Tattoos are permanent! Need to know EXACT phrase

I can think of several ways to render this, but would not claim any of them to
be "the real, true, correct Latin phrase." I'd recommend paying a professional.

Whatever she gets tattooed on her body will be a mistake.

Give her some big pliers so she can snip off a finger or a toe, if she wants to disfigure herself. No risk of mistranslation then.

Thanks George. That's exactly what my older sister said when I asked her. We did Latin so long ago, and I really enjoyed it. It was like solving a puzzle, and the satisfaction in translation of battlefield memoirs was hard to beat. But--tattoos? Not that sure on how it would turn out if I told her what I thought + she got it + it was horribly wrong.
I'll keep checking here for a while before forking over the hard -earned.
Cheers + thanks

Ah, Mc T, always sugar-coating!

She's almost 30! I don't give her orders. She already has one tattoo+ no problem with it. But thanks for the input---

You're welcome, rosaleen.

Or if you must stain your skin with indelible inks, why not select from

SHELL
MERCEDES
Tesco
McDonald's

or some such, then you could maybe make some money out of it. But check the copyright first.

That phrase is Greek in origin, not Latin. No-one really knows who said it first, some say Pythagoras, some Heraclitus, some Socrates.

In our alphabet it is spelt "Gnothi se Auton" (pronounced "nyoh-tee seh owton"). The exact translation is "Know thyself".

If I were her though, I would get it written in Greek as it's far nicer and unique, and with a bit of mystery thrown in.

γνώθι σαυτόν

Hope this helps.

Oh, now McTagg-- I was born in Scotland too. I remember a great word-- scunner-- do you? Your humor is heavy handed and a little nasty. But if you like I could post a few more topics for which you can work up fresh put downs. You get a kick out of it, and it does no real harm---

You're a voice crying in the wilderness, McT.
They're going to keep doing this no matter what you say.

Thank you so much for the Greek. It's very compact + might be right up her street. I'll run it by her. But still searching for the Latin , in case she prefers it.
Lotta good people on this site---

As far as I know, "gnothi se auton" is the Latin form. Double check that with George though, he's the Latin guru.

Whaddya say , George?

I'm not too heavy-handed about most things, but I have got a thing about tattoos.

It's a passing fashion I fancy (except among bodybuilders, S&M exponents and neo-nazis) and so anything I can do to point out that it's not clever, it's not decorative and you'll regret it later, I am happy to do.

me too... especially on elderly ladies. Body piercings are pretty high on my list too but they can be easily removed.

If you don't like the idea of having a tattoo, you don't get one. If you quite fancy it, get one. It's really not a big deal. I have one. I don't regret it. It just becomes part of you. And anytime I should start to regret it, I'll only regret it as much as anything else I ever did in my youth that was a bit silly and impetuous. And, like those things, it'll just make me giggle to myself when I think what a pretentious arsewipe I was as a youngster. It's all part of the tapestry. Tattoos are part of who you are - for better or worse.

But I would strongly recommend you get it in a place that is coverable so that should you ever wish to hide it, you can. I got mine on my shoulderblade. As a man, that part is usually covered, even in summer (unless I'm topless). I would recommend your kid think about WHERE to have the tat VERY carefully, perhaps even more than whether or not to have one. If she wears strappy tops then the shoulder may not be a good spot. Perhaps lower back?

Well, I'm glad to report that my daughter is not a member of any of the groups you mentioned. The only tattoos I remember seeing as a child were the ones on the sailors' arms on the Rothesay front. I do wonder how they'll look on people in their late 80's, when all the turgidity has left their skin. But that's not my concern. Shaving, haircutting and bathing were all no doubt thought of as passing fancies. And if anyone wasted a ton of energy opposing those developments, it was all in vain, wasn't it? Life's too short, McTag. I prefer to help my kids when they ask for my help. It doesn't imply approval or otherwise. I'm glad they still love me despite the fact that I made some very significant parenting mistakes when raising them. Cheers.

You recommend a tattoo where it can't be seen?

Curiouser and curiouser.

Well said! But the lower back is out. She has one there already--.
Thanks for replying.