Chinese Tattoo 厚德载物: Meaning & Design Guide
厚德载物 means “with great virtue one can take charge of the world (idiom)”, pronounced hou4 de2 zai4 wu4. Below: each character broken down, and how the phrase works as a tattoo.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 厚 | hòu | thick; substantial; greatly | 9 |
| 德 | dé | ethics, morality, virtue | 15 |
| 载 | zài | load; carry; transport, convey | 10 |
| 物 | wù | thing, substance, creature | 8 |
Per-character data: Unihan (Unicode).
Words using these characters
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 丰厚 | fēng hòu | generous; ample | newest-7 |
| 深厚 | shēn hòu | deep; profound | newest-5 |
| 厚道 | hòu dao | kind and honest | newest-7 |
| 道德 | dào dé | virtue | newest-6 |
| 美德 | Měi Dé | USA and Germany | newest-7 |
| 品德 | pǐn dé | moral character | newest-7 |
Words: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 厚德载物
厚德载物 mixes heavy and light characters — the dense 德 (15 strokes) sits beside the lighter 物 (8) — 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 42 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 厚德载物
厚德载物 is a fixed four-character expression meaning “with great virtue one can take charge of the world (idiom)”, read hou4 de2 zai4 wu4. 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 厚德载物 mean?
厚德载物 means “with great virtue one can take charge of the world (idiom)”.
How is 厚德载物 pronounced?
厚德载物 is pronounced hou4 de2 zai4 wu4.
Is 厚德载物 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 厚德载物 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 厚德载物?
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?
厚德载物 is written with 42 strokes across 4 characters — which is why it needs more space than a single character.
Want 厚德载物 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