An example of written chinglish on a signpost. The Chinese characters roughly mean: "All cashiers in the marketplace offer price-checking services". The chinglish translation on the bottom of the sign deviates from the sign's intended meaning.

An example of written chinglish.

Chinglish (slang) is a portmanteau of the words Chinese and English and refers to either (a) English interspersed with Chinese language errors common to those Chinese persons who are learning English or (b) Chinese interspersed with English, such as used by westernized Chinese (e.g. American-born Chinese) who are not fluent in Chinese and codeswitch English words into speech when they can't think of the correct Chinese word. Image File history File links Zhongwen. ... The UTF-8-encoded Japanese Wikipedia article for mojibake, as displayed in ISO-8859-1 encoding. ... Japanese name Kanji: Hiragana: Korean name Hangul: Hanja: Vietnamese name Quốc ngữ: Hán tá»±: A Chinese character or Han character (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a logogram used in writing Chinese, Japanese, sometimes Korean, and formerly Vietnamese. ... Image File history File links Chinglish sign seen in Beijing. ... Image File history File links Chinglish sign seen in Beijing. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Gze_pull_in_enter. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Gze_pull_in_enter. ... A portmanteau (IPA: ) is a word or morpheme that fuses two or more words or word parts to give a combined or loaded meaning. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... An American-born Chinese or ABC is a person born in the United States of Chinese ethnic descent. ... Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to alternation between two or more languages, dialects, or language registers in a single conversation, stretch of discourse, or utterance between people who have more than one language in common. ...

Chinglish is not the name of a language, creole language, pidgin, or dialect. A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable language that originates seemingly as a new language, sometimes with features that are not inherited from any apparent source, without however qualifying in any appreciable way as a mixed language. ... This article is about simplified languages. ... For dialects of programming languages, see Programming language dialect. ...

Example

Notable examples include "no q" as a response to "thank you" (often sinicized in Mandarin Chinese as 三Q - san q) and ok le (了). (The second example is both chinglish and Singlish.) This article is on all of the Northern Chinese dialects. ... Singlish is an English-based creole language native to Singapore. ...

Chinglish spoken by Chinese learners of English

Chinglish from this rigid machine translation renders this menu almost unusable.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (960x1280, 826 KB) Summary Description: This restaurant sign tries to assist English-speaking customers, but the w:Chinglish is more likely to confuse than entice. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (960x1280, 826 KB) Summary Description: This restaurant sign tries to assist English-speaking customers, but the w:Chinglish is more likely to confuse than entice. ...

Pronunciation

Inaccurate pronunciation or misspellings through typos or poor pronunciation may result in Chinglish.

For instance, the word "temple" and "temper" may be confused, as both would be pronounced similarly to "Tem-po" or "Tem-pah". Note that the two English words, when poorly pronounced, may resemble each other to the extent that the two are indistinguishable; this further creates confusion. Sometimes, the poor pronunciation of a single English word can create a Chinglish pronunciation that is almost nothing like the original English word. For example, the company named "Zellers" (part of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada) is often incorrectly pronounced as "Se La". Zellers Inc. ...

This is exacerbated in the case of English names, since there are often several names with similar pronunciations. The Chinese dialect makes it difficult to pronounce Alan, Ellen and Eileen differently, as is the case with Shirley, Shelly and Cherry.

In most dialects of Chinese, voiced obstruent consonants (/b/, /d/, /g/, /dʒ/) do not exist properly. These dialects distinguish unvoiced aspirate and unvoiced unaspirate obstruents. Most Chinese perceive voiced obstruents as unvoiced unaspirates (e.g. /b/ becomes /p/), while unvoiced obstruents in foreign languages are all perceived as aspirate (e.g. /p/ becomes /pʰ/. This is reflected in several Romanization systems, notably Hanyu Pinyin (but not Wade-Giles). Thus, "buy" is pronounced /paɪ/, while "pie" remains /pʰaɪ/. When unaspirated obstruents occur in English (albeit non-phonemically) as in "spin" (/spɪn/), Chinese speakers would still pronounce them as if they were aspirate (/sɹ.ˈpʰin/). This applies equally to affricates, where "change", normally pronounced /tʃʰɛɪndʒ/, becomes /ˈtʃʰɛn.tʃi/ (or /ˈtɕʰɛn.tɕi/ if palatized). The romanization of Chinese language is the use of Latin alphabet to write the Chinese language. ... Pinyin (拼音, Pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ...

In Cantonese pronunciation, some consonants are nowadays changed into other, for example N is often pronounced as L. Voiced sounds ('v' and the /zh/ sound - eg. 'pleasure') cause difficulty, and some sounds are missing entirely, leaving words like "very" to be pronounced "wewy" and 'reservoir' to come out as 'viceroy'. In speech, there is also a tendency to add the sound "see" or "chi" at the end of certain singular letters, such as the letters "S" and "H" ('es-see' and 'ay-chi' respectively). This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ...

