Of course it is.
Via Popeater:
The music superstar’s newest ink reads “rebelle fleur,” but someone forgot to tell the ‘Rude Boy’ singer that in French, adjectives typically follow the nouns they modify. To translate as “rebel flower,” which we assume is what she intended, that tattoo should read “fleur rebelle.”
For some reason it’s always hilarious whenever a celebrity tries to get a tattoo in a foreign language only to fuck it all up because, surprise, you trusted a high school drop-out to be fluent in French. Of course, it’s not like she doesn’t have the money to get it immediately fixed while, again, I’m still sitting here eating generic cereal. A dollar more for the goddamn tiger on the box? That’s a tip yanked from the G-string of our future lawyers. How dare you?
Photos: INFdaily
Taz | August 12, 2010 at 1:30 pm
sounds about right
Marc | August 12, 2010 at 1:42 pm
its Fleur Rebelle… Rebelle Fleur doesnt mean a thing in french
JC | August 12, 2010 at 1:44 pm
On comprend pareil! :-)
I know French | August 12, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Rebelle Fleur is like saying in english ” rebel the flower”.
victoria | August 12, 2010 at 4:09 pm
true that rebelle fleur doesnt mean anything and it should be switched but the U should also be before the E
fluer rebelle.
Burt | August 12, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Yes, it should be “fleur rebelle”, not “rebelle fleur”. In French, descriptive adjectives which describe mood or personality are placed after the nouns they qualify.
“On comprend pareil! :-)”
Oui, on comprend que t’es aussi con qu’elle.
Taz | August 12, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Sounds about right that this dumb bitch would fuck it up geeeeessssshhhhhhh
Glenn | August 12, 2010 at 2:44 pm
LOL @ Marc
shankyouverymuch | August 12, 2010 at 7:20 pm
…… “Rihanna’s Tattoo is Spelled Wrong”
This is not a matter of spelling at all, it’s a problem in GRAMMAR – FOOLS all!
gluten | August 13, 2010 at 2:30 am
spelling is a part of grammar, dumb ass
Kai | August 14, 2010 at 7:55 am
As a French guy, and one whose family name contains Fleur (Fleurquin), I would like to say, that, er, yes, the adjective should follow the noun. That is in everyday conversations. But if you want it to sound more poetic, then rebelle fleur is perfectly legitimate. So it’s not exactly a clear-cut, black and white situation. Just my 2 centimes though…
Elena | August 17, 2010 at 2:48 pm
How come she hasn’t had those two words/that sentence checked? I mean I am an english teacher living in France and I check the least sentence I write on the white board everyday!!
She has signed her dumbness!!
gday113 | August 28, 2010 at 4:06 am
Is no one more worried about where it is. The tattoo is on her neck, seriously these days I don’t know if I should listen to people or read them :P
casey | October 28, 2010 at 8:43 pm
lets not blame it on the artist … blame it on the tool that didn’t make sure it was written right !!!
Go ignorance Go !!!
Crackermack | August 12, 2010 at 1:33 pm
She must be pretty intelligent and deep, I mean she DOES have a tattoo in another language… sigh.
brittney312 | August 13, 2010 at 3:16 pm
OR SHE TRYIN TO MAKE HER SELF SEEM SMART WHICH SHES NOT SHES AS DUMB AS IT GETS
Mary Jane | August 12, 2010 at 1:34 pm
THAT SUCKS!
Billbobsayscomeback,angie! | August 12, 2010 at 1:35 pm
It is spelled correctly. It isn’t grammatically correct, though.
dudeatdudedotdude | August 12, 2010 at 1:46 pm
was thinking about that yest. the adjective usually comes after the noun in french. but then, is rebel or flower the adjective? could go either way.
but i still cut no slack as the idea in the first place is retarded. like a chick i used to work with who got a chinese phrase on her foot that she thought meant “love and friendship” and some other thing, only later found out it basically translated to “i’m a fucktard” :D dummies
Dood | August 12, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Flower is never an adjective. Go back to grade school.
sara | August 12, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Dood is wrong. Flower can be an adjective when it is used as an adjectival noun, such as in “flower child” where ‘flower’ is the adjectival noun that describes ‘child’
Dood | August 13, 2010 at 3:31 am
Sara, you are wrong. if flower is used as and “adjectival noun” it is not an adjective. It is still a noun. the proper name is noun adjunct. Adjectival nouns are, in fact, adjectives used as nouns. Go join Dude in grade school.
