“Believe” In Arabic

Posted on: Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 13 comments

Maggie sent me the following question in a blog comment: keefakkk my name is maggie (ghaleb) just want to make sure of something… getting my 3th arabic tattoo! (proud to be libanease!) its the word believe (faith) in the way, i believe i will get trough this, or i believe … Continue reading

Arabic Tattoos – Pick ‘n’ Mix

Posted on: Friday, November 6th, 2009 118 comments

Or: Arabic Tattoo Frenzy Over the last 14 days or so I’ve received quite a few Arabic tattoo translation requests. I was too busy to answer them immediately, but I have not forgotten about them. Here they are… By the way, if you’re really serious about learning Arabic yourself, then … Continue reading

Have Strength And Live This Life Tattoo Design

Posted on: Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 80 comments

Danielle, a reader of this blog, asks for the following Arabic tattoo translation: Hi Max, […] i’m hopeing you can translate the following: “have strength and live this life” this would be mental strength, and to live… have experiances rather than to just exist. I really do hope you can help me and I thank … Continue reading

Lion-Hearted Girl Tattoo

Posted on: Monday, October 19th, 2009 15 comments

Arabic tattoo design for “lion-hearted girl” as requested by Vicky: hello, you wouldnt happen to know what ‘lion hearted girl’ would look like in arabic? thank you! The best translation of this concept is probably بنت ذات قلب الأسد (pronounced bint dhaat qalb ul-asad). This translates literally as ” [a] … Continue reading

Guardian Angel – Arabic Tattoo

Posted on: Monday, October 19th, 2009 23 comments

Vanessa asks for the following Arabic tattoo design: CAN U TRANSLATE GUARDIAN ANGEL IN ARABIC FOR ME PLEASE?! Sure I can. My first intuition was to translate it as “ملك حارس” (malak Haaris). However, it seems that the alternative spelling “ملاك حارس” (malaak Haaris) is more common. This is partly … Continue reading

Arabic Tattoo Design: Strength, Courage, And Wisdom

Posted on: Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 113 comments

I have translated both strength and courage before, but not in combination with “wisdom”. This is the combination requested by a reader: Hi! You seem like someone who know what they are talking about. I am thinking about getting a tat that says strength, courage, and wisdom. I want it … Continue reading

Arabic Tattoo Perseverance

Posted on: Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 7 comments

Today a Portuguese speaker asked me for a tattoo translation: Bom dia Max, gostaria de fazer uma tatuagem escrito Perseverar, Perseverança. Poderias me enviar pra eu poder fazer? A tatuagem da Angelina Jolie? o que significa? como escrevo? Obrigada, Nana I don’t speak any Portuguese, but from my knowledge of Spanish … Continue reading

My Name In Arabic: Lily

Posted on: Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 10 comments

Update: Check out my new article on Arabic name translations. Today I received a request for an Arabic tattoo via email from Lizzie: Hello there I was on your website and was wondering if you could possibly translate something for me. I’d like the name ‘Lily’ in Arabic as a … Continue reading

Arabic Tattoos – Another Reader Request: never give up, unbreakable, strength and courage

Posted on: Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 189 comments

Today I received another request for a translation of a few English phrases into Arabic for the purpose of an Arabic tattoo: Hi Max, I have been reading your blog from australia and its fantastic, i really enjoy it. I noticed that you did a translation for one of your … Continue reading

Arabic Tattoos – The Three Most Embarrassing Errors

Posted on: Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 104 comments

While Arabic tattoos can be aesthetically pleasing if the right calligraphy is used, there are a huge number of cases where neither the person getting the tattoo done nor the tattooist have the slightest idea of Arabic. The result is often disastrous: incorrect or ugly Arabic writing. I’ll show you … Continue reading

Arabic Tattoos – The Latest Celebrity Must-Have

Posted on: Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 322 comments

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 … Continue reading