Similarly, there are no syllable codas (consonants at the end of syllables) in Mandarin with the exception of the "n" sound. When encountering such codas, a Mandarin speaker will either modify the consonant to form a separate syllable, or drop it altogether. Thus, for example, CCTV presenters pronounce the letters "L", "M", and "N" as [aɪ lə] ("ai-le"), [aɪ mu] ("ai-mu") and [ən] ("n") respectively. Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. ... For the computer operating system, see Syllable (operating system). ... This article is on all of the Northern and Southwestern Chinese dialects. ... China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV (simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is the major television broadcaster in Mainland China. ...

Also, it is very difficult for most chinese people to pronounce "th" properly. Thus, it is not uncommon for "three" to be pronounced as "sree" or "tree". Similarly, it is common that people pronounce "fourth" as "fours", thus confusing it with the close sound of "first". What is most confusing is the pronunciation of "thirty three and a third" as "dirty tree and a turd". This can all be explained by the lack of the "th" sound in Chinese language, and almost all of the different dialects of China.

Some people also have difficulty pronouncing words with multiple "L"s or "R"s in them. For example, the name "Clara" may be incorrectly pronounced as "Crala", "Clala", or "Crara".

As all varieties of Chinese are tonal languages, Chinese speakers sometimes apply tonal attributes to English, which is normally a stress-based language. Stressed syllables are generally given higher and falling tones over unstressed syllables. This imparts a "singsong" quality to the accent, a feature shared by speakers of other tonal (or pitch-stressed) languages. A Tonal language is a language that uses tone to distinguish words. ...

Vocabulary

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Erroneous vocabulary usage can also result in Chinglish. Examples include "to put in Jingzhang Expressway" instead of "entering Jingzhang Expressway"), and the use of "emergent" to mean "emergency" or "urgent". In the photo of the park regulations at right, the use of words such as "objectionable" and "inexpedient" is a further example. The Jingzhang Expressway (京张高速公路, Hanyu Pinyin: Jīngzhāng Gāosù Gōnglù) is an expressway in China which links Beijing to Zhangjiakou. ...

As another example, when something is explained, the English learner may respond with "Oh, I know," while the appropriate response would be "Oh, I see." This is because "知道 zhīdao" is usually translated as know regardless of context. "When did you first recognize him?" is also sometimes used for "When did you first meet him?" because "认识[認識] rènshi" is usually translated as recognize as in "I recognize him from last week's party."

Some errors occur with the use of see, watch, read and look at which are all one word, “看 kàn", in Chinese and may be confused with each other or just reduced to look. The situation of speak, say and talk is similar. So, someone studying English for several years might still say phrases like "Can you say Chinese?", "I am watching a book", and "Tomorrow I will look a movie."

Another common area of confusion is "turn on/off" versus "open/close". In Chinese, "turn on" (in the sense of operating a switch or a machine) and "open" are rendered by the same character, and so are "turn off" and "close". As a result, many people would say "open the light" when they mean "turn the light on", "open the TV" when they mean "turn on the TV", and "close the computer" when they mean "turn the computer off". Conversely, but less commonly, "close the door" may be rendered as "turn off the door" (See below: #Examples of Chinglish expressions).

There is also a tendency not to recognize the distinction between polite and vulgar usage. Swearwords sometimes crop up in learners' speech and writing when they do not mean to be coarse, and bad words can sometimes even appear in public notices, as in the park regulations at right.

Literal pronunciation of words can be common, such as the abbreviation BBQ of barbecue will be spoken "bee-bee-kill". A barbecue on a trailer at a block party in Kansas City. ...

Grammar

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Chinglish may result from grammatically erroneous usage of English, often resulting from the writer "thinking in Chinese while writing in English" (e.g. verbatim word-for-word translation), such as "wipe out six injurious insect" (to wipe out six types of harmful insects/vermin, including cockroaches and mosquitoes) and "enjoy stand" (a scenic viewpoint). Another example, in the photo at right, has rendered the translation more or less incomprehensible.

Chinglish can result from common patterns of grammatical errors. Examples include:

• using "me is" instead of "I am" (such as "Me is Jack")
• using awkward gerunds (such as "No Noising")
• excessive use of "the" when not needed (such as "The China is bigger than the France")
• excessive use of verbs with the "-ing" ending (such as "Please do not climbing"; in the photo below)
• excessive use of "to", the use of "to" with modals, preserving "to" in infinitive form even when unnecessary (e.g. "I must to go")
• confusion of -ed and -ing adjectives (e.g. "I am very boring" vs. "I am very bored"; "I was surprising" vs. "I was surprised")

The overuse of —ing, and the confusion of one word for another (a warning sign in Guilin)

• the overuse of "very" between "be" and an adjective (reflecting the use of "很" in Chinese)
• the use of "very" to modify verbs (e.g. "I very like it")
• the use of the passive when the active is more appropriate
• wrong usage of verb tenses
• the use of the singular when the plural would be more fitting (various examples can be seen in the park regulations above)

Typically, many of these errors are made because, in Chinese, verbs are not conjugated (either for tense or pronoun), and there is no equivalent word for "the." Often a Chinese grammatical pattern will be incorporated into English grammar, such as "I tomorrow go to Shanghai" or "I this morning eat breakfast". In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. ... position of Guilin in Guangxi Guilin in Guangxi Guilin (Chinese: æ¡‚æž—; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kuei-lin, Postal System Pinyin: Kweilin; Zhuang: Gveilinz) is one of Chinas most picturesque cities, with a population of 670,000, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the Peoples...

