Translation help for a Tattoo!!

[blackbeard68]

Hello!

I'm new and still don't know a whole lot of Japanese... YET!

Give me time.

However, I want to get a tattoo and am hoping someone can help me.
I want to get the phrase "How does it get any better than this?"

How does it translate to Japanese? And of course, what do you think would look better as a tattoo?

Arigato!

[Belton]

Whatever about getting a tattoo getting one in a language you and probably your tattooist don't know is not a good idea. And can your tattooist actually write it properly/ beautifully?

http://www.hanzismatter.com/

http://www.zug.com/pranks/chinese-tattoo/

http://www.zug.com/pranks/tattoo/index.html

[blackbeard68]

Yes. My tattoo artist is very talented. Certified Nurse with a Fine Arts degree.
She does some very nice Kanji and hiragana work.
And that's why I decided to ask here. So I can make sure to get the proper translation. It's one thing to know what words are which. It's a totally different thing to know what meaning best fits the sentence.

Joke tattoo's are one of the reasons I came here. In hopes that I can find someone to properly translate the above phrase. The statement means alot to me and I don't want to get it wrong.

[blackbeard68]

それはどのようにこれより何か良くなりますか?

This is the simplistic way of writing "How does it get any better than this?" right?

[Javizy]

Translating it directly is unlikely to convey the same concept (naturally, at least), since it's unlikely Japanese expresses practically anything in the same way as English. The version you've given is a straightforward question, and doesn't convey the rhetoric of the English, for instance. What you really want is to explain the idea to a Japanese person, and ask them what phrase they would use to express what you want. That, or somebody who's very fluent. It might be worth going to the trouble, since it's going to be a permanent thing.

[Bucko]

それはどのようにこれより何か良くなりますか?

This is the simplistic way of writing "How does it get any better than this?" right?

Yes that's fine, as long as you'd be equally fine with something like this written in permenant ink on your body:

"As for that thing, in what way does something become better than this thing?"



Why on earth would you even think a nuanced idomatic phrase like "how does it get any better than this?" would translate into Japanese?

[Javizy]

Why on earth would you even think a nuanced idomatic phrase like "how does it get any better than this?" would translate into Japanese?

He explained in his first and second posts. When you start learning Japanese mechanically in terms of English, which is pretty much what every beginner does, it's difficult to appreciate the true process of properly translating from one to the other.

I'm pretty sure we've all made some horrific sentences like that at some point. The guy is just after some help from somebody with some more experience, and demeaning his efforts isn't really going to achieve that.

[Belton]

I find it hard to reconcile someone being skilled at writing kanji but unable to understand them or compose meaningful sentences in them.

Whatever you end up with in Japanese it won't be "How does it get any better than this?"
If that's what has meaning for you, so much so you want a permanent reminder, then perhaps you should use English.

What I was trying to point out to you via Hanzi Matters is that people often get it wrong because there aren't really those one to one correlations. You can end up with a Japanese equivalent of the odd English phrases Japanese seem fond of. (At least they don't tattoo themselves with them I hope)

Why use Japanese? Japanese will think it odd no matter what (for many reasons), and most everyone else won't know what it is; it may as well be elvish or klingon.

You're also placing a lot of trust in the ability of a bunch of strangers (learners) of unknown skill by asking for a translation on a forum. Getting something wrong about a manga or email to a girlfriend is one thing but a permanent mistake on someone's body is a heavy responsibility.

If I were to take a stab at it (because it has piqued my curiosity).
好転も有り得るかな〜 (I wonder if improvement is possible)
But other than trusting someone else's critique you have no idea what I've written or how accurate it might be. I may also have misunderstood your understanding of your phrase. My Japanese might be cr*p and no Japanese would use a phrase like that.

In general I'd want to keep it short. Unless it's a grass script or running style, kana doesn't especially look good so I'd go for kanji. Kanji heavy has that exotic look you might be after. I'd also not want a square style. I'd avoid complex kanji as well. I'd hope her brushwork is good and her ability to mimic brushwork in a tattoo is equally good.

In all honesty I think it'd look better on paper on your wall or on a T-shirt than on your skin.

[zakojanai]

I'll reserve the judgment for later, but a yojijukugo with a similar, but less literal, meaning would probably both look better and make more sense. So what exactly are you trying to say?

How do these sound?

百発百中　(always on target (more literally, "100 darts, 100 bullseyes"))

黄金時代 (golden age)

温泉禁止 (forbidden from onsen)

[Taurus]

Just browsing the internet, I just came across this site. It says down the bottom that they will check tattoo translations.

[Javizy]

I thought the line was essentially a rhetorical version of 'It doesn't get any better than this'. These two phrases express something similar, it seems. I think using a rhetorical question in Japanese would come across as too crude or more like you're pondering the thought.

これ以上は無い
Above this, there is nothing.
これ程のものは無い
There is no thing to the extent of this.

Like Belton is saying though, you no longer have the original phrase when you properly translate it into Japanese, and if you try to do it literally, it doesn't mean anything in Japanese, the language it's written in. You're going to be losing it in one way or another, so maybe English would be the best option. If you're keen to have some Japanese, maybe you could just get another tattoo when you learn a bit more of the language and come across a phrase you like.

[blackbeard68]

Awesome suggestions. I really like "100 darts, 100 Bullseyes"
That's awesome.

"How does it get any better than this is?" is a metaphysical statement. Just like "How could it possibly get any worse?" which contains a negative. The universe will show you how it can get worse. "How does it get any better than this?" allows the universe to show you that it is always possible to get better.

I am not looking for an exact translation. I know it's not going to translate exactly, the language isn't set up that way. The earlier version that I posted was right from an Online language translator which I know is no where near exact. (But it sure helped get some discussion going on the subject. haha)
I've always wanted something in Japanese, and I never really knew what, till I remembered that saying.

Aloha!

Brian