Signese

I took this picture at the cashier of a small restaurant tonight.

If you like, you can -

i) explain what it is;

ii) consider why the shop does this;

iii) comment on the quality of the picture.

My first reaction to this sign (which is on a machine that lets you put money on your Seoul subway card, no transfer of electricity is involved) is that it was a mistranslation. But then I thought maybe it's a normal usage that I don't know about, perhaps in Japanese?

Investigate!

Hi.

Roddy lent me the keys to the Signese company car (a black VW Santana) and is letting me take it for a spin. While eyeing the sidewalk for a place to park, I noticed this sign.

Can I park on the sidewalk between the guy selling socks and the woman frying hotdogs? If the Signese company car was instead a cart pulled by an emaciated mule, could I still park there? Please briefly explain.

What is line 2 encouraging me to do?

Who created the sign? And where are they located?

I am staying in a cheap hotel in Hongkou, Shanghai as a friend is staying here. The hotel works hard to be a good hotel and it is quite nice really. I took this picture at the breakfast yesterday morning. I think this is a bit sad, but of course it is funny too.

You know where this place is, don't you?

When I first saw this tram I was quite surprised as the Chinese name was right on the first car. It took me a few attempts to take this picture, as I guess there is only one like this and I am not the kind who has a camera in hand ready to take pictures all the time. As far as I know there are different Chinese versions of the city's name. But if this name is good enough for the city it is good enough for me. (But I can't explain why I feel differently about Seoul's Chinese name.)

An irrelevant question - why do Asian (Japanese, Hong Kong, Taiwan) young people (or younger people) like to take pictures of the food they order with sophisticated big cameras in restaurants? Is it just to show off their cameras?

What crime has been committed? Who is looking for him (or her) and what's in it for the stool pigeon?

Having no access to the signese company car I wandered on foot today and saw this banner on a reclamation site. I like the slogan, but really it is the Chinese name of the company that I found most interesting (just that I had not heard of it before).

Two pictures taken yesterday near my home. They are very simple, but Mandarin speakers might not be able to underatand them immediately.

Then another one taken in Causeway Bay. It was a protest. See if you can read what is on the yellow banner.

Here‘s a fun old one from 2005, which I was about to say I took on Xinjiekou, although closer inspection shows that it was actually passed on to me by good old Brendan. I'm sure he won't mind me recycling it. I think this was from a batch taken in Chengdu, but I'm less sure about that.

1) What is the boss called, and what state of mind is he in?

2) What is the store's haggling policy?

3) What emotions are being aroused among staff by the prices offered?

4) Why might the store need to shift stock quickly?

It's all been a bit too easy for you lately, I think. Lets throw some handwriting at you . . .

1) What kind of housing is offered - apartment, villa, etc . . ?

2) Which famous Beijing building is it near?

3) What form of heating is available?

4) If you decide to take the place, how much money will you need to hand to the landlord in the first instance?

One fairly random photo of Chinese characters in action, per week, until sometime in 2018. And perhaps longer if I'm encouraged. Those who want to contribute their own random photos of Chinese characters are welcome, just get in touch and I'll add you to the contributor list so you can post directly, from computer or phone. 

One fairly random photo of Chinese characters in action, per week, until sometime in 2018. And perhaps longer if I'm encouraged. Those who want to contribute their own random photos of Chinese characters are welcome, just get in touch and I'll add you to the contributor list so you can post directly, from computer or phone.

Love of your own safety and respiratory health optional.

One fairly random photo of Chinese characters in action, per week, until sometime in 2018. And perhaps longer if I'm encouraged. Those who want to contribute their own random photos of Chinese characters are welcome, just get in touch and I'll add you to the contributor list so you can post directly, from computer or phone.

Please cross by the "9 dead, 19 injured" sign we saw earlier...

Again, not really a sign as such but on a simple level I love the way this document's function affects the way it looks.

Plus it also shows hanzi going vertically as well as horizontally, which is a topic that come up from time to time.

Question: What's the other script, and what kind of document is this?  (Click picture to enlarge.)

What is this, and what is it for?

OK I give up... what on Earth is going on here?

Obviously it's 咖啡 but I can't decipher the rest of that weird font.

So this isn't a sign, but it does have Chinese characters. That counts right? Not complicated, weird, or confusing. Just historically interesting. Found in the bottom of a drawer. All up there's 15kg worth and not enough 分 to even make a 角

Yet another snap from that never-ended fountain of Signese resources, 鼓楼东大街. Give it another month and it'll no longer be necessary for tourists to visit the street, they'll be able to simply flick rapidly through these photos for the full experience.

What has the shop done?

PS And yes, I did dodgily photoshop out the English. Ha!

Spotted on the way back from a wedding in a local 祠堂 surrounded by chaotically half built houses, attended by 400 people, lots of burning incense and sacrificing animals to ancestors, copious pyrotechnics,  unbelievable amounts of money given and received in 红包's and no doubt a massive 聘礼.

One fairly random photo of Chinese characters in action, per week, until sometime in 2018. And perhaps longer if I'm encouraged. Those who want to contribute their own random photos of Chinese characters are welcome, just get in touch and I'll add you to the contributor list so you can post directly, from computer or phone.

At a certain point in history 20% of Beijing was road safety notices.

One fairly random photo of Chinese characters in action, per week, until sometime in 2018. And perhaps longer if I'm encouraged. Those who want to contribute their own random photos of Chinese characters are welcome, just get in touch and I'll add you to the contributor list so you can post directly, from computer or phone.

Odd reasons for behaving yourself in the toilet #2046

Easy questions today, as you're going to be busy figuring out the handscrawling I suspect.

1) What did I have for lunch?

2) What kind of restaurant was this?

3) You'll need to resort to the Internet for this one, but can anyone name the restaurant?

Everyone who gets it right receives pictures of the meal to print out and keep.

In some places this kind of thing could get you into a lot of trouble.

So, what do we think of the calligraphy on show here?

Saw this sign taped up on a wall recently. 

1. What kind of job is the top one? (The ￥2800 to ￥3200 one. 切菜工)

2. What sort of skills would you need to apply? What would you mainly be doing?

3. What kind of establishment posted this ad?

5. Any thoughts about the second job? (女工一名)

---------------------- 

4. Are 招聘 and 薪资 two of your flashcards? Do you know some other ways to say "salary?"

During my annual adventure into the Chinese outback for Spring Festival I decided to keep myself occupied by going on a search for the most unique 春聯 in the neighborhood. We went to 百年 in an unfamiliar part of town on the last day and I came across this old house. Pasted in the middle is a tiny, but proud brand new 2018 year of the dog calendar. After coming across an endless number of free brand advert 春聯, this was a bold and refreshing thing to see. Happy Year of the Dog to all.