Chinese Tattoo 成功: Meaning & Design Guide
成功 means “Chenggong or Chengkung town in Taitung County 台东县, southeast Taiwan”, pronounced Chéng gōng. Below: each character broken down, and how the phrase works as a tattoo.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 成 | chéng | completed, finished, fixed | 6 |
| 功 | gōng | achievement, merit, good result | 5 |
Per-character data: Unihan (Unicode).
Words using these characters
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 成为 | chéng wéi | to become; to turn into | newest-4 |
| 成功 | Chéng gōng | Chenggong or Chengkung town in Taitung County 台东县, southeast Taiwan | newest-4 |
| 完成 | wán chéng | to complete; to accomplish | newest-3 |
| 功能 | gōng néng | function; capability | newest-5 |
| 功夫 | gōng fu | skill | newest-4 |
Words: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 成功
成功 is evenly weighted across its 2 characters (5–6 strokes), so it lays out cleanly in a line or a block without optical correction. It totals 11 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 成功
成功 is a fixed expression meaning “Chenggong or Chengkung town in Taitung County 台东县, southeast Taiwan”, read Chéng gōng. 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 成功 mean?
成功 means “Chenggong or Chengkung town in Taitung County 台东县, southeast Taiwan”.
How is 成功 pronounced?
成功 is pronounced Chéng gōng.
Is 成功 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 成功 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 成功?
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?
成功 is written with 11 strokes across 2 characters — which is why it needs more space than a single character.
Want 成功 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