Also, there is much confusion regarding countable and uncountable nouns, use of plurals, and the use of "how much", "how many", "a lot of", "much" and "many". This leads to phrases such as "I want a soup" and "There are a lot of shoe."

Another common confusion is with prepositions, such as "on", "in", "at", which in many contexts have the same Chinese translation (zai, meaning "existing at this position"). To an extent, this reflects the idiomatic, rather than logical, way these words are used in English. An example is the often used expression "on Taiwan", as in "Republic of China on Taiwan", whereas native speakers of English are more likely to say "in Taiwan". Similarly, many Chinese students of English are confused by the difference between "at home" and "in the house". It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with adposition. ... An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not compositional — that is, whose meaning does not follow from the meaning of the individual words of which it is composed. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Comma splices can occur frequently. This is due to the fact that in Chinese writing, the comma (逗號 "，") is all that is sufficient to terminate a clause without needing to follow with a conjunction. The equivalent of full stop (句號 "。") is usually reserved for the end of an idea, which theoretically may last as long as a paragraph.^{[citation needed]} A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined by a comma with no conjunction. ... The term comma has various uses; comma is the name used for one of the punctuation symbols: , The term comma is also used in music theory for various small intervals that arise as differences between approximately equal intervals. ... A full stop or period (sometimes stop, full point, decimal point, or dot), is the punctuation mark commonly placed at the end of several different types of sentences in English and many other languages. ...

History

In the early and middle 20th century, Chinglish was known as "pidgin", or "Yangjing Bang English" in Chinese (洋涇濱, or 洋泾浜), which derives from the name of a former creek in Shanghai near the Bund where local workers communicated with English-speaking foreigners in pidgin. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... This article is about simplified languages. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... An overview of The Bund in Shanghai The Bund (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is an area of Huangpu District in Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. ...

Chinglish names

Some Chinese pick non-traditional English names, which they do not view as strange because they are not aware of English naming conventions.

Such names are derived from vocabulary they learned in their early English lessons, including names such as Apple, Space, Can, Sea, Mooncake, Magic, Koala, Spider, Thunder, Cloudy, Airy, Rainbow, Table, Bird, Eleven, Hifi, H2O, Ice, Puppy, Well and other names of animals, plants, weather phenomena, household appliances, days of the week or months. Some people have even unknowingly chosen swear words as names.

They might choose western products they like as their name, such as Cola or Nautica, or other more advanced words that may be picked for their sound or meaning such as Victory, Nation or even Cemetary.

Also, names very easy to pronounce in Chinese, but not common in English, may be chosen, such as the very common name Coco.

Some others choose to use traditional English names but often pronounce them incorrectly or alter their spelling. For example, the name Keith is often spelled as Keif, and pronounced as "Kif". They may also add various suffixes to common names, such as turning Sam into Samson. Sometimes this can cause unintended results, such as when adding the '-ing' suffix to the name Jack.

Some choose Russian, Japanese, or Hispanic names, such as Yuri, Jun, or Antonio. Since most styles European names are widely used in English-speaking communities, these will seem less "odd" than other non-traditional names. However, while a name such as "Ivan" would not seem out-of-place in most English-speaking countries, a name such as "Yevgeny" or "Nikolai" would. However, Japanese names like Jun, which English-speakers pronounce as June, may cause problems in that they are unisex, whereas their English soundalikes are traditionally bound to one sex.

These names may just be viewed as nicknames, and some Chinese may choose more common ones if they have to use their name in business or other more formal occasions.

Most (but not all) Chinese people living in Asia are given only Chinese names at birth, and choose their own English name at some point after they begin learning English (if they ever do). Although rare, some parents may name their child a Chinese phonetic translation of an English name, such as Suzie (Sook-Si in Cantonese), Raymond (Wai-Ming in Cantonese), Annie (On-Lei in Cantonese), Annie (An-ni or Anne in Mandarin), Joanne (Jia-An in Mandarin), Ivy (Ai-Li in Mandarin), Eileen (Ai-Lin in Mandarin), Pauline (Poh-Lin in Cantonese), Charlie (Jia-Li in Mandarin), Elaine (Yi-Ling in Mandarin), Maggie (Mei-Qi in Mandarin), Carmen (Kah Man in Cantonese), Ada (Ai-Da in Mandarin), or Joey (Jo Yee in Cantonese). This can be observed from the majority of Cantopop singers from Hong Kong adopting an English name that is somewhat a transliteration of their Chinese name as pronounced in Cantonese. For example: 陳奕迅 Chan Yik-Shun (Simplified: 陈奕迅; Jyutping: can yik seon; IPA:/'tsɐn 'jɪk 'sɵn/) is Eason Chan, 謝安琪 Tse On-Kei (Simplified: 谢安琪; Jyutping: ze on kei; IPA: /'tsɛː 'ɔːn 'kʰei/) is Kay Tse, and 容祖兒 Yung Cho-Yee (Simplified: 容祖儿; Jyutping: jung zou ji; IPA: /'jʊŋ 'tɕou 'jiː/) is Joey Yung. Cantopop (Chinese: 粵語流行曲) is a colloquial abbreviation for Cantonese popular music. It is also referred to as HK-pop, short for Hong Kong popular music. It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop. ... Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. ... Pronunciation refers to: the way a word or a language is usually spoken; the manner in which someone utters a word. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... IPA may refer to: The International Phonetic Alphabet or India Pale Ale ... Eason Chan Yik-Shun (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Born July 27, 1974 in Hong Kong) is a prominent male singer and wishes to be a part of the skilled class (實力派) in Hong Kongs music industry. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... IPA may refer to: The International Phonetic Alphabet or India Pale Ale ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... IPA may refer to: The International Phonetic Alphabet or India Pale Ale ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Language humour

