Chinese Tattoo 信念: Meaning & Design Guide
信念 means “faith”, pronounced xìn niàn. Below: each character broken down, and how the phrase works as a tattoo.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 信 | xìn | trust, believe; letter | 9 |
| 念 | niàn | think of, recall, study | 8 |
Per-character data: Unihan (Unicode).
Words using these characters
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 相信 | xiāng xìn | to be convinced (that sth is true); to believe; to accept sth as true | newest-3 |
| 信息 | xìn xī | information | newest-4 |
| 信号 | xìn hào | signal | newest-4 |
| 纪念 | jì niàn | to commemorate; to honor the memory of | newest-5 |
| 想念 | xiǎng niàn | to miss | newest-5 |
| 概念 | gài niàn | concept | newest-5 |
Words: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 信念
信念 is evenly weighted across its 2 characters (8–9 strokes), so it lays out cleanly in a line or a block without optical correction. It totals 17 strokes, so it needs a placement with room — the inner forearm or upper back rather than a narrow spot. 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 信念
信念 is a fixed expression meaning “faith”, read xìn niàn. 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 信念 mean?
信念 means “faith”.
How is 信念 pronounced?
信念 is pronounced xìn niàn.
Is 信念 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 信念 be laid out?
Keep all characters the same size on an even baseline, and do not mirror or rotate any of them.
Which style suits 信念?
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?
信念 is written with 17 strokes across 2 characters — which is why it needs more space than a single character.
Want 信念 as a ready-to-use stencil with a native-checked meaning card, sized for your tattoo artist?
✦ Get this designNot ready? Browse more characters · All 150+ characters
Character data: Unihan (Unicode) · words: HSK vocabulary & CC-CEDICT · How we verify this