brittney312 | August 13, 2010 at 3:13 pm
REALLY SHE IZ JUST STUPID AND I CANT STAN HER
umm | August 16, 2010 at 9:13 am
Dood, an “adjectival noun” is a noun used as an adjective. hence the name:
“adjectival” (which is the adjectival form of the noun “adjective”)
and “noun” (which itself is a noun)
thus a noun described by its adjectival function.
at least get it right before you call other ppl ignorant. google that shit if you dont believe me
Robin | August 12, 2010 at 1:37 pm
We call that the “job killer” tattoo. Let’s hope that her singing career pans out for the next 30 years …..
dudeatdudedotdude | August 13, 2010 at 8:54 am
here she is in 5 years keepin it real http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/LPIPOD/22128-47.jpg
Erica | August 12, 2010 at 1:39 pm
It works when translated as “Retarded Flail”.
brittney312 | August 13, 2010 at 2:58 pm
YA AND THATS EXACLLY WHAT SHE IZ
Mike | August 12, 2010 at 1:39 pm
It’s not exactly “spelled wrong”. It translates to “flower rebel”. If she was going for the meaning of “rebel flower”, it should have been “fleur rebelle”.
??? | August 12, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Yeah, we got that from that attached article smart guy…
Drew | August 12, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Thanks for summarizing the article for us Mike, we never would have figured this out on our own.
Drew | August 12, 2010 at 1:45 pm
That said, flower rebel sounds absolutely retarded.
JN | August 12, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Maybe she rebels against flowers.
Ellle | August 13, 2010 at 5:29 am
or maybe she’s just retarded…
vocal | August 13, 2010 at 6:27 am
Hmmm maybe she simply means that she is deciding to become a vegan and aid in the fight against flora!
BaDumTsss | August 12, 2010 at 1:40 pm
What’s the one thing you never want to hear a tattoo artist say?
“Ooops!”
J.F.C. | August 12, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Thanks, Dad.
piper | August 12, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Oh, for reals. I was sitting for my second tattoo (behind my left shoulder), when the guy stopped and was like, “I am so so sorry”. I literally froze. Turns out it wasn’t a big deal, just a misplaced line, so we just had to shift a couple other lines. It came out just fine and I’m perfectly happy with it. Guess I’m one of the lucky ones though. Not nearly as bad as an effed up tattoo on your neck.
wow | August 12, 2010 at 1:44 pm
dumb ass!
Mac | August 12, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Adjectives don’t always follow the nouns in French — the tat still communicates what she wants it to (even to a native speaker of French).
Sorry.
XFX | August 12, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Come on, it sounds really really really weird!
dudeatdudedotdude | August 12, 2010 at 1:51 pm
no i get it. flower rebel, one who rebels with a flower. like some hippie in the 60s right before the national guardsman billyclubs their ass.
salope or putain would have been more apropos.
c | August 12, 2010 at 3:07 pm
yeah but sorry this doesn’t work reverse way in french, it still means nothing ^^
just a waste of good ink
anyway shes ugly
Drew | August 12, 2010 at 1:51 pm
This is only true if you also speak English to understand the alternative.
Sorry.
je m'appelle | August 12, 2010 at 2:27 pm
uhm yeah.. to anyone who speaks French, it sounds really dumb -lol- sorry =)
Burt | August 12, 2010 at 7:08 pm
As a linguist and a native speaker of French, I’d say the message is much more clearer with the mistake…and, no, it’s not that she’s a rebellious flower.
Summer | August 12, 2010 at 11:52 pm
“more clearer”? You’re a linguist? Really? Wow.
August Teen | August 14, 2010 at 12:47 am
LOL @ Summer. This whole thread is great.
Frobz | August 12, 2010 at 1:45 pm
So can we stick a fork in the tattoo trend yet? Or do most women still think they’re being “individuals” by getting a lower back tattoo?
