Karol G's 20+ Tattoo Collection Includes Tributes to Selena and Rihanna

In March 2014, Karol debuted another Spanish script that says, "Mi Familia me hace humana, Dios me hace fuerte." The phrase is inked horizontally over her right ribcage and translates to "My Family makes me human, God makes me strong" in English.

Karol G got the Spanish phrase "Vénecete a ti misma" — which translates to "Defeat yourself" in English — tattooed on the inside of her right bicep. The ink is done in a decorative script by the tattooist Luis Eduardo Giraldo and runs horizontally upward along the length of her arm. "When you defeat yourself, there will be no sun that burns you, nor rain that wets you, nor wind that stops you, nor mountain that does not submit to your steps ... The only thing that can stop you IS YOU OWN WILL!!" she captioned an Instagram Post in Sept 2015 in Spanish, describing the inspiration behind this piece.

The "TQG" singer has two massive rose illustrations that stretch over her lower right calf. This piece of ink, which she got in 2015, depicts her perseverance in the face of challenges. "Rose, delicate as the woman," she wrote in Spanish in an Instagram post that details what inspired her to get this ink. "The road is full of spines but at its end, there is nothing more smooth, radiant, and welcoming. My body is my diary."

In Oct 2017, Karol G unveiled a Spanish script inked on the back of her left hand. The phrase curves along the skin between her thumb and index finger and reads "Esto También Pasará" — which is Spanish for "this too shall pass" — in cursive font.

A monarchy butterfly is tattooed in black and grey ink on Karol G's outer right wrist. She added this ink to her collection in 2020 with the help of A-list tattoo artist Tatu Baby. While she hasn't shared the meaning behind the design, a butterfly can often symbolize transformation and inner strength.

During the same visit to Tatu Baby, Karol added another piece to her body artwork. The singer paid homage to her roots by getting the country code of Columbia, "+57," inked in small font on the back of her right hand.

The name of Karol's ex-fiancé and Puerto Rican rapper "Emmanuel" (popularly known as Anuel AA) is inked vertically on the top of her right thumb. The former couple started dating in 2018 and, after getting engaged in 2019, called it quits in April 2021.

In October 2023, eagle-eyed fans noticed that Karol G had a new tattoo that seemed to be covering up her former fiancé's name on her right thumb. The tattoo, which looks to be a dagger, runs from the top of her thumb to the middle.

Karol G's has the year "1991" tattooed horizontally across the back of her right hand in tiny font. (The Columbian singer was born on Feb 14, 1991.)

Karol has a valuable life lesson inscribed on the side of her right wrist. "No regrets, just lessons learned," it reads in cursive handwriting.

The singer has minimalistic oceanic wave outlines inked on the side of her left wrist. The piece is inspired by Karol G's 2019 album "Ocean." While sharing the philosophical meaning behind the title, she shed some light on the thematic meaning behind the compilation and, as an extension, the tattoo. "I was in Spain, and I was just watching the ocean," she said in an interview.

"I was thinking in a very philosophical way, so I was thinking like that blue line, there's a lot of life, and you just see the line, and down there's a lot of things that we don't know because humans just know the 20% of the life in the ocean. So, I did that, like, that same thing in life. You know, the people that you don't know their lives, what they are living, if they're happy or not. And that's the same thing with the music because you just listen to the song, but you know who made it, not what the people were talking about when they composed the song."

The word "Hope" is inked in capital letters in the center of her breast bone.

Karol's "G" logo in solid black ink can be seen on the inside of her left forearm near the elbow fold. She got this in 2014 with the help of the tattoo artist Luis Hinestroza.

On Karol G's top right shoulder, you can see a tiny magic 8 ball design in black ink. While the singer has yet to share its significance to her, the spherical ball is often linked with good fortune and prosperity.

On her left bicep, Karol G has the script "Girl Power" tattooed in cursive handwriting. It's also the name of the management company that she founded.

Karol G has the letters "AR" tattooed on the side of her middle left finger, which, the singer has previously shared, are the initials of her first love.

On the side of her right index finger, the singer has the word "Lealtad," followed by the words "De Por Vida" tattooed on the side of her right middle finger. The Spanish phrase together means "Loyalty for life." She got this ink during her relationship with rapper Anuel AA, and it appears to be an ode to their time together.

The Columbian singer has a heart-shaped barbed-wire tattoo at the top of her left upper arm, which represents a turbulent period of her life, but is also a reminder that she made it out of it stronger than ever. "The tattoo represents a moment in my life where I questioned myself a lot," she told Allure in a March 2022 story. "I strengthened and weakened myself a lot. It was a very important moment for me personally, not for my career. For Carolina." The tattoo was done by Tatu Baby in 2021.

In 2018, Karol added three portraits to the inside of her right forearm, which pay tribute to the three women she admires the most in the music industry: Rihanna, Selena Quintanilla, and herself. "I went to the tattoo artist, and I told him I wanted a tattoo of the women I most admire in the world," she shared the genesis of her ink with GQ in an April 2023 interview. "People should get more tattoos of themselves! Because only you know how hard things have been for yourself. No one can feel that except you." In a different interview with Complex News, she said, "In different ways, they inspired me, those three, because I'm very proud of Karol G, too."

Karol G marked the release of her 2021 hit "200 Copas" by getting matching tattoos with her friends in the music video for the track. The ink, which is a replica of the single's artwork, sits on the inside of her right wrist and features the number "200" above the outline of a cocktail glass.