Short Latin Quotes for Tattoos: 30 Lines That Are Actually Correct

Latin is one of the most popular languages for tattoos: short, timeless and a little mysterious. It is also the language most often mistranslated in ink. Usually a phrase went through a machine translator, a word got the wrong ending, or a famous line was "shortened" until it no longer meant anything.

Every phrase below is real, attested Latin: a line from a Roman author, the Vulgate Bible or a well-known motto. Each one links to its own page with the translation, the origin and how people use it, so you can check it before it goes on your skin.

Courage and strength

1. Per aspera ad astra“Through hardships to the stars”A classic motto shaped by Seneca’s line that the way from earth to the stars is not easy. "Ad astra per aspera" is the same phrase in reverse order and just as correct.
2. Fortis in arduis“Strong in difficulties”A short family motto. Three words, very compact for a wrist or collarbone.
3. Nil desperandum“Never despair”From Horace (Odes 1.7). Two words, easy to read at small sizes.
4. Dum spiro, spero“While I breathe, I hope”Motto of South Carolina and many families. The comma is optional in a tattoo.
5. Invictus maneo“I remain unconquered”Motto of Clan Armstrong. Invictus is masculine; a woman speaking about herself can use "Invicta maneo".
6. Luctor et emergo“I struggle and I emerge”Motto of the Dutch province of Zeeland, born from its fight against the sea.
7. Audentes fortuna iuvat“Fortune favors the bold”Virgil, Aeneid 10.284. The usual English saying comes from this line.
8. Vincit qui patitur“He who endures conquers”A Latin proverb and family motto about patience as strength.
9. Aut viam inveniam aut faciam“I will either find a way or make one”Traditionally attributed to Hannibal crossing the Alps. Longer, so it suits a forearm or spine.
10. Dulcius ex asperis“Sweeter after difficulties”Motto of Clan Fergusson: what comes after hard times tastes sweeter.

Love and friendship

1. Omnia vincit amor“Love conquers all”Virgil, Eclogues 10.69. This is the original word order; "Amor vincit omnia" is a later variant.
2. Odi et amo“I hate and I love”The opening of Catullus 85, the shortest love poem in Latin literature.
3. Si vis amari, ama“If you want to be loved, love”Seneca, Letters 9.6, quoting the Stoic Hecato.
4. Ubi amor, ibi dolor“Where there is love, there is pain”A Latin proverb. Honest, not gloomy: love makes us vulnerable.
5. Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur“A sure friend is known in an unsure matter”Ennius, quoted by Cicero in On Friendship. A good matching tattoo for friends.

Life, time and death

1. Memento mori“Remember that you will die”Not morbid but practical: a reminder to use your time well.
2. Memento vivere“Remember to live”The cheerful twin of memento mori. Some people get both.
3. Carpe diem“Seize the day”Horace, Odes 1.11. Literally "pluck the day" like a ripe fruit. Check the spelling: it is diem, never "diam".
4. Tempus fugit“Time flies”Shortened from Virgil’s "fugit inreparabile tempus" (Georgics 3.284), a shortening that is fully accepted.
5. Amor fati“Love of fate”Made famous by Nietzsche: accepting everything that happens as part of your life.
6. Vive memor leti“Live mindful of death”Persius, Satires 5.153. A rarer, more literary alternative to memento mori.
7. Non omnis moriar“I shall not wholly die”Horace, Odes 3.30: something of us lives on in what we create.
8. Ars longa, vita brevis“Art is long, life is short”The Latin form of Hippocrates’ first aphorism. Popular with artists and tattooists themselves.

Faith and light

1. Fiat lux“Let there be light”Genesis 1:3 in the Latin Vulgate. Two words with a lot of meaning.
2. Post tenebras lux“After darkness, light”Motto of Geneva, from the Vulgate wording of Job 17:12. Often chosen after a hard period.
3. Soli Deo gloria“Glory to God alone”Bach signed many scores with its initials S.D.G.
4. Et lux in tenebris lucet“And the light shines in the darkness”John 1:5 in the Vulgate.

Mind and freedom

1. Sapere aude“Dare to be wise”Horace, Epistles 1.2.40; Kant made it the motto of the Enlightenment.
2. Nosce te ipsum“Know thyself”The Latin form of the Greek maxim carved at Delphi.
3. Non ducor, duco“I am not led, I lead”Motto of the city of São Paulo. Short and strong.

Checklist before you book

• Copy the spelling from a reliable source, not from a translator app, and compare it letter by letter with the quote page.
• Do not change endings. In Latin the ending carries the meaning: "Carpe diem" works, "Carpe diam" is nonsense.
• Do not shorten a famous line on your own. Some shortenings are established (tempus fugit), most are not.
• Check gender if the phrase is about you: invictus (masculine) becomes invicta for a woman.
• Pick one spelling style and keep it: classical V for U (VINCIT) or modern U/V both work, but do not mix them in one line.
• Bring a printout to your artist and check the stencil letter by letter before the needle starts.

Looking for something else? Browse all Latin quotes from A to Z, or write to us if you want a phrase checked.

Every quote on this list has its own page on Latin Quoter with translation, origin and notes on use.