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Although most Chinglish phrases originated from poor translations, many are created deliberately as language humour. Examples include: ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (678x768, 135 KB) Summary Sign at Nottingham University, the first foreign run university in Mainland China, still exhibits Chinglish tendencies. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (678x768, 135 KB) Summary Sign at Nottingham University, the first foreign run university in Mainland China, still exhibits Chinglish tendencies. ...

• Open the door see mountain (verbatim translation from a Chinese idiom, meaning "to speak straightforwardly" — 开门见山/開門見山). Other such example may be "five flowers eight doors" (in Chinese, wǔ huā bā mén - 五花八门/五花八門), which means "kaleidoscopic" or "multifarious", and "people mountain people sea" (in Chinese, 人山人海 rén shan rén hai), meaning "a sea of people" or "a huge crowd".
• Un-ding-able (it has at least two different meanings in Cantonese. It could mean "no one can stand it" - 頂唔順, here 頂 ding means "to stand", "to support" or "to tolerate". It could also mean "best of the best" - 無得頂, here 頂 means "to best".)
• You go see see lah (Go and have a look. — 你去睇睇啦) (please refer to Hong Kong English or Singlish. Chinese: 你去看看啦). Some aspects of Chinese involves repetition of words to indicate a verb, which in a similar context could include Try try see (go try it — 試試看), sometimes less commonly, run one run (to take a walk - 跑一跑), or wait wait me ba (Wait for me - 等等我吧).
• Good good study, day day up (verbatim translation from a Chinese Communist-era saying by Mao Zedong, meaning "study hard, keep improving" (好好学习﹑天天向上 hǎohao xuéxí, tiāntiān xiàngshàng).
• Horse horse tiger tiger (verbatim Mandarin Chinese translation for so-so or mediocre - 馬馬虎虎)
• Open water or white open water (another instance of verbatim translation, which 開 technically means "open", but in this context it means to boil, which means "[plain] boiled water", as in [白]開水). Though occasionally jokingly used amongst other Asians, it is also a common error and creates confusion outside of Chinese culture, most notably in restaurants or other forms of hospitality that may serve drinks (e.g. cafés, house guests, etc.) where the person being asked may be unaware of the asker's demands.

Four-character idioms, or chéng yǔ (成語, literally to become (part of) the language) are widely used in 文言 wényán. ... This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... For more background on this topic, see languages of Hong Kong. ... Singlish is an English-based creole language native to Singapore. ... Mao redirects here. ...

Regional varieties

Chinglish in Mainland China

Slogan reads "Hey, so delicious, Let us try it fast."

Chinglish is becoming a problem for major cities such as Beijing. In Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, the city authorities are clamping down on the usage of Chinglish and replacing it with proper English.^[1] Among other examples, signs that previously read: "To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty" may read, in proper English, "Caution - slippery path". Other notable examples include: "Oil gate" (accelerator), "confirming distance" (keep space, distance verification), and so on.^[2] ImageMetadata File history File links Saying_plum_candies. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Saying_plum_candies. ... Peking redirects here. ... (Redirected from 2008 Olympics) The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing in the Peoples Republic of China from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony to take place at 8 PM on August 8...

Chinglish can also prove to be a problem for Chinese companies attempting to market products overseas in English-speaking countries. Product labeling is commonly nonsensical or unintentionally humorous, either way not communicating the intended message.

A more sensible translation is "Everyone is responsible for protecting the greenery!"

"Burned Meat Biscuits" (BBQ flavored biscuits)

Image File history File links Burned_meat. ... Image File history File links Burned_meat. ...

"Welcome to"

One of the more noticeable cases of Chinglish, especially on mainland China, is the phrase welcome to. This is used as a direct translation in Chinese, "歡迎". It actually means "we invite you to" or "you are welcome to", and is used more as an incentive to the activity introduced or as a form of "thank you". Its use is almost always cordial, inviting, or otherwise positive. A more confusing matter arises with the usage of the phrase welcome again. The phrase is typically displayed in such a manner that it is seen at the end of activities such as bus rides or visits to bookstores, and would be translated as a message of thanks, and that the visitor is welcome back at any time. An equivalent phrase in English-speaking countries might be "Please come again." ...

