How to translate 'Nothing is impossible'

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine wants to tattoo 'Nothing is impossible' on his arm,
but in Japanese. How would that look?

Someone suggested 何もできない。
But from my understanding that means 'I can't do anything'.

Also, I think something like 何も出来る sounds too arrogant. (There's an 'I' implied there)

I thought of 不可能ことが無い
But what would really capture the feeling of 'Nothing is impossible?'
It gonna be tattoo, so it has to be cool.

"不可能はない" is how you'd say it.

I wouldnt suggest a kanji tattoo though.

If it's going to be a tattoo, I guarantee that anything in kanji will not be cool.

Ok. So, why'd you think it's not cool?

Is there a particular reason he wants this in a language he cannot speak, read or write? That he needs to ask a friend to do research by asking anonymous strangers on the internet how to write this? Are there not enough people in the world that get foreign words tattooed on their body that could mean absolutely nothing (or worse yet, someone they didn't intend) for all they know?

Another consideration is the tattoo artist themselves: do they know how to properly write kanji, or do they just make a stencil out of a computer font and trace over it. So many people have been burned by bad artists that there's a website dedicated to ignorance for the sake of "looking cool" at www.hanzismatter.com

He didn't ask me to do anything. I decided to 'research' how to write it correctly for him, since I already know a bit of Japanese.
And yes, he wants it in Japanese, presumably because it looks a lot cooler than it would in English (or Dutch).
I don't see why 'Nothing is impossible' would be meaningless. It reflects one's philosophy on life. Provided you translate it correctly. There ARE enough people in the world that get foreign words tattooed on their body that could mean absolutely nothing. That's why I`m asking the knowledgable people on this forum for guidance.

I appreciate your warning about ignorant tattoo artists, but that's a different point altogether and not your concern. Wanting a kanji tattoo while not being proficient in Japanese doesn't mean you're careless or stupid. I`m neither.

飛火龍 said:

Hi everyone,
A friend of mine wants to tattoo 'Nothing is impossible' on his arm,
but in Japanese. How would that look?
Someone suggested 何もできない。
But from my understanding that means 'I can't do anything'.
Also, I think something like 何も出来る sounds too arrogant. (There's an 'I' implied there)
I thought of 不可能ことが無い

Click to expand...

I believe that would be 不可能なことはない...


何もできない。 = Nothing is possible.


何も出来る = Doesn't make sense as a phrase

飛火龍 said:

He didn't ask me to do anything. I decided to 'research' how to write it correctly for him, since I already know a bit of Japanese.
And yes, he wants it in Japanese, presumably because it looks a lot cooler than it would in English (or Dutch).

Click to expand...

That, of course, is subjective. But still, it's interesting that you had to take it upon yourself to do the research. Perhaps he's more concerned with the perceived meaning than the actual meaning of the tattoo...

I don't see why 'Nothing is impossible' would be meaningless. It reflects one's philosophy on life. Provided you translate it correctly.

Click to expand...

This drives to the very nature of translations. You have a phrase that makes sense and has personal meaning, then you want to translate it into another language where it might sound awkward (which, depending on the original meaning, may be unavoidable, even when properly translated), have an altered meaning (languages carry with them different connotations and implications for the words you choose). Furthermore, you're taking something that makes sense to you, then reproducing it in a language your friend doesn't understand, can't read, or even make sense of the characters. Why not stick to the original, truly meaningful phrase? Because it's trendy to have asian ink?

There ARE enough people in the world that get foreign words tattooed on their body that could mean absolutely nothing. That's why I`m asking the knowledgable people on this forum for guidance.

Click to expand...

and I'm providing that guidance, it just may not be what you want to hear.

I appreciate your warning about ignorant tattoo artists, but that's a different point altogether and not your concern. Wanting a kanji tattoo while not being proficient in Japanese doesn't mean you're careless or stupid. I`m neither.

Click to expand...

In all fairness, it's not my concern whether you get a kanji tattoo or a sanskrit tattoo or any tattoo; I'm just giving you fair warning because I hate to see another victim to a pointless trend perpetuated by ignorance. Regardless of what characters your friend ultimately decides upon, he will be unable to read it; by this account, he could assign any perceived meaning to the tattoo and just show off how cool he is, as long as he doesn't come across someone that can actually read the phrase.

Elizabeth-san said:

I believe that would be 不可能なことはない....

Click to expand...

This is the most accurate translation I've see thus far, but would translate back into "There is no impossible thing;" it's not merely a matter of how closely you can translate something, by the very nature of translation the message gets altered.

nice gaijin said:

This is the most accurate translation I've see thus far, but would translate back into "There is no impossible thing;" it's not merely a matter of how closely you can translate something, by the very nature of translation the message gets altered.

Click to expand...

For a tattoo 何も不可能でない is the most succint I can think of at the moment. These below are others that were also considered and maybe someone else can comment further :

無理なことなんて、ない
何も不可能じゃない
不可能事なし
何事も不可能ではない


不可能なんてありえない

Elizabeth said:

nice gaijin said: ↑
This is the most accurate translation I've see thus far, but would translate back into "There is no impossible thing;" it's not merely a matter of how closely you can translate something, by the very nature of translation the message gets altered.
For a tattoo 何も不可能でない is the most succint I can think of at the moment. These below are others that were also considered and maybe someone else can comment further :

無理なことなんて、ない
何も不可能じゃない
不可能事なし
何事も不可能ではない

Click to expand...

haha i like that last one. I didn't mean to imply that your translation wasn't accurate, just that translations by nature can affect the message. Japanese isn't just a calligraphic style that "looks cool," it's a whole other language; I think a lot of people that are looking to get kanji tattoos forget that.

精神一到、何事不成
精神一到何事か成らざらん

How about that?

Ok, I know enough.

Thanks everyone.

不不可能

Case closed.
The bill's in the mail.