Would a literal translation of this lyric work?

[Reed]

Hey all. I've decided to get a favorite song lyric tattooed on my arm. I decided it would be cool to get the tattoo in Japanese in part to honor my heritage but also because I just think it would look cooler. But I don't actually speak the language myself so I don't know whether the meaning of the lyric would be lost in translation. The lyric is "If you like learning, life is large" but I'm concerned that would make no sense if translated word for word. My fear is that it would come across grammatically to an actual speaker of the language as "If you enjoy have fun in school life can embody great mass" or something hopelessly bastardized.

So basically I am wondering how close can you get to the original lyric and still have it make sense?

[MMM]

Your fear is incredibly legitimate.

[Lonthego]

Originally Posted by Reed

So basically I am wondering how close can you get to the original lyric and still have it make sense?

Sometimes pretty close, sometimes not so close..but that doesn't mean it would make a good tattoo!!

There was this 17 year old kid at my gym (in the US) who, in huge letters on his arm, had the tattoo 犠牲 (sacrifice). Its meaning was the same in English and Japanese but still, who does that?

Also consider how it might be read in Chinese as well

[Reed]

Originally Posted by Lonthego

Sometimes pretty close, sometimes not so close..but that doesn't mean it would make a good tattoo!!

There was this 17 year old kid at my gym (in the US) who, in huge letters on his arm, had the tattoo 犠牲 (sacrifice). Its meaning was the same in English and Japanese but still, who does that?

Metalheads?

Originally Posted by Lonthego

Also consider how it might be read in Chinese as well

Not really a major concern.