Chinglish Illustrated

During our time in China we've seen many, many signs that attempt to convey English messages. However, these signs are usually botched beyond recognition, and the signs end up being more funny than helpful. What you're about to witness is lovingly referred to as "Chinglish." Below you'll find a collection of some memorable Chinglish signs that we've encountered so far in our trip. This is only a small sample; Chinglish signs can be found everywhere here, even above the urinals - "Step Forward for Civilization"- reminding Chinese men the often forgotten fact that the urinal is there for a reason.

We'll start with some good attempts and get more absurd as we go along. First we have one of the most common Chinglish sayings: Indeed, when one is slipping, they should want to be careful about it. The most frequent error in Chinese sign is of course, spelling. Jimbo spotted this in Beijing:What's funny is that spelling errors and Chinglish can be found on official documents, national tv and print ads, and even in one of the most recognized and touristed areas in China, the Forbidden City.
Oooo, so close, but we were looking for "Imperial" there, sorry. Now we'll get to the signs that make you stop and admire just how bad or confusing they are. First up, we saw this sign as we were walking up a mountain:
We're guessing they wanted "Confirm Stones Ahead" which is pretty weird by itself, but anytime you forget to print the first two letters and decide to go with "nfirm" it takes it up a notch. Next is a classic over-translation trying to impress the foreigners.

In other words, don't go over the hand rail unless you want to die. Another Chinglish-ism is to choose the oddest word possible. For instance, instead of just writing "No Climbing" we have:Yet another good example is this trashcan that separated recyclables and non-recyclables.

But at least for the most part you can get some idea of what the sign is actually there for. However, the best Chinglish leaves a native English speaker baffled, like these signs below:I still have no idea what "steon" is supposed to be. But the next one takes the cake, and is in the running for the best Chinglish sign ever. WHAT IN THE WORLD? Some nights when I can't sleep I think of all the possible meanings for this sign, and I haven't centered on one logical translation yet. I guess it could just be compassion, but then that raises an entire new set of questions. It just dawned on me that I should get one of our students to help us translate this difficult (and disturbing) sign. We'll keep you updated on this situation. Perhaps what happened is similar to the example below. It is one of Darbie's favorites. It is a light switch in a hotel room, and apparently they couldn't decide whether they wanted to label the switch "reading" or "ceiling" light so they compromised.
"Ceding". Not all attempts at Chinglish are bad, some can be quite cute. We found the next one on a lawn in Sanya, and it is rather sweet.

Next we have evidence that it is possible, if not rare, to come across a well translated sign.

Perhaps you'd like to make up your own Chinglish version of this sign. Although it can never be as good as the real thing, here's my attempt:

"If you lve the munkeys extra very, accidentl must be prepared. Your ojbects gotten will be, take danger, and forelasting good harmony ."

Hope you've enjoyed this beginner's lesson on Chinglish. Some say it takes 12 years study to master Chinglish, and that even then one must keep up-to-date with new and developing trends.

I've saved the best Chinglish sign for last. This is displayed at the National Zoo in Beijing. Hope you enjoy.

Sometimes it's hard to resist reading Chinglish signs in a Yoda voice.

DB&KM