The Meaning Behind Zayn's Tattoos

Mandala + Finger Tattoos

Zayn Malik has a couple mandala tattoos, including this one on his arm that extends down to his hand. While he hasn't specifically revealed a meaning behind his, they're typically spiritual symbols. Zayn also has several finger tattoos on this hand, though we aren't totally sure what they are or what the meaning might be.

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MSG

Image Source: Getty / Kevork Djansezian

On Zayn Malik's right hand, there's a distinct "MSG 3-12-12" tattoo to signify the date that One Direction played their first show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The band sold out the arena on Dec. 3, 2012.

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Rose + Wings + Yaser + Athames

On the back of Zayn Malik's head and neck, he has a few tattoos. He has a rose at the base of his skull with the stem extending down into his neck. He also has his dad's name, Yaser, tattooed behind his right ear. He has a large wing tattooed right below that, and what looks to be the word "athames" on the back of his neck, which has roots in Wicca. Zayn hasn't said anything much about any of these tattoos and what they mean, though he did get the large rose in 2018, immediately following one of his breakups with Gigi Hadid, so it was perhaps a way for him to cope.

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Checkered Flag + Lotus

Image Source: Getty / D Dipasupil

Zayn Malik's left forearm has a checkered flag and a lotus flower. He hasn't mentioned any reasoning behind either of these tattoos, but he did get the checkered flag right around when he left One Direction. As the symbol of finishing a race, it's very possible it was symbolic of his departure from the band, though he hasn't openly said this.

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Mandala + 25

Zayn Malik has another mandala on the side of his head, around his ear. On his neck below his ear, he has the number 25, which he got tattooed while he was 25.

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Bandana + Crossed Fingers + X Factor Number + Chillin

Image Source: Getty / Steve Granitz

Zayn Malik's right arm has a whole mess of tattoos. In this picture you can see a bandana tattoo wrapped around the top of his arm, near his elbow. Below that he has the word "Chillin" with a little palm tree. In the middle of his arm he has a hand with fingers crossed. Beneath that you can see a number, and it's part of his X Factor audition number, 165,616, which he has scattered around the arm. Other than the X Factor number, we don't necessarily know the reasoning behind these other tattoos.

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Skulls + Wings + Eyes + Arabic Lettering + Mandala

Zayn Malik's chest is covered in a few tattoos he's gotten over the years. He has a skull on each side, wings across his chest, Arabic lettering, and Gigi Hadid's eyes at the base of it all. He has two different pieces of Arabic on his chest, one that says, "Be true to who you are," and another that is his grandfather's name, Walter.

Above Gigi's eyes is another mandala tattoo that juts out from what was once a simple design of wings and a skull in the middle of his chest that has been expanded into a larger colored piece. He also used to have a set of lips tattooed on his chest that he's since covered.

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His Sister's Names

Image Source: Getty / Gotham

Near the checkered flag on Zayn Malik's left arm, he has each of his sister's names tattooed in Arabic. You'll see each of Safaa, Waliyha, and Doniya's names in small font inside his arm.

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Heart + Playing Card + Gun + Lyrics

Zayn Malik has a few more tats on his torso, including a filled-in black heart to cover a previous tattoo that said, "Born lucky," in Chinese, as well as a holstered gun on his side. On his ribs, he has a playing card that says, "a pirate's life for me," underneath it. He also has "DON'T THINK I WON'T" tattooed on his lower abdomen. While that is a line from the song "Don't Think I Won't" by Mark Wills, Zayn hasn't made any public mention of getting the tattoo for that reason.

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Comic Book Characters + Feathers + Wolf + Rodger

Image Source: Getty / TheStewartofNY

On Zayn Malik's left leg, he has a collection of comic book characters, including Deadpool and the Joker, as well as a wolf and feathers. He also has the name Rodger scrolled on his leg, which he has joked is the name of his evil twin.

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Bird + Love + Lips + Lightsaber

On Zayn Malik's right hand, he has a small bird and the script word "love." There was speculation when he got the "love" tattoo in 2017 that it was for Gigi Hadid and a possible engagement, but alas, that hasn't seemed to be the case. He also has a pair of lips with smoke coming out of them on his hand as well. And you can't see it here, but Zayn also has a lightsaber tattooed on the inside of his middle finger! As a fan of all things nerdy, this tattoo makes sense for Zayn. It's also done with UV ink, according to tattoo artist JonBoy, which means it even glows.

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Snake + UFO + Space Monkey

Zayn has a large snake tattoo on his right bicep and shoulder. Below it is a space monkey and a UFO. The UFO covers up a previous tattoo he had of a cartoon figure of his former fiancée, Perrie Edwards.

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Zap!

Image Source: Getty / JB Lacroix

One of Zayn Malik's earliest tattoos is the giant "ZAP!" inside a splat on his right arm. The splat was originally filled in with red, but he had it colored over with black later. He said back in 2012 when he got it that he and former bandmate Louis Tomlinson were captains in a secret society called "Club Zappers," and the rest of the group were just on the board of directors. It's a fitting nod to his love of comic books.

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Tiger + Mind of Mine

On Zayn Malik's left bicep, he has a large tiger tattoo as well as the scattered letters spelling out the name of his debut solo album, Mind of Mine, released in 2016.

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Yin-Yang Symbol

Zayn Malik's yin-yang symbol tattoo on his left arm was one of his early ones as well. He hasn't spoken up on this one, but the symbol represents balance.

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All the Rest of Them

Image Source: Getty / Raymond Hall

We've only scratched the surface of Zayn's tattoos and I'm not even sure I know all of the ones he has! He just has so many. Here are the others that I do know he has that we haven't already covered:

Castle: Zayn has a huge castle piece on his back that we very rarely get to see since we don't often catch a shirtless glimpse. You can sort of see it in this picture here.
Fantail: Also on Zayn's back is a New Zealand fantail bird that he reportedly got while in New Zealand. It's at the top of his back, so it sometimes peeks out of the back of his shirts. You can see the top of it in the photo above of the back of his head.
Stereo: On the inside of Zayn's right arm, he has a stereo tattooed.
Ink splatter: On that same arm is an ink splatter near his wrist. Zayn very much enjoys art, so this feels like a fitting nod to his hobby.
Microphone: While still in One Direction, Zayn got a microphone on his right arm as well, near the stereo.
Lightning bolt and shapes: Hidden among the rest of the ink on Zayn's right arm are a lightning bolt outline and some other geometric shapes. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to these other than that they add to his sleeve design.
Skull: There's yet another skull on Zayn's right arm, making for three human skull tattoos on his body.
Pink Floyd logo: On the inside of Zayn's upper right arm he has the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon logo.
Friday: On Zayn's right collarbone, he has the word "Friday?" tattooed. It's supposedly because he used to always ask the boys in One Direction if it was Friday.
Crisscross: There is a sketch of a crisscross on Zayn's right leg.
Screws: On the inside of each of Zayn's ankles, he has small Xs to look like the heads of screws. Each of the members of One Direction, minus Niall Horan, got this tattoo for unity and to help each other stay grounded.
SGT: Zayn's left arm has "SGT" tattooed for his single "Still Got Time."
Kahlil Gibran poem: In 2020, Zayn debuted the text from the Kahlil Gibran poem "On Love and Marriage" on his left arm. Though he hasn't said anything about it, fans were quick to assume it was a nod to Gigi Hadid and their possible marriage in the future.
Bus 1: A fan favorite tattoo of Zayn's is the "Bus 1" that he has on his left hand. He and fellow One Direction member Louis Tomlinson got these matching tattoos while in the band because Bus 1 was the One Direction bus they considered their home away from home.

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