Examples:

• Welcome to ride Line 52 Bus = Thank you for riding Bus Line 52.
• Welcome to ride Line 13 again = Thank you for riding Line 13, and we would be pleased to welcome you back aboard at any time.
• Welcome to take my taxi = Thank you for taking my taxi.
• Welcome to listen to my news = Thanks for tuning in!
• Welcome to use ATM service = (found very often on ATMs) means thanks for using this ATM.

You can use this variant too...

• Welcome to ride Line 52 Bus = You are welcome to ride Bus Line 52.
• Welcome to take my taxi = You are welcome to take my taxi.

A plaque in Zhouzhuang

An example of Engrish found in the city of Tokyo, Japan (taken by Zoltan Hawryluk) Image photoshopped for better legibility. ... An example of Engrish found in the city of Tokyo, Japan (taken by Zoltan Hawryluk) Image photoshopped for better legibility. ...

Chinglish in Taiwan

Chinglish is also quite prevalent in Taiwan. In Taiwan it is more often known as "台灣英文", literally "Taiwanese English" or mockingly "Formosan English". Characteristics of Taiwanese English always include answering questions in a very regulated style: This article is about the history, geography, and people of the island known as Taiwan. ...

"Do you like pizza?" "Yes, I do." "Do you like basketball?" "No, I don't."

There is also a well known parody song of the English alphabet going by the lines of "A B C D, dog bites pig (A, B, C,D 狗咬豬)" (with "dog bites pig" in Taiwanese) in Taiwan. For other uses, see Formosan languages, Taiwanese Mandarin, and Languages of Taiwan. ...

Chinglish phrases used by native English speakers

Long time no see is often attributed as an example of Chinglish being used by native English speakers. The phrase is said to have originated from 好耐冇見(喇)(Cantonese)/好久不見(了)(Mandarin). These Chinglish phrases were used by dock workers to greet sailors from overseas.

It began in the early 1900s when British and American warships and trading ships often stayed at Chinese docks, and through pidgin communications with dock workers, started to communicate in what is now known as Chinglish. The sailors used the phrase long time no see as a joke when they got home and somehow the phrase became widely used even in English-speaking countries. A more grammatically correct phrase of English should be I haven't seen you for a long time. This article is about simplified languages. ...

The phrase has also been said to originate from trade with American Indians. Similar seemingly grammatically "incorrect" phrases (such as "no pain, no gain") are common and native to English; thus "long time no see" may have been just a coincidence.

Examples of Chinglish expressions

This article does not cite any references or sources. (June 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Anti-Earthquake Memorial: actually an Earthquake Memorial

The following are some instances of Chinglish, along with a description of where they may be found and what they mean when correctly translated into English: (Additional examples can be found in a book. ^[2]) Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... ImageMetadata File history File links AntiEarthquakeMemorial. ...

