A famous pop star got a Chinese character tattoo thinking it meant "mysterious." It actually means "strange" or "weird" - and the poor calligraphy makes it look like "Large Coke."
The Story
"I wanted to be mysterious. Turns out I'm just weird."
In the early 2000s, at the height of her fame, a world-famous pop princess decided to get a Chinese character tattoo on her hip. She wanted something that represented her enigmatic persona – the word "mysterious."
What she got was 奇 (qí), which primarily means "strange," "odd," or "weird."
The Linguistic Breakdown
The character 奇 does have multiple meanings in Chinese:
- 奇怪 (qí guài) = Strange, weird, odd
- 奇异 (qí yì) = Peculiar, bizarre
- 奇妙 (qí miào) = Wonderful, marvelous
- 神奇 (shén qí) = Magical, miraculous
While 奇 can be part of positive compounds, on its own, it leans heavily toward "strange" or "weird" – not the alluring "mysterious" she was hoping for.
The Calligraphy Disaster
To make matters worse, the tattoo's calligraphy was poorly executed. The character's proportions were off – the top and bottom parts were too separated, making it look like two characters: 大可.
In Taiwan and China, this is slang for "Large Coke" (大杯可乐). So depending on who's reading it, she either has "weird" or "large Coke" tattooed on her body.
What She Actually Wanted
For "mysterious" in Chinese, better options include:
- 神秘 (shén mì) = Mysterious, enigmatic
- 玄 (xuán) = Profound, mysterious (philosophical)
- 幽 (yōu) = Deep, secluded, mysterious
Key Takeaways
- Single characters are risky – They often have multiple meanings
- Context determines meaning – A character alone may not convey your intent
- Calligraphy quality matters – Bad proportions can create different characters entirely