English Signs in China

Since I have been in China, I have seen quite a few signs that don't look quite right.  So, recently, I decided to take pictures of them.  Some have more... interesting... translations than the other ones.  This collection is only a few days of sign-hunting, so there are definitely more out there!

In order to make this post more legit and Chinese-esque, I am going to translate all of the signs for you to prove that I am a hard-working student.

There were a lot of signs at the Olympic Park, so I thought that they might hire some better translators to do the signs... guess not!  But that's better for our viewing pleasure, right?

So here goes!  If you don't think these signs are as funny as I think they are, scroll down to the last one -- I'm sure you'll get a kick out of that one.

I wonder if the French translation is better.

 注意安全，请勿倚靠 -- Pay attention to your safety, please don't lean [on the railing]

Me no understand...

 水系冰面上，禁止乱扔废弃物 -- Do not throw garbage onto the ice (when the water is frozen)

I think a "please keep off the grass" sign would suffice.

小草微微笑，请您旁边绕 --  The grass is smiling, please go around it

To be fully honest, I'm not actually sure what this is supposed to mean

爱护我们，是文明的体现 --  Cherishing us [art?] is a reflection of being civilized

So close... the plurals are tricky, y'know?

请勿践踏草坪 -- Please keep off the grass

Considering that this was next to a children's playground, I'm calling BS on this one...

 At least the translations are correct!

On the subway:

Just an interesting sign with an interesting picture, that's all.

Another correct sign!

At a food place:

Sumtimes Ie haev trubbel wiht mie speling, tooo

The translation is pretty much correct, just switch the "t" with the "e" right?  But that makes "eoilte"... hmmm, still not right...

At Qianmen （前门）:

That's supposed to be a lowercase "L"

I believe that the translation is pretty accurate.

At a hotel:

Google Translate and Bing Translate give the exact same translation.  Tsk tsk on using an online translator...

小心滑倒 -- Be careful not to slip

On a shopping street:

Must be an interesting experience.

Nothing wrong with the translation.

And now for my personal favorite... not only is the text slightly strange, the image also happens to depict two people at one urinal.  It's also in a picture frame.  WTF?

I don't even know...

I'm not really sure how to translate this, but I'll give it a shot:

靠近方便，贴近文明 -- Getting closer [to the urinal] is more convenient, it's more cultured/civilized

So that's all!  I hope that this not only taught you a little about China, but also made you chuckle a bit.  I'm really not sure why they don't get these things professionally translated, especially in touristy areas like the Olympic Park.  It might not even have to be professionally done -- I'm sure many people, such as our wonderful Chinese teachers, are able to do a much better job.  My personal guess is that the Chinese people really can translate these properly, but mess them up a bit on purpose to get the tourists to laugh a little =D