(Oh sorry, I meant “Inked Girls” as they like to call themselves).
dudeatdudedotdude | August 12, 2010 at 1:58 pm
oh and those motherfucking gauges! next we gona see kids with plates in their fuckin lips and a million neck rings, like in national geographic?
bellyrings stay. those are hot :)
Je ne parle pas du francais | August 12, 2010 at 2:54 pm
tramp stamps will always be in. the worst is tribal tramp stamps. or backshot targets. I despise them with a passion. I also agree that spacers are disgusting ESPECIALLY when people decided to walk around with them out.
Yuck!
XFX | August 12, 2010 at 1:47 pm
What an idiot…
chuck d | August 12, 2010 at 1:48 pm
It means I love being beat up so much I do a song about it being ok to beat me up
Just A Horny Dude | August 12, 2010 at 1:53 pm
What a dumb bitch. She should suck my dick.
Sula | August 12, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Mel Gibson, is that you? :)
teebee | August 12, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Actually, this isn’t necessarily incorrect. It’s true that in the French language, adjectives typically follow the nouns, but sometimes to show emphasis the adjective will come first. So maybe she is just really trying to emphasize that she’s a…very.. rebellious…flower… ? Alright, I tried Rihanna.
Saturday | August 12, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Yes; this is true! I was waiting to see if someone would mention this. Adjectives can come before nouns if they are emphasised. Some adjectives when placed in front of the noun, however, lose their gender or undergo a slight change of vowel to consonant (ex. un bel ami instead of un ami beau), so check with someone before inking.
Burt | August 12, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Wrong. Certain adjectives, such as those that describe beauty, can placed before the noun. It’ has nothing to do with emphasis. We say “un bel ami” because “un ami beau” is just plain wrong.
Ryance | August 12, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Maybe she was trying to be poetic,and if not she can use the following excuse:
1- In french you say: belle fleur (pretty flower) and not fleur belle
2- however if you want to say rebel flower it’s fleur rebelle (don’t ask me why but it is so)
3- if she wanted it to be poetic then she could PLAY with the words. Meaning beautiful flower but rebellious, then it could be rebelle fleur.
(I’m a native speaker)
Sophie | August 12, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Native French Speaker. Assuming you’re not Canadian, are you a man or a woman? If you’re a woman, condolences, your man is cheating on you (he’s French). If you’re a man, you’re a cheating jerk.
Ellle | August 13, 2010 at 5:33 am
Sophie has man issues. Poor Sophie
brit | August 12, 2010 at 3:06 pm
‘belle’ is one of the excepitons to the grammar rule, as are ‘grande’, ‘petite’. She probably fell for the old adage “whatever is said in French sounds sophisitcated”.
So here’s some French for you: mes couilles sur ton nez
Burt | August 12, 2010 at 7:27 pm
It’s kind of like people who get Chinese characters tattooed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/fashion/sundaystyles/02tattoos.html
I’ve also seen unfortunate tattoos here in Asia. Just the other day, I saw a guy at the beach with “to the end of the time” tattooed across his back in bold letters.
snarkyscreenname | August 12, 2010 at 2:07 pm
If she wanted to the tattoo to read “rebellious flower”, she should have had them ink “fleur indocile” – I would think. But who knows. That masters in linguistics doesn’t mean much in the internet world of tattoos.
c | August 12, 2010 at 3:07 pm
i think “bout de caca” would fit better but that’s just me
Burt | August 12, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Or “fleur inculte”.
theroundearth | August 12, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Would “fleur imbécile” work too?
internet janitor | August 12, 2010 at 2:08 pm
she is insufferable
JRS22 | August 12, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Just when I thought the Superficial writer couldn’t get anymore retarded..
Ellle | August 13, 2010 at 5:36 am
…then JRS22 comes along & shows us all what real retarded is
Jason le Roi | August 12, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Okay, all you people who claim you know french – sit down and shut up. That’s right. I said it: Taissez-vous, nom d’un chien.
What I think you all failed to notice is that there is a legitimate french phrase – ‘la belle fleur’, which is an idiomatic French phrase for a Beautiful Person (of the female persuasion). ‘rebelle’ and ‘la belle’ have a extremely similar pronunciation.
Odds are quite good that she was attempting to make a pun.
XFX | August 12, 2010 at 3:54 pm
A — It’s “taisez-vous” not “taissez-vous”. What was that about people pretending to speak French?
