughters name (Grace) tattooed in arabic but have been given four different version. can you tell me if either one is right and if not what is it please?
1 . كريس
2 غرَيس
3 جريس
4. غرايس
Hi I’ve been wanting an arabic tattoo saying God is love but I still can’t find the correct spelling and I don’t want to get what google translate says ill be walking around with something thats not what I wanted. Please help me..
Hi Arabic Genie, Can you let me know what is correct or close to arabic translation for this english phrase.. ONLY GOD WILL JUDGE ME. i tried to use the goggle translator and this is what i got. ” إلا إرادة الله القاضي لي ” is this close/near translation?
Pls. let me know i want this as my very first tatoo.
Hi!This is a wonderful site!could you please write how would be these names in Arabic!
VELGA and the second PATRIC?Thank you very much!!
Can anyone translate the James Dean quote “dream as if you’ll love forever; live as if you’ll die today” into Arabic as I would like to get this as a tatoo but the google translators are wrong.. Please help
thanks x
To whomever wrote the article. Rihanna is not religious, in fact she is anti-religious. She is referring to al-maseeh ad-dajjaal who will set her free. She will add the Al when he appears. So I agree with you on this one, she will need another visit to the tattoo shop.
PS Google Rihanna subliminal messages
Omar
Apologies if I missed it but does anyone know what Hashish is in arabic?
Hi!! Could you translate the following for me in Arabic “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in him I will trust. He shall cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge”
Its a few verses from Psalm 91
if you would like a second opinion on arabic tattoo translation, hit me up
and to john: hashish originally means GRASS, but it is also street languange for marijuana in most arabic countries…
Hello
I wanted to ask if you could translate
My kids name in Arabic I would need to get it design by you but I would like to know how they would look, and also are you a native speaker how many years how you been doing this is my first tattoo so I wouldnt want anything missed spelled ..
Jose
Josue
Jasmin
David
Thank you so much
Hello I was wondering if you could translate “love” for me
@Duraid Dalli – Apologies I know what it means I was after it in arabic, I’ll give it a couple of days and if I dont hear off you on here I’ll email you, thanks.
I hate when celebrities jump on ethnic heritages like it’s the latest craze. And for those of you wanting Arabic tattoos, I know I might get a lot of hate for this, but unless you are familiar with the culture, the language, or it means something to you to personally to have something done in Arabic, please don’t get it. It’s not some pretty cursive, it is a language with an ancient history, customs, and represents a large ethnic population and an even larger religious population. And please refrain from religion based tattoos in Arabic. I’m pretty sure the Bible, and definitely the Quran, frown on such things, so I would NEVER get anything like “Allah” (swt) or “Prophet” or anything even remotely similar to that.
Hi would Leo the name be the same as in the zodiac symbol..
Many thx
Can someone help translate me the following : ” I see my mother’s smile, that’s a blessing. ” I’d like to get it tattooed and must be sure that I have the correct translation in arabic .
@Maggie – first i just want to know if you are speaking Spanish or Portuguese or English cause it’ll make such different in the pronounce of your children’s names in Arabic .. it’ll be like that .. ” جوزيه – ياسمين – دافيد ”
@Rosa – love means in Arabic ” حب ”
@John -do you ask about what hashish mean in Arabic ?
@ricky barolo – you asked about the translation of ” ONLY GOD WILL JUDGE ME ” to Arabic .. so its translation is ” الله فقط من سيحاسبني ” or ” الله فقط من سيحاكمني ”
@Velga – the names in Arabic it will be like that
فيلجا – باتريك
@marite – the translation you asked about is ” الله هو الحب ”
@Donna – the translation of James dean quote to Arabic is .. ” أحلم كما شئت كإنك ستحب للأبد ، و عش كإنك ستموت غدا ”
@Archy – the translation you asked about is .. ” إني أرى إبتسامة أمي ، و هذة نعمة “
hello can someone please translate me the followin…
Never a failure always a lesson
i would also love if u can help me out with the following names…
ivette jacob miguel
please if i can get the arabic translation
@klaudia – the names in Arabic are .. ميجيل – يعقوب – إيڤيت
@ Ahmed
omg thank u sooo much..
i appreciate it..
do u know the translation to
“never a failure always a lesson”
has anyone bought the book? i want to buy it cause i want to see all the different types of translations.. but i dont want to regret buying it…
@klaudia – always welcome
yes i know the translation .. but i think that this sentence isn’t complete cause i think there’s something missing .. or it’s just like the tattoo on rihanna
anyway in Arabic it means ..
كل خطأ ليس فشل و لكنه درس دائما
and it could be written in other way
@ Ahmed
thanks…
i didnt know rihanna has that but i love the quote…
once again thanks..
@amed
does this mean ivette
إيفيت
thats my daughters name.. but with an “I” not a “Y”
i just want to make sure the one u gave me is with an i not a y
thanks
what does this say?
