Chinese Tattoo 静: Meaning, Strokes & Design Guide
The character 静 means "quiet, still, motionless; gentle" and is pronounced jìng. Below: its structure, the words it appears in, and how it works as a tattoo.
Quick facts
| Character | 静 |
| Pinyin | jìng |
| Meaning | quiet, still, motionless; gentle |
| Strokes | 14 |
| Radical | ⾭ (No. 174) |
| HSK level | newest-5 |
Words that contain 静
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 安静 | ān jìng | quiet | newest-3 |
| 冷静 | lěng jìng | calm; cool-headed; dispassionate | newest-4 |
| 平静 | píng jìng | tranquil | newest-5 |
| 宁静 | níng jìng | tranquil | newest-7 |
| 动静 | dòng jìng | (detectable) movement | newest-7 |
| 寂静 | jì jìng | quiet | newest-7 |
Words and levels: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 静
静 runs to 14 strokes, which is dense for a single character. At small sizes the inner strokes close up and the character stops being readable — this one wants a larger placement (upper back, thigh, forearm) rather than a wrist or ankle. Tell your artist the intended size before the stencil is cut, because a design that reads at 8 cm can collapse at 4 cm. 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 静
静 appears both on its own and inside compounds, so the sense depends on context; here it reads “quiet, still, motionless; gentle”. 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 静 mean?
静 (jìng) means “quiet, still, motionless; gentle”.
How is 静 pronounced?
静 is pronounced jìng in Mandarin.
How many strokes does 静 have?
静 has 14 strokes, under the ⾭ radical (No. 174).
How large should a 静 tattoo be?
With 14 strokes, 静 is moderately dense — it stays legible from roughly 4–5 cm upward. Shrinking it below that risks the strokes merging.
Which style works for 静?
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 静 common in modern Chinese?
Yes — 静 appears as a standalone HSK vocabulary item (newest-5), and in everyday words such as 安静、冷静、平静.
Should I use simplified or traditional 静?
静 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, so there is no form to choose.
Want 静 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