Chinese character tattoos are everywhere in the West: We are sure many of us know someone with some kind of whimsical word or phrase – or maybe even their own name – adorning their skin in ink. They’re popular for a number of reasons: they look prettier than Roman letters, they can encompass many different meanings, and they look exotic to non-Chinese. Some people simply think they look cool. However, these tattoos are frequently performed by artists who have very little – if any – knowledge of the Chinese language.