Incorrect grammar

• To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty. (注意安全 坡道路滑) (Beijing) = Be careful, slippery slopes. ^[3]
• To put out Xuanda Expressway. To put in Jingzhang Expressway. (Xuanda Expressway) = Now leaving Xuanda Expressway, now entering Jingzhang Expressway.
• Declimbing path. (Jingzhang Expressway) = Descent.
• Rain or snow day. Bridge, slow-driving. (All expressways in Hebei) = Slow down when driving on the bridge during rain or snow.
• Oil gate. / Into. (4th Ring Road (Beijing)) = Filling station. / Entrance.
• Smoking is prohibited if you will be fined 50 yuan. = Smoking is prohibited. Violators are subject to a fine of 50 yuan.
• If you have trouble ask for the policeman. or If in trouble find police = In case of trouble, report to a police officer.
• Being urgent call 110 quickly. (Beijing) = During an emergency, call 1-1-0. (1-1-0 is the police hotline in China.)
• Complaining tel. (投诉电话 / 投訴電話) = Complaint hotline.
• When you leave car, please turn off door and window, take your valuable object = When leaving the car, be sure to lock the doors and windows, and take all valuables with you.
• Don't forget to take your thing. = Don't forget to take your personal belongings.
• Deformed man toilet. and Crippled restroom. = Public toilet for the disabled.
• Disabled Elevators= Elevator for handicapped people. (Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport formerly CKS Airport, Taipei)
• When you across hard you can ring TEL (number). = In case of an emergency, please call (number).
• Danger! Inhibition astraddle transgress. = Danger! No entry.
• X Bank Shaoguan Cent Company (某银行韶关分公司 / 某銀行韶關分公司) = X Bank Shaoguan Subsidiary
• Many Function Hall (多功能室) (Shanghai) - Multifunctional Hall
• We can't stand the sight of mattress fragrant grass = Don't step on the grass
• Convenient noodles (方便面 / 方便麵) = instant noodles, the Chinese name literally meaning "convenient noodles".
• Comic noodles = instant noodles used in Cantonese-speaking regions.
• China smoke wine & A Smoke a Wine(中国烟酒 / 中國煙酒) = Alcohol and tobacco store, Beijing
• Shopping's center = Shopping centre entrance in Beijing.
• Speaking cellphone strictly prohibited when thunderstorm - (Beijing) = The use of a cell phone during a thunderstorm is strictly prohibited.
• No entry in peacetime = Not for normal entry. Emergency Exit. (Beijing Capital International Airport)
• The too longer, too higher, overweight and the dangerous things are not allowed to be carried = Escalator, Xidan, Beijing = Objects that are too long, too tall, too heavy, as well as hazardous objects are not to be carried here.
• The older, the children, the deformities, the patients and the pregnant women should take the escalator with his guardian together. = Escalator warning, Xidan, Beijing = Seniors, children, the disabled, patients, as well as pregnant women should be accompanied by a guardian.
• Question Authority = If you have questions, please ask the official in charge.
• Extraordinary Door (非常门 / 非常門) = Emergency Exit. The confusion may result in a less-common usage of 非常, where it means "Emergency" (as in "非常时期") while normally it means "Extraordinary". Incidentally, this is the standard usage in Japanese. A less ambiguous term in Chinese for "Emergency Exit" would be 緊急出口.
• Protect Circumstance begin with me.(保护环境从我开始 / 保護環境從我開始) = Protecting the environment starts with me; an environmental protection slogan found on litter bins.
• Prevent Health Care Section (预防保健科 / 預防保健科) = Preventative Medicine -- a sign found in a hospital in Wuhan. The error stems from the slippery nature of word forms (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) in Chinese grammar.
• New Open (新开幕 / 新開幕); should be "Now Open". This is commonly seen in Taiwan outside newly opened businesses.
• Careful Landslip, Attention Security (小心地滑 注意安全) = Warning: Slippery Floor (for your own safety). (Jinan International Airport)
• Carefully meet (小心碰头 / 小心碰頭) = Watch your head. (Convenience store in Beijing) This is to warn customers not to hit their head on the low ceiling above stairways. The word 碰头 / 碰頭 in Chinese literally means to bump one's head, but also means to meet or to have a gathering.
• Cold, hot water in Normal = Alternating cold and hot water (in the showers) is normal. Sign in No.5 Guesthouse in Old Dali, Yunnan.
• Emergent Water = Water for flushing in case of faulty flush-tank. From a bucket in a toilet in Old Dali, Yunnan.

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• Welcome Next Time = Sign upon exiting the Cangshan Mountain Cablecar, Dali Old Town, Yunnan = You're welcome to visit us again.
• The City is Clean. The People are Happy = Do not litter, as written on the back of a bag of crisps, next to the common man-and-trashcan icon.
• Series High Foodstuff Choiceness Raw Material Produced, Meticulous Best Enjoyement, Good Taste Quality Guarantee, Agreeable to Taste Give, First Choice Treasure - Dopt Adyanced Technology Possess Chinese Flavour = Written on front of a packet of "Haochigaodian" cookies.
• The plot relates the Martian to invade the shocking circumstance of the Earth. Martian ratio the Earth person more prosper, the Octopus, is bigCan shoot the hot-line with the black smoke such as the bear, their weapon. The hot-line leaves to die to rise with destruction, black smoke over the places a cityRuins. The terrestrial arms and supplies explosive is all useless to them, battleship of an England armor although with their brace war. The result still change intoeses a regiment flames. Way that Martians has no reproductive organs, then the abruption breed to multiply greatly the posterity = Blurb on the back of a homemade pirated copy of "War of the Worlds".
• Ban the use for maintenance of equipment = Out of order pending repairs. On a toilet by the Great Wall, near Jinshanling.
• Site of Jumping Umbrella= Paragliding Site
• Please would paper chuck in wastebin Thank you! = In a public toilet in Shanghai = Please throw the toilet paper in to the wastebin. Thank you!
  

  

  Public toilet in Shanghai
• Racist Park = Ethnic Minorities Park
• Psychopaths not allowed to drive unaccompanied taxi = Mentally ill persons are not permitted to ride in taxis without a guardian. Notice in certain Shanghai taxis.
• Women have fits upstairs = Women's fitting rooms are upstairs.

