For Fun: What to say about those funny tattoos...

DEAR MISS MANNERS:

I am a sophomore in college, working toward an Asian studies major. Since I started learning Japanese and Chinese, I began taking notice of Chinese characters on T-shirts, tattoos and other places. I do not know all possible characters yet, but I do know many commonly used words and a few not-so-common ones that I've managed to recognize.

One day, I had a conversation with a nice lady who happened to have a tattoo on her upper arm. When I mentioned my major, she brought up the tattoo, but I quickly realized that the tattoo didn't say what she thought it did.

She told me it said "butterfly," but I knew it actually meant bird. I didn't point this out, but felt a little guilty for letting her continue to think it meant butterfly. Another time, a man told me the tattoos he had on his forearms said "love" and "hate." "Love" was correct, but instead of "hate" the character said "bad."

I know there's no tactful way to approach a stranger about this, but if I'm talking to someone, such as the lady I mentioned, is there any way to point out what I read the character as?

For the full article and Miss Manners' answer, click HERE