There is a misperception here that Kanji is the same as Chinese calligraphy.

Whether you add Chinese characters to it or not, keep in mind that Kanji IS NOT Chinese. Kanji are Japanese symbols taken from the Chinese writing system. Although they look the same, sometimes they do mean very different things.

Given the design in general, I agree with butterfly and outlaw.. adding Japanese Kanji or Chinese characters may not be a very good idea – unless you can come up with something that may be a bit more culturally related?

Excellent research material. You pretty much clarified everything in your first post.

As far as negative connotation implied – I think the character itself has wide enough of a realm for interpretation to make it look abstract. Although I would say, as a native Chinese speaker, that if I do see this design on someone’s body, my interpretation would vary depending on where it is tattooed.

For instance, I would connect it to somewhat negative meanings if it’s tattooed on the back of your head (your hindbrain) or your chest (i.e. that you’re mind is hollow or your heart is empty, vacant of feelings/thoughts).

But if you tattooed it somewhere else, I probably would not relate it to anything negative at first glance (or second, or third, maybe fourth, but if I had doubts about someone’s intention for getting a certain word, I would ask before judging its “correctness”).

If you’re thinking of a more “zen” word, I would suggest you look more into the Buddhist scripts and see if there is a better alternative. I can’t think of one on the top of my head right now for a one-character word that would embody all meanings of “sky”, “hollow”, “empty”, “free time”, etc.

I believe these are the correct Chinese characters for the names (based on quick research):

1. Caleb – 嘉樂 (traditional characters) / 嘉乐 (simplified characters)
2. Hannah – 漢納 (traditional) / 汉纳 (simplified)

I might suggest doing a bit more research to at least get another confirmation of the above.

The reason you find different characters for the English names is because these Chinese characters are approximation of the English sounds. Because Chinese has over 60 dialects, and each of them sound quite different from one another, translations vary depending on what the translator’s dialect is. Keep in mind that the Chinese translated versions of English names will continue to evolve depending on the current generation of Chinese translators’ preference.

It’s more likely that you’d get a correct translation / design if you consult a professional translator (or maybe a few non-pro native Chinese speakers). In other words, get multiple input if you don’t want to consult a pro. I suggest avoiding as “auto translation” sites, as the translation might be outdated already.