Can you tattoo Vietnamese with diacritics?

Yes. The marks (dấu) are drawn as part of each letter with enough space around them that they stay clear as the tattoo heals.

Can you tattoo my handwriting or a parent's signature?

Yes. Send a scan or a sharp photo of the writing on white paper. We clean up the line while keeping the character of the hand.

What size should my lettering be?

Big enough that each letter can be read up close in ten years: roughly 5 mm for small print and 8 mm or more for script. We will suggest a size when we see the words.

Will you check my spelling?

We read every word back to you before the stencil, but you know the spelling of your names and dates best. Please send them typed as well as described.

Lettering & Script Tattoos in Saigon

Lettering tattoosXăm chữ · xăm số

Birth years in blackletter, one word in flowing script, dates around an infinity loop, Golden Hour over a running cheetah. Lettering is typography on skin, so every letter is drawn, not typed.

In the archive8 photos · 1 films

PlacementsForearm, nape, ribs, inner arm

Typical timeUnder 2 hours to 1 long sitting

Drawn, not typed

A font is only a starting point. We redraw each letter so the word follows the curve of the forearm or ribs, so loops do not close up as the ink settles, and so the spacing looks even on a body that is never flat.

Choosing a lettering style

Blackletter: heavy gothic letters, legible from across a room. The 1999 on a nape and 6789 on a forearm.
Script: flowing calligraphy for words and names. Craftman and Golden Hour.
Clean modern: plain serif or sans for dates. 1967 / 1969 stacked on an upper arm.
Small type: fine dates under another image, like 11.08.98 below a volcano.

Vietnamese and meaning

Vietnamese words need their diacritics (dấu) drawn as part of each letter, not added as dots at the end, or they fill in and disappear as the tattoo heals. We set the marks with enough space to stay clear.

Before the stencil goes on, we read every word back to you, letter by letter, in any language.

Size and spacing

Letters need height to stay readable. As a guide, keep small type above about 5 mm and script above about 8 mm. Long phrases look best along the forearm, the collarbone or the ribs, where there is a long, calm line to follow.

More on healing in our day-by-day aftercare guide.