B — Yeeaaah, riiiight, it’s actually a clever pun. So clever that except for you, no one got it.
molly | August 12, 2010 at 5:56 pm
do you SERIOUSLY think she would tattoo a shitty, foreign language (she doesn’t even speak) pun on her neck? nice iron-clad defense. she’s just ignorant, like a lot of mono linguists, to the fact that grammar changes from language to language.
and yes, i do know french. i’ve been speaking the damn language since i was 4.
Burt | August 12, 2010 at 7:46 pm
It’s not a pun. People make silly mistakes all the time, especially in a language they don’t understand, as you so aptly showed.
onthedownlow | August 12, 2010 at 2:21 pm
Fucking ape, what do you expect?
Nice furry neck there, you hideous inked hair-dyed round-faced talentless fucktard.
And that ear tattoo really lowers your I.Q. by at least 20 points, you’re now in single digits, monkey-breath.
Go write a song about Hos, Bananas, Bustin a Cap in Yo Ass, Cornrows, and Keepin’ It Real.
Beam me up, Scotty.
gluten | August 13, 2010 at 2:41 am
bahahahahahaha
my sentiments exactly
Lame | August 12, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Also, not every tattoo artist is a high school dropout…just an FYI. In fact, quite a few have pretty impressive educational backgrounds….Probably more-so than the “stars” they’re tattooing….now THOSE are high-school dropouts for the most part.
Chimp Out | August 12, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Who gives a crap about the spelling. This is another example of an idiot female celebrity trying to be cutting edge, hip, kool(notice the spelling – I did it for a reason), and putting that oh so special foreign language tattoo somewhere on their body that can always be seen so they can let us know how knowledgeable and worldly they are.
Where’s Chris Brown when you need him.
mary | August 12, 2010 at 2:45 pm
@Chimp out ‘did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed’????? Don’t trip because you ain’t her, she just living her life.
Ellle | August 13, 2010 at 5:39 am
“trip because you aint her”, lol, mary you’re just so cool
Glenn | August 12, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Either way it’s a stupid-ass thing to have tattooed – especially on your fucking neck.
JChief | August 12, 2010 at 2:55 pm
I’m just transfixed by the patch of pubic hair on the back of her neck. Jesus. It must smell like fromunda cheese.
Cohchita Marie | August 12, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Her own name isn’t spelled right either. Black people do that all the time, they spell all of their kids names wrong. They think it is so, so cooooooooooooooooool and most of them don’t really know any better.
RasputinsLiver | August 12, 2010 at 4:05 pm
That shit is pretty fucking dumb isn’t it.
I mean, they use that dumbass shit like “nesha”, “La” (as in Lavonne or Laqueeta or some shit like that), “Ja”, “Da” as in Dashawna or Da’marcus.
Just dumbass shit that has nothing to do with real Africa. Just ghetto jive in all its section 8/welfare check glory.
Basketca | August 13, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Names are a personal thing, so there’s no “wrong” spelling for a name. Name don’t follow rules, names can be written however the f*ck you want.
Hitler | August 12, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Hey,
Considering ebonics, this isn’t half bad
shit taco | August 12, 2010 at 3:12 pm
hahahahahahahahahah best comment
Bugman | August 12, 2010 at 3:04 pm
If she were really smart, she would have spelled it backwards, so she could read it in the mirror.
trillian | August 12, 2010 at 3:04 pm
maybe she’s saying she really is a flower rebel – screw you roses and lillies, she only rolls with the corpse flower
DarK Rémi oF DooM | August 12, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Maybe she intended to make it “Yoda-style”.
Herb | August 12, 2010 at 3:08 pm
This would be the second incorrectly spelled tattoo that Rihanna has:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/usa/article2375147.ece
eatme | August 12, 2010 at 3:10 pm
“belle fleur” is a very well known “french” phrase that translates to “beautiful flower”. Right?
Adding the “re” to “belle”, one would expect it to translate to “rebel flower”, but because of the way french works, where adjectives go after the noun they qualify, it actually translates to “flower rebel”.
But isn’t “good” an adjective too? Shouldn’t “belle fleur” technically translate to “flower beautiful” rather than “beautiful flower”? yup.
So, quit getting all technical and shit and when you order your “croissant” in the morning with your coffee, don’t pronounce it like you are French, because you aren’t.
J.F.C. | August 12, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Jesus Fucking Christ — WE GET IT!
