Chinese Tattoo 龙马精神: Meaning & Design Guide
龙马精神 means “old but still full of vitality (idiom)”, pronounced long2 ma3 jing1 shen2. Below: each character broken down, and how the phrase works as a tattoo.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 龙 | lóng | dragon; symbolic of emperor | 5 |
| 马 | mǎ | horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187 | 3 |
| 精 | jīng | essence; semen; spirit | 14 |
| 神 | shén | spirit, god, supernatural being | 9 |
Per-character data: Unihan (Unicode).
Words using these characters
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 沙龙 | shā lóng | salon (loanword) | newest-7 |
| 恐龙 | kǒng lóng | dinosaur | newest-7 |
| 水龙头 | shuǐ lóng tóu | faucet | newest-7 |
| 马上 | mǎ shàng | at once | newest-3 |
| 马路 | mǎ lù | street | newest-3 |
| 马车 | mǎ chē | cart | new-6 |
Words: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 龙马精神
龙马精神 mixes heavy and light characters — the dense 精 (14 strokes) sits beside the lighter 马 (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 31 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 龙马精神
龙马精神 is a fixed four-character expression meaning “old but still full of vitality (idiom)”, read long2 ma3 jing1 shen2. 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 龙马精神 mean?
龙马精神 means “old but still full of vitality (idiom)”.
How is 龙马精神 pronounced?
龙马精神 is pronounced long2 ma3 jing1 shen2.
Is 龙马精神 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 龙马精神 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 龙马精神?
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?
龙马精神 is written with 31 strokes across 4 characters — which is why it needs more space than a single character.
Want 龙马精神 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