Friday, May 30, 2008

Lost in Translation

My friend Sarah wanted to make sure I took pictures of all the poorly translated signs we saw. At her request, here are a few of the notables:


I don't know about all the other tourists, but although it was a very nice entrance indeed, we were really more interested in visiting the warriors.



Nailed to the Great Wall of China:


This one was on our hotel side table in Xi'an. I read through it at least three times and still had absolutely no clue:
In our hotel hallways in Zhengzhou:

On a streetside sign, like an advertising billboard in NYC or something. In case you can't read it, it says:

"Luxury only the surface, temperament generations from the deposition"

Sign posted in the Visiting Hall of the Ming Summer Palace:


And although it doesn't really fall into the English-Chinese translation category, last but not least is the sign at the Starbucks in Guangzhou (near the Consulate building):

Good luck telling them which blend you want!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This one was on our hotel side table in Xi'an. I read through it at least three times and still had absolutely no clue:

Translation:

Tea Service-you pay now!

Anonymous said...

AWESOME!!! Thanks for doing this - you got some goodies!
Love you guys,
Sarah