Peking redirects here. ... The Xuanda Expressway (宣大高速公路, Hanyu Pinyin: Xuāndà Gāosù Gōnglù; Approximate Pronunciation: Shuen-Da Expressway), is an expressway in China which links Xuanhua in Hebei province with Datong in Shanxi province. ... The Jingzhang Expressway (京张高速公路, Hanyu Pinyin: Jīngzhāng Gāosù Gōnglù) is an expressway in China which links Beijing to Zhangjiakou. ... Hebei (Chinese: 河北; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hopeh) is a northern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Beijings 4th Ring Road (April 2003 image) Eastern 4th Ring Road (August 2004 image) The 4th Ring Road (Hanyu Pinyin: Si Huan Lu) is an express route ring road in Beijing, China which runs around the city approximately 8 kilometres from the centre of the city. ... Peking redirects here. ... Many countries public telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number, sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or occasionally the emergency services number, that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. ... Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (IATA: TPE, ICAO: RCTP) (Traditional Chinese: or ; Simplified Chinese: ; Tongyong Pinyin: Táiwan Táoyuán Gúojì JichÇŽng, Pinyin: Táiwān Táoyuán Gúojì JÄ«chÇŽng), formerly Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongjhèng... This article is about the city. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... Peking redirects here. ... Peking redirects here. ... Peking redirects here. ... Beijing Capital International Airport (SEHK: 694),(simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (IATA: PEK, ICAO: ZBAA) is the main international airport that serves the capital city of Beijing, Peoples Republic of China. ... Xidan in Beijing (July 2004 image) Xidan (西单) is home to a commercial district in Beijing. ... Peking redirects here. ... Xidan in Beijing (July 2004 image) Xidan (西单) is home to a commercial district in Beijing. ... Peking redirects here. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 243 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Engrish User:Benol Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 243 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Engrish User:Benol Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ...

Unusual phrases

• The visitor halts (游人止步) = Restricted area to visitors. Found at the Yonghe Temple (Beijing).
• Don't use it while stabilizing, Do not be occupying while stabilizing, No occupying while stabilizing = Do not use the toilet while the train is stopping at a station. (Train toilets).
• Do not throw urine around = A sign in the male toilets of Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai.
• Machine room is serious place. (机房重地 / 機房重地)= Engine room - Caution.(normally used for computer room)
• Visit in civilisation, pay attention to hygiene! (文明旅游，注意卫生！/ 文明旅遊，注意衛生！) = This is a message mainly aimed at locals and other people who would otherwise visit somewhere in a sloppy manner.
• To run business (营业中 / 營業中 [lit. "operating"] = commonly seen sign in mainland China and Taiwan) = Open.
• Drink tea (休息中 [lit. "resting"] = commonly seen sign in Taiwan) = Closed (during a break).
• Question Authority = Indicating information centre. Could be mistaken for a call to revolution.
• Fragrant fragile walnut meat biscuits = type of walnut cookie, made by Dali Group
• Burned meat biscuit = BBQ (meat) flavoured biscuit

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• Please Drive Correctly = traffic sign reminding people to obey the traffic rules
• Please Steek Gently = Please close door gently (关门 / 關門 is an entry in a Chinese-English dictionary yielding steek, archaic.)
• New Shipu Hotel = not a hotel but a restaurant. The confusion results from the Chinese word "饭店 / 飯店" which can mean both hotel and restaurant. Although alternative words are available to make the distinction, this word is often used by owners when naming their establishment.
• Welcome to our fine restaurant = sign in a hotel room (see note above)
• No gambling promote leagal entertainment = anti-gambling propaganda poster by the Beijing police.
• Small two pots of heads = Erguotou (二锅头 / 二鍋頭), a type of Baijiu, appearing on a menu inside Oriental Plaza, Beijing
• Deep fried ghost or deep fried devil and oil fried ghost (油炸鬼) = A literal translation of a name for Youtiao used in southern China.
• Xin Zhong Guo Kids Stuff = a toy and parenting store, Wangfujing, Beijing
• Bake the Cell Phone (烘手机 / 烘手機) = Hand dryer (a result of poor parsing)
• Kindly Treat the Virescence around in the Way Life is Treated = Treat the grass in the same way as you would treat life. "Virescence" is a rarely-seen word meaning "greenness." Found at Tiger Hill in Suzhou.
• Waiting Office = Waiting hall. Found at Zhongdian main bus terminal, Yunnan.
• Gentals = Toilet sign in a four star hotel, Beijing.
• Male man toilet = Toilet sign in main bus station, Beijing.
• Van Gogh Preferred Banking = Advertising slogan for branch of foreign bank, near the Bund, Shanghai. (Van Gogh was wretchedly poor for most of his adult life until his death).
• The Chain-Bridge runs East and West like a Rainbow = Sign pointing towards a chain-bridge near Jinshanling, on the Great Wall.
• Rubbish Receptacle = engraved on a stone lion garbage 'can' in Luoyang.
• Rear Service (后勤 / 後勤）= Administrative and Student Services, as appeared in Dalian Medical University web site
• Fuck the Certain Price of Goods (干货计价处 / 乾[幹]貨計價處) = A very poor translation of "Dry Goods Pricing Department" on a sign at supermarket in China. The merger of the traditional character for "dry" (乾) and the character meaning "to do" (幹), also commonly used to denote the vulgarity "fuck," into one single simplified character (干) likely led to this confusion. The characters comprising the word for "pricing" or "valuation" (计价 / 計價) can be translated separately as "certain" (计 / 計) and "price" (价 / 價).
• The Familiar Food Make Sures the Price (熟食计价处 / 熟食計價處) = A poor translation of "Cooked (Prepared) Foods Pricing Department" on a sign at the above supermarket in China. The word for "cooked" (熟) can also mean "familiar" in other contexts. As above, the characters comprising the word for "pricing" or "valuation" (计价 / 計價) can be translated separately as "make sure" (计 / 計) and "price" (价 / 價).
• After first under on, do riding with civility. (先下后上 文明乘车) = Sign in the Shanghai Metro advising passengers to let others disembark before boarding trains.
• You are enough(你已經說夠了) = That's enough

