Chinese Tattoo 万事如意: Meaning & Design Guide
万事如意 means “to have all one's wishes (idiom)”, pronounced wan4 shi4 ru2 yi4. Below: each character broken down, and how the phrase works as a tattoo.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 万 | wàn mò | ten thousand; innumerable | 3 |
| 事 | shì | affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident | 8 |
| 如 | rú | if, supposing; as if; like, as | 6 |
| 意 | yì | thought, idea, opinion; think | 13 |
Per-character data: Unihan (Unicode).
Words using these characters
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 千万 | qiān wàn | ten million | newest-4 |
| 万一 | wàn yī | just in case | newest-5 |
| 万分 | wàn fēn | very much | newest-7 |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; thing; business | newest-2 |
| 故事 | gù shì | old practice | newest-3 |
| 事件 | shì jiàn | event | newest-5 |
Words: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 万事如意
万事如意 mixes heavy and light characters — the dense 意 (13 strokes) sits beside the lighter 万 (3) — so equal measured sizes can look uneven on skin. Ask your artist to match the optical weight instead, and to keep the baseline level across all 4 characters. It totals 30 strokes, so it needs a placement with room — the inner forearm or upper back rather than a narrow spot. Four-character phrases are usually set 2×2 or in one line; pick one and keep it consistent. Bring the stencil together with the pinyin and the meaning, and ask the artist to follow the stencil rather than redrawing the character freehand — freehand redrawing is the most common way a correct character loses a stroke and becomes a different one.
Design notes for 万事如意
万事如意 is a fixed four-character expression meaning “to have all one's wishes (idiom)”, read wan4 shi4 ru2 yi4. Because it is set, swapping any character changes the meaning — have the exact wording checked by a native reader before it goes on skin. Regular script (楷书) keeps every stroke countable, which matters when a Chinese reader checks it. Avoid mirroring or rotating the character, and avoid very fine or cursive styles at small sizes, where strokes merge into a shape that reads as a different character.
Frequently asked questions
What does 万事如意 mean?
万事如意 means “to have all one's wishes (idiom)”.
How is 万事如意 pronounced?
万事如意 is pronounced wan4 shi4 ru2 yi4.
Is 万事如意 a fixed expression?
Yes — it is a set phrase, which is safer than assembling characters yourself. Fixed expressions keep their established wording and meaning.
How should 万事如意 be laid out?
A four-character expression is usually written as a 2×2 square block or a single horizontal line. Keep the characters the same size and do not mirror or rotate any of them.
Which style suits 万事如意?
Bold regular script keeps every stroke clear. With multiple characters, avoid very fine or highly cursive styles — the smaller each character gets, the more the strokes merge.
Do I need to verify the phrase?
Yes. Confirm the wording, the meaning and the full context with a native reader, and check that the phrase is not a quotation about misfortune or parting.
How many strokes in total?
万事如意 is written with 30 strokes across 4 characters — which is why it needs more space than a single character.
Want 万事如意 as a ready-to-use stencil with a native-checked meaning card, sized for your tattoo artist?
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Character data: Unihan (Unicode) · words: HSK vocabulary & CC-CEDICT · How we verify this