ميغيل
@klaudia – yes ivette means إيڤيت .. it’s the same in arabic if it is with an ” i ” or ” y ”
but there’s a small note about it , that if you put the name ” ivette ” in google translate it will be ” إيفيت ” like what in previous comment .. but the right one is what i wrote ” إيڤيت ” because above the middle letter suppose to be three dots .. not one dot .. cause one dot pronounce like ” F ” but three dots pronounce ” V ” in ivette
I think you understand what i mean
and the second name which is miguel is written in arabic in both ways
ميجيل
or
ميغيل
Hi can you still offer a custom translation for a name?? I would really like to have the wording written in calligraphy, I am Lebanese but have lost touch with reading and writing Arabic and really want to have my daughter and wifes name tattoo’ed on me.
I am looking to translate the following.
Kayleigh (wife)
Ciarra ( daughter) or Cece ( nickname)
And maybe Safadi / al Safadi (my surname)
Thank you very much for your help
Phil Safadi
Thought I should point out that my daughters name is pronounced C-A-RA or similar to the pronounciation of car in Arabic, many thanks.
thanks ahmed!
How bout this quote?
LOVE HURTS,
LOVE IS EQUAL,
LOVE IS FREEDOM,
LOVE IS HUMAN EXPERIENCE, NOT A POTICAL STATEMENT.
@ahmed
thanks thanks thanks
ur the best lol
i appreciate u taking ur time too reply back….
hello can you translate me in arabic the phrase “where is your star ? “
@Safadi – your wife’s name in Arabic is ” كايلي ”
and your daughter’s name is ” سيارا ” and her nickname is ” سي سي ”
and your name is ” سافادي ” and your surname ” السافادي ”
you are always welcome
@ricky barolo – the quotes you asked about are in Arabic ..
LOVE HURTS .. الحب مؤلم
LOVE IS EQUAL .. الحب مساواة
LOVE IS FREEDOM .. الحب حرية
about the fourth quote .. there’s a little mistake in the word ” POTICAL ” what you exactly mean ?
@klaudia – you’re welcome any time .. and if you need anything again , I’ll be pleased to help you
@penelope -hello .. the translation to Arabic is ..
1- if it’s to a woman it’ll be ” أين نجمتك ”
2- if it’s to a man it’ll be ” أين نجمك ”
How would I write ” protected by Allah” in arabic
And ” freedom”
@humi freedom is الحرّية in arabic. some people might spell it الحرية as well. the difference is in the the little character above the Ruh letter. it’s called Shadda and is used to stress on a letter. it’s pronounced Al-Horriyuh. please note that the use of ال at the beginning is optional because it’s an article. meaning, you can use حرّية alone
as for protected by Allah, you can use تحت حماية الله (which is accurately the translation of “under the protection of Allah” or “under Allah/God’s protection” but they all mean the same thing)
I’m Lebanese, trusted source
t: @ghostofyouu
f: facebook.com/joelle.evergreen
@Ahmed – I know what hashish means I need the word in Arabic, thanks.
@john – u meeean hashesh >> weed ! or wat if u mean it ! it like that in arabic ( حشيش )
if anyone wannt to help ,, i’m here !
@John – hashish in arabic is حشيش
How do you say no pain lasts forever in arabic
@ Ahmed hii its me klaudia again lol
can u help me out with this name?
فرانسيسكو
can u tell me the name??
kloudia
فرانسيسكو = Francisco
Crystal
it means in arabic = لا ألم يدوم إلى الأبد
Hi everyone! I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out with a couple translations. Please & thank you!
1. Intelligence is ignorance
2. Beautiful soul
I woul like to get a tattle of my 7 month old sons name in Arabic. His name is “Leo James” or maybe would be nude to have ” my little lion Leo James”
Oops tattoo I mean
hello, i want a tattoo in arabic saya i love my mum
:) <3
hi could you translate this quote into arabic please..
“The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said.
The chances, the changes are all yours to make.
The mold of your is life is in your hands to break”
and also this phrase..”I see my mother’s smile, that’s a blessing” thank you
Hi im really wanna get a tattoo done in arabic saying..life won’t wait..
will it make sense in arabic? iv tried to translate on google but im not sure its right..please help!
Can you help me write my name Giuliana in tuluth?
Hi,
Can you please translate “somewhere over the rainbow” into Arabic for me?
Thank you
I just posted but forgot to add that this is what I have. Is it correct? في مكان ما فوق قوس قزح
How about this tattoo إنت قوفمي إنت قولوم في هجتي …
it means Ente quavmi ente qulum fi hajati..is this tattoo spelled corectly?
thanks
………………………………………………………….
I am an Arab
And this sentence does not mean anything wrong
إنت قوفمي إنت قولوم في هجتي …
في مكان ما فوق قوس قزح
Does this mean “somewhere over the rainbow”? Someone please help!
Thank you!
Could someone help me and traduce : LOVE AND HAPPINESS in arabic?Thanks
to malia: u r right, somewhere over the rainbow means
في مكان ما فوق قوس قزح
to isabella: LOVE AND HAPPINESS means
حب و سعادة
dear fofo
this sentence does not have any Arabic meaning at all
How to write beautiful strong soul, sadaf (name) and Love in arabic
Hi Arabic genie could you translate everything happens for a reason into Arabic please? I have google translates it and taken it to Egypt but basically he one I got said it but in a different way could you clarify what you would translate it to please. I’m getting it on my ribs and wa wondering does it matter which side I get it on as Arabic is read from back to front but I also tho mall tattoos should face forward. Sorry for he long message could you let me no ASAP as I say have it booked for Saturday thanks Rebecca