Language Log

An assortment of Chinglish signs and menu items from my files (I forget who sent them to me).  There are eight all together.  Before diving into an examination of them one after the other, I should note that the last two partially result from the perennial problem of not knowing how to deal with warnings involving the heart (xīn 心).  Since I've already devoted an entire post to this topic, it might be worthwhile to take a peek at that before proceeding further:

"Mind your head" (8/28/15)

xiǎoxīn 小心 (lit., "little heart" –> "[be] careful; look out")

dāngxīn 当心 (lit., "heed / regard heart" –> "be careful; watch out")

From my files (sorry that the photograph is not in perfect focus):

Maidhc Mac Roibin spotted this oddly named item on the menu (bottom right) of the Nutrition Restaurant in Cupertino, CA:

Jan Söhlke received a fresh batch of Tieguanyin from China. The tea helps him get through the dark and cold season, this time the more so as it came with a »warm tip«:

Sign at the Hakka Cultural Museum in Kaohsiung, Taiwan:

Sign from National Taiwan University:

Photograph of highway sign from Jinghong (Thai Chiang Rung) in Sibsongbanna / Sipsong Panna / Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, PRC:

This is a photograph of a sign above a urinal at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies taken by Joseph Williams who was there for a Japanese test.  Besides the Japanglish, it's interesting that spaces are added between the words.  And there are no kanji.

Anne Henochowicz spotted this sign in the bathroom at Lombardi's, the first pizza shop in NYC:

This was covered fairly well five years ago, but it has recently come alive again:

From Betchen Barber:

This Shanghaiist photograph taken at a gym was posted to Facebook by Tristra Newyear Yeager on October 13:

From the annals of Improbable Research, Marc Abrahams posted "Patent application of the day: six God toilet water itching" (11/24/15)

This is for Chinese patent application CN301200531 S, filed August 7, 2009 and published May 12, 2010.

The inventors (bless their souls!) are Yú Fāngfāng 于方方 and Shī Yì 施翼.