The Yonghe Temple (雍和宮), also known as the Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple, the Yonghe Lamasery, or - popularly - the Lama Temple is a temple and monastery of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism located in the northeastern part of Beijing, China. ... Peking redirects here. ... The Oriental Pearl Tower (Chinese: ; Pinyin: , Official Name: 东方明珠电视塔) is a TV tower in Shanghai, China. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1327 KB) Image taken by author of a sign on a door. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1327 KB) Image taken by author of a sign on a door. ... Peking redirects here. ... Baijiu (Chinese: 白酒; pinyin: ) or Shaojiu is potent Chinese alcohol. ... Peking redirects here. ... Pieces of Youtiao Youtiao (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: Yóutiáo; literally oil strip), sometimes called fried bread stick, is a long, golden-brown, deep fried strip of dough in Chinese cuisine and is usually eaten for breakfast. ... Wangfujing, looking south (August 2004 image) Night view of Wangfujing (July 2004 image) Wangfujing street (Simplified Chinese 王府井; Hanyu Pinyin: WángfÇ”jǐng DàjiÄ“) in Beijing is one of the Chinese capitals most famous shopping streets. ... Peking redirects here. ... As viewed from the entrance with the Huqiu Tower at the top Tiger Hill is a hill in Suzhou, in China. ... This article is about the city in Jiangsu. ... Dalian Medical University (大连医科大学) is a university in Dalian, Liaoning, China under the provincial government. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Shanghai Metro (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is an urban rapid transit system that serves the city of Shanghai by transporting around 1. ...

Invented words

• Haw a thick soup = Hawthorn (made by a Chengde company)
  

  "Unrecycling"
• The luxuring wireless remote controlling stretches out and draws back the door(豪华无线遥控伸缩门 / 豪華無綫遙控伸縮門) = "Deluxe Wireless Remote Controlled Retractable Gate"; Label found on an electronic retractable security gate in Beijing.
• No noising = No yelling (Beijing)
• Unrecycling = found on refuse containers for trash that is not recyclable.
• Me Nu = Menu
• Inner Clothes = Underwear
• Protect Environment, Saving Bumf (支持环保 节约用纸 / 支持環保 節約用紙) = Protect the Environment, use less paper. (Jinan International Airport)
• No Clambing = No climbing; this seems to be a combination of the words "to climb" and "to clamber." Found in Wuxi
• Beggage Claim = A typo for baggage claim at Shenzhen Airport.
• Eliot. = Toilet spelled backwards and missing a letter. Sign in old Lijiang close to the Black Dragon Pool.
• Wei Coʍe = Welcome. Spraypainted through stencils, using I instead of L and an upside-down M. Found in Tibet.
• Comprehensive Aominlspation = Unknown. Found on Emeishan, Sichuan.
• No Smorking = No Smoking. Found mostly in Beijing and environs.
• No Spritting = No Spitting. Found in the lobby of an apartment building in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong.

The Putuo Zongcheng ticket to the summer resort (1984) Chengde (Chinese: ; pinyin: Chéngdé; Manchu: Erdemu be aliha fu) is a city approximately one hundred miles northeast of Beijing in northeastern Hebei province, situated near the Luan River. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1632 × 1224 pixel, file size: 338 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A photo of a recycle bin in China. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1632 × 1224 pixel, file size: 338 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A photo of a recycle bin in China. ... Peking redirects here. ... Peking redirects here. ... This article is about Wuxi City (无锡市), Jiangsu Province, China. ... Baggage claim area at the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. ... Shenzhen Baoan International Airport or Huangtian Airport (IATA: SZX, ICAO: ZGSZ) is located in Huangtian Village, Baoan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Notes

1. ^ BBC News (15/10/06) - Beijing stamps out poor English
2. ^ ^{a b} Radtke, Oliver Lutz (2007). Chinglish Found in Translation. China: [1], 110. ISBN 10 1-4236-0335-4. 
3. ^ David Feng (July 2006). To Take Notice of Safe. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Engrish
• Hong Kong English
• Japlish
• Konglish
• Non-native pronunciations of English
• Singlish

An example of Engrish on a sign in Sasebo, Japan. ... For more background on this topic, see languages of Hong Kong. ... An example of Engrish noted in Tokyo in the year 2000 Engrish is a slang term which, in its purest form, refers to poor-quality attempts by professional Japanese writers to create English words and phrases; whether in mistranslation of an original English text, or in an attempt to create... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Non-native pronunciations of English result from the common linguistic phenomenon in which non-native users of any language tend to carry the intonation, phonological processes, and pronunciation rules from their mother tongue into their English speech. ... Singlish is an English-based creole language native to Singapore. ...

External links

• Chinglish.com Chinese-English dictionary
• The Chinglish Collection : Pocopico.com
• The Chinglish Files
• Engrish.com Chinglish Collection