John | August 13, 2010 at 1:50 am
No. Adjectives concerning “beauty”, “age”, “size”, or “goodness”, come before the noun. Everything else comes after.
faded | August 12, 2010 at 3:10 pm
She and Chad Ocho Cinco (“Eighty five” in Spanish is “ochenta y cinco”, otherwise it’s “eight five”) need to hire a language tutor before doing something like this … her case is worse because tattoos are (supposedly) forever.
Mr. Peabody | August 12, 2010 at 3:16 pm
“Rebel Flower” doesn’t mean anything in English either.
Turd Ferguson | August 12, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Are any of us really surprised?
Stupid entertainers try to show their depth of intellect with the tribal symbols, Asian characters, and pathetically gay phrases. As long as it keeps them feeling smart I say please continue, if that means you’ll keep your Hollywood mouth shut on politics and adopting foreign children.
free | August 12, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Wow cunt, you are soooooo cool. She has to deface herself to distract from the fact that she can’t sing! This negro needs to back beside a muddy water hole swatting flies and peeing in her drinking water where she came from.
damien | August 14, 2010 at 5:18 am
haha wow tough guy. you have a pretty strong opinion about the whole thing. you MUST have something going for yourself (unlike Rihanna). You were given the opportunity to see a picture of this person and chirp her (in quite a racist fashion). I’d like to suggest that you upload a photo of yourself on this so we can all have a chance at you. You are either gonna pretend to “not see” this post, completely disregard it, or try and find some flaw in what i have written and turn the whole thing on me. but i’m fairly confident that everyone who has seen what you’ve written (whether they agree with you or not) is somewhat curious as to what YOU look like. i mean – you must be perfect to be beaking someone in such fashion. i would LOVE to know a little bit about you and the “water hole” you come from
Internet | August 12, 2010 at 3:46 pm
She has the SAME EXACT shine, velcro hair as my girlfriend.
Internet | August 12, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Get your own schtick.
OnTheRealThough | August 12, 2010 at 3:47 pm
I will lick that tattoo off her neck while making sweet love to her. Damn, she’s sexy. I fuckin hate her hair now though.
RasputinsLiver | August 12, 2010 at 3:57 pm
*
Well, this dumb twat’s just another shallow corporate pop product anyways.
So who the fuck cares that she makes even more of a fool of herself than usual.
*
dumbass | August 12, 2010 at 3:59 pm
I would still whip her ass with a car antennae all night long.
bosshog | August 12, 2010 at 4:25 pm
She needs to shave her neck
Wrench | August 12, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Clearly what we need here is a few close ups of the pierced nips so we can get beyond the lame assed tattoo.By the way,does speaking French make you gay or what?Who gives a rats fuck about the grammar,it;s a lame assed tat in any language!
Marcus | August 12, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Neck tatoos are for skanks anyway…..
sana | August 12, 2010 at 5:35 pm
well technically its not always after the noun! coz (l’adjectif, par rapport au nom, se place devant lui ou après lui: – Le jeune chien – Le cheval bai – Le toit est rouge) meaning sometimes its after sometimes its before.. but in her case its after: une fleur rebelle. rebelle fleur is not the right order! it sux but she could of ask someone who knows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i’m not even a celebrity and i speak some french but a would still ask before doing it
Lizzy | August 12, 2010 at 5:57 pm
In Spanish, you can use adjective either before or after the noun. Of course, the meaning change in certain words combinations. “Hombre grande” is about the height or size(big man) while “gran hombre” means “great man”.
My french is not good to tell if is the same case, but I don’t remember to have ever used an adjetive before a noun and in her case, it doesn’t sound right.
Either way, she’s an idiot. Not that the words were in japanese or any other very difficult language…
Jérôme | August 12, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Putain de commentaires!
Pat C | August 12, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Hey, if there was “Flower Power” and “flower children”, then why couldn’t there be a “flower rebel” ?
Anonymous | August 12, 2010 at 6:35 pm
How exactly is this chick a rebel about anything?
k | August 12, 2010 at 7:01 pm
Haha, I love how everyone here has suddenly becomes a French expert.
Ty Pennington | August 12, 2010 at 7:07 pm
What a hairy mother fucker. Her neck is like the wolfman’s.
lalalalala | August 12, 2010 at 7:13 pm
oops,fail;))