Chinese Tattoo 无: Meaning, Strokes & Design Guide
The character 无 means "negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71" and is pronounced wú. Below: its structure, the words it appears in, and how it works as a tattoo.
Quick facts
| Character | 无 |
| Pinyin | wú |
| Meaning | negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71 |
| Strokes | 4 |
| Radical | ⽆ (No. 71) |
| HSK level | newest-4 |
Words that contain 无
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 无法 | wú fǎ | unable | newest-4 |
| 无论 | wú lùn | no matter what or how | newest-4 |
| 无聊 | wú liáo | bored | newest-4 |
| 毫无 | háo wú | not in the least | newest-6 |
| 无数 | wú shù | countless | newest-5 |
| 无关 | wú guān | unrelated | newest-5 |
Words and levels: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 无
无 is only 4 strokes, so it stays readable even small — but a simple character shows every wobble. There is nowhere to hide a shaky line here, so line weight and steady spacing matter more than with a dense character. 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 无
无 appears both on its own and inside compounds, so the sense depends on context; here it reads “negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71”. 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 无 mean?
无 (wú) means “negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71”.
How is 无 pronounced?
无 is pronounced wú in Mandarin.
How many strokes does 无 have?
无 has 4 strokes, under the ⽆ radical (No. 71).
How large should a 无 tattoo be?
With 4 strokes, 无 is open and holds detail well even at small sizes.
Which style works for 无?
Bold regular script (楷书) keeps the strokes clear. Semi-cursive (行书) adds flow but softens edges. Seal script looks classical but is harder for most readers to verify — use it only if a native reader has confirmed the rendering.
Is 无 common in modern Chinese?
Yes — 无 appears as a standalone HSK vocabulary item (newest-4), and in everyday words such as 无法、无论、无聊.
Should I use simplified or traditional 无?
无 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, so there is no form to choose.
Want 无 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