The Queen of Rap has a tattoo in the left arm in Chinese characters
NIcki Minaj is perhaps the most talented and versatile female musician and rapper in modern history. But did you know she is a huge fan of body art? In fact, she got her first tattoo in the left arm at reported age of 16!
So, what does the tattoo say in Chinese?
The tattoo is consisted of total of 6 characters. It is a literal translation of:
God is with you frequently
Breakdown of Nicki Minaj’s Chinese Tattoo
While I admire Nicki’s talent, style, and music, her Chinese tattoo, in my opinion, is not up to the standards you’d expect at her level of success.
To begin, the characters look uneven and squiggly, which tells me that the tattoo artist was not particularly talented, or at least in tattooing Chinese characters:
上帝與你常在
Let’s break it down:
The tattoo phrase states 上帝與你常在
- The first 2 characters 上帝 means “God”, nothing wrong with this at all.
- The next 2 characters are 與你, which means “with you”, which is also nothing unusual
- However, the last 2 characters are 常在, which more accurately translates to “frequently” or “habitually”
In summary, the tattoo literally translates to “God is with you frequently”. Not only is this poorly worded in English, it is also eyebrow raising in Chinese, as the “frequently” or “常在” is simply not used in this way as an adverb. For example, you can use it in Chinese to talk about a park you frequent with your dog, or describe how your morning traffic is typically like, but not your casual relationship with God. Also, the adverb typically goes before the object, so that it come before the phrase “with you”.
So… what should have Nicki Minaj tattooed in Chinese?
After reading about her upbringing and religious background, I truly believe Nicki Minaj meant to tattoo “May God be with You Always” in Chinese. Unfortunately, her thunder was stolen by a poorly-educated tattoo artist.
To convey this Godly blessing, it is probably best to avoid too literal of a translation, as the meaning can easily squandered as in Nicki’s case.
Instead, we can try:
God loves you:
上帝愛你
God always loves you:
上帝永遠愛你
Again, to break them down,
上帝 means God
愛你 means loves you or love you, as it doesn’t matter in Chinese
永遠 means always or forever. Although in English forever can go before or after “loves you”, you do not have an option in Chinese! This is why you always want a native speaker looking out for you when your tatting large characters on your arm, especially if you are a certified diamond artist!
Good thing tattoos are sort of forever…