Engrish prus, part 2
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I haven't visited Engrish.com for several years, but it is always a source of great joy, so I thought I'd take a look today and see what turns up. Here are six items of interest:
Photo courtesy of Brian Linek. Spotted in China.
The sign actually says:
Qǐng wù rùnèi
请勿入内
"Please do not enter"
wéizhě fákuǎn
违者罚款
"Violators will be fined"
Photo courtesy of Alice A. Found in Korea.
Sometime you just feel that way.
Photo courtesy of Alexi Smith. Spotted in Japan.
That's exactly what the Japanese says: animarukoron アニマルコロン
Photo courtesy of Brad T. Spotted in Japan.
o tearai
お手洗
"restroom"
x
fēi jǐnjí qíngkuàng qǐng zhǐbù
非紧急情况请止步
"Please stop for non-emergency situations"
And I was going to stop with that one, but the next is too good to pass up, though the English by itself is entertaining enough that I won't explain what the Chinese really says.
Photo courtesy of W. Chew. Menu spotted in China.
There are scores more, but that's enough for today. Phew!
Selected readings
- "Engrish prus" (10/8/22)
- "Chinglish bouquet" (10/31/22)
- "Not permission, to violate to punish" (5/8/14)
- "It is forbidden to urinate here. The penalty is bang." (9/2/10)
- "The Etiology and Elaboration of a Flagrant Mistranslation" (12/9/07)
- "The further elaboration of a flagrant mistranslation" (8/31/13)
Laura said,
July 1, 2025 @ 12:08 am
I'll have the stir-frgvng silk fish.
P.S. What, pray tell, is for sale in the box to the left of the "animarukoron"? I would never have imagined from the photo that those items are to be worn, yet they are specified as "unisex."
(And as for "animarukoron" — it's hard to believe that the Japanese needed to import words such as "animal" or "colon". There's more to this story.)
wgj said,
July 1, 2025 @ 8:35 am
@Laura: Those are "automatic in-car fragrance" that you hang on the vents (which makes them "automatic").
Jonathan Smith said,
July 1, 2025 @ 9:04 am
""Please stop for non-emergency situations" > "do not enter except in case of emergency."
wgj said,
July 1, 2025 @ 9:05 am
My favorites are the undying classics that have remained unchanged in totality, but keep growing and evolving in detail, thus producing ever new ways of unintentional hilarity. I'm talking about, of course, the multitude of omnipresent propaganda slogans in Chinese public restroom that lecture you about "civilization" (文明). After four decades, you'd think someone should've noticed it's about "civility", but no, 99.9% still say "civilization".
Lars said,
July 1, 2025 @ 12:37 pm
I see the 干 and refer to https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=49272
Victor Mair said,
July 1, 2025 @ 12:50 pm
From Nathan Hopson (concerning Animal Colon):
The original image appears to be from 20 years ago, which probably means this product is no longer on the market:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/49968881@N00/27151665/
There's no explanation on this photo, but the products on either side and the brand (Suntech) suggest it might be some kind of air freshener or other scented product, i.e., that it's "cologne," not "colon."
anonymous said,
July 1, 2025 @ 1:04 pm
@Victor — "animal cologne" might mean "musk", not an uncommon scent for air freshener
Kakurady said,
July 1, 2025 @ 6:04 pm
自動車 is "automotive" in Japanese.
It should be parsed as 自動車/用/芳香剤 "fragrance for automotive use" not 自動/車用/芳香剤,
Nat said,
July 1, 2025 @ 10:04 pm
“Please stop for non-emergency situations”
I assumed this was Prof. Mair’s translation, but I find that assumptiondifficult to square with the awkwardness of the translation. What am I missing?
Philip Spaelti said,
July 1, 2025 @ 10:32 pm
@Nat: I was thinking the same thing.
It seems that a better translation would be something like "Entrance for emergency use only"
Keith said,
July 2, 2025 @ 7:09 am
@Philip Spaelti
I'm more familiar with emergency exits, rather than emergency entrances.
Frans said,
July 2, 2025 @ 9:14 am
@Nat
A "proper" translation wouldn't have told us what the Chinese actually says, which at least to me is rather significantly more interesting.
Nat said,
July 2, 2025 @ 12:31 pm
@Frans
Right. Good point!
Chas Belov said,
July 3, 2025 @ 3:27 am
That menu is all the more reason to get The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters. Alas, I've misplaced my copy. And wish they'd publish a large print version. I run into many strange translations here in the Bay Area.
Laura Morland said,
July 4, 2025 @ 12:39 pm
@wgj Thanks much for your explanation. ("Those are "automatic in-car fragrance" that you hang on the vents (which makes them "automatic")."
But why would car air freshener be qualified as "UNISEX"?
Philip Taylor said,
July 4, 2025 @ 4:50 pm
Well, given that there are Car Cologne Diffusers for Him, one assumes that there are also Car Cologne Diffusers for Her, and therefore "UNISEX" car air fresheners makes perfect sense (at least to me).