Is it safe to use by itself for a tattoo

Looking to use a paw print with the kanji ˜T (ookami) in the middle of the paw. I know this to mean wolf. My question is, is there any other meaning I might not know about that will make someone think something else of the tattoo.

It just means that, just "wolf." Different cultures have give different significance to this animal, so if you are getting it done in Japanese, you might want to look into how this animal is perceived in the Japanese culture (nothing bad really, though).

I am generally against people getting a tattoo in a language they don't understand (fully), but if you "must," please be sure to find a tattooist who is familiar with the language and its writing, so that they can choose a suitable font/style for the kanji. You don't want anyone giving you a tattoo "wolf" in English in floral script or Times New Roman font, right?

It is generally safe in that I can't think of any negative connotations.

But I also agree with the above poster. Your body your choice at the end of the day, but if you have to ask then is it something you really want on you for the rest of your life?

Thanks for the feed back gives me a lot to think about

so if you are getting it done in Japanese, you might want to look into how this animal is perceived in the Japanese culture (nothing bad really, though).

I agree, but you also have to keep in mind that kanji (such as ˜T) is technically Chinese.

By the way, to the average Japanese, a tattoo with ˜T on a paw looks quite hilarious. But this has nothing to do with your question.

I think you should think very hard about inking ˜T on your body.

Sure it means "wolf", but it also has a meaning of "womanizer" for men. On the other hand, if that is a positive label for you, then by all means.

I don't think that ˜T by itself means "womanizer." Wolf is a "wild one," and certainly there is a phrase "okuri-ookami," a guy who would offer to walk his lady friend to her home late at night and turns "wild" himself on her on the way, if you know what I mean. But "ookami" by itself does not have that meaning, as far as I know.

However, I sort of agree with Uco; when Japanese people want tattoos having the meaning of "wolf," they tend to go for a picture of a wolf instead of kanji. To the Japanese people, because it is just part of our language/writing system, we would not use the kanji ˜T, just like you would not want to tattoo "wolf" in English on your skin.

Actually, I thought Kodama-san was thinking "Pink Lady". And in fact, if I see a Japanese guy wearing a T-shirt that says ˜T, I would avoid dating him. On the other hand, if I see a guy with ˜T tattoooed on him, I'd just think he's a foreigner who doesn't really know the kanji culture and wanted to have a "wolf" symbol.