Can you speak French?

[marielet]

I’d really like a tattoo that says

“Familiar Hell”
“Unfamiliar Heaven”

I know I can use googled translate but I want to make sure it’s correct.

So a wee pictogram would work then 😆😈

Yeah clearly my predictive text thinks it’s all
about Pete. And I don’t even know a Pete.

But why specifically this phrase in French?

Because you can get pretty much any phrase in any language so it can't just be 'because I can' that's led you to this phrase in this language. On that basis you could get 'I'm a bit thick' in Dutch or 'I love Mumsnet' in Sanskrit or 'I haven't thought this through' in German.

😂

To be fair, they don’t make much sense in English either.

😀

It's probably not your intended meaning, OP, but maybe something like "le paradis me fuit, mais l'enfer je m'en fous" - it's sort of vaguely existential wank!

The correct French expression is “Un enfer familier plutôt qu'un paradis inconnu” (better a known hell than a familiar heaven)
so i am not sure if you wanted to play on that expression?
It is an expression used in psychology

I think it makes sense. From google:

While the familiar might feel safe, it can keep us stuck in situations that don’t fulfil us or allow us to grow. By challenging ourselves to face the unfamiliar, we open the door to new possibilities and perhaps, an undiscovered heaven.

Hard agree. 🙄

Vorsprung durch technik

Latin might work better

It'll* *be something like

paradisus ignotus/notus infernum or caelum ignotum/infernum bene notum

The letters might lend themselves to script work more than anything requiring accents.

I have a feeling that I'm mixing Ecclesiastical Latin with Archaic Latin - as Caelus was the personification of heaven, that explains the use of two different words in French. But Hell is the same. Unless you choose to use Tartarus instead of Infernum. Which might make sense if you want to avoid the liturgical connotations (even though infernum was used prior to Christianity).

Ohhh that's what the OP is getting at? I think the more common way of expressing this sentiment in English is "better the devil you know."

Actually, that makes this entire thread extremely ironic. 🤣

What's all that in French then? Maybe OP could have it tattooed all down a leg.
(Sorry OP you've been hard on here tonight.)

Is that Lidl own brand?

Sorry for randomly quoting just one person but thanks for the advice everyone. I wrongly assumed because it was just 4 words it could be easily translated to have the same meaning. But again thanks for showing me that wasn’t correct.

It would be a very small fine line tattoo that would back on the back of my arm on both sides.

Familiar hell is about living in pain because it’s comfortable, whereas unfamiliar heaven is living a good life but it’s took the uncomfortable to get there. Very simple way of saying it but it means something to me. I think I just wanted it in another language so it was more “private”

Not better the devil you know, as that’s the exact opposite.

Quoting directly as (I’m tired) and it explains it well -

Unfamiliar Heaven, Familiar Hell" describes the psychological tendency to prefer known suffering (a familiar hell) over the unknown potential of something better (an unfamiliar heaven) because it feels safer and more predictable, even if detrimental. This bias stems from the nervous system's primary function to protect us by prioritizing comfort and familiarity, as it conserves energy and reduces the perceived threat of the unknown. Recognizing this pattern is the first step to overcoming it and embracing change for personal growth.

Ah, I understand the significance. Keep mulling a wee bit longer? There's some tangled messages in wanting a phrase with such depth of private meaning, on a public part of the body, yet in a language you hope fewer people will understand, (but possibly hope they will be intrigued by). And a tattoo is not easy to undo.

Why not in English on a less-seen area? Or ... could you distil further into a symbol or abstract micro-design, which will recall the phrase, but for you alone, unless you choose to share its meaning with others.

I think it is still "better the devil you know" tbh. The familiar hell v the (unsaid) potential heaven from the unknown.

Off topic but am telling you now, you’ll regret a fine line writing tattoo. I’ve had three. No matter how fine you get the font, it’ll blur over time and look bad. I’ve had them in different sizes and the outcome has always been the same. If the font is too small, they blur into a black blob, if you do the font larger, the ink still bleeds and although it stays legible, the edges blur and it looks messy!

It just sounds a bit pretentious

No from what I understood of the OP post and the French one above it it's quite a different concept. Better the devil you know means don't roll the dice cos even if what you have is shit maybe the alternative is worse.
The heaven/hell thing means staying in a shit situation is easier while moving on is harder but worth it (I reckon??)

Well you can consider any type of art as pretentious. But it doesn’t make it pretentious. It makes it your opinion. And I also think your opinion is irrelevant.

Exactly.

Better the devil you know is literally settling for something because even though it’s shit at least it’s familiar.

No, that's the opposite meaning to what the OP wants.