The full text of the sign reads:

Fug Captive Fish Or Firds
And Set Them Free Pool

Any guesses on what that means? Birds, not Firds, obviously, but the rest?

Apart from being a great example of Chinglish, it has a little extra significance for me as the photo was taken in Zhaoqing, where I lived for a year or so.

Also, I happen to think it’s a great photo – in black and white with the subject looking down at the sign.

This sign says: “If the train is on fire, please stand clear of the train”. And there I was thinking of jumping onto the burning train! I hope their trains aren’t on fire too often…

It seems this fine example of Chinglish comes from Hong Kong. Despite the fact that Hong Kong has traditional ties with England and English was the second language there before 1997, they are not immune to Chinglish! I’ve seen some fantastic examples there.

Although I enjoy posting examples of Chinglish, I prefer short memorable examples, rather than long blocks such as this. These are all to common in China and don’t do much for me. Maybe it’s something to do with my attention span!

However, I chose to feature this example because as well as the large dose of Chinglish, it also mentions Matteo Ricci (pronounced Richi). Who’s Matteo Ricci you ask? He was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary, who was the first person to introduce Christianity into China (in the 16th century).

How do I know this? Well, I used to live in Zhaoqing, where Matteo Ricci lived for 6 years (from 1583 to 1589). There are a few monuments / historic sites scattered throughout the city.

Also, Fr John Wotherspoon who was the head foreign teacher at the school I worked at in Zhaoqing, is a big fan and even has a Matteo Ricci website. Quite understandable, as John is also a Christian missionary working in China.

So I have a soft spot for Matteo Ricci too (and for Chinglish!).

The full text of the sign is as follows:

Spitting around, pissing and littering rubbishes like pericarp and wastepaper are strictly prohibited and are subject to a fine of RMB 50 Yuan

So that’s clear then. I understand the spitting part (although does that mean you can spit if it’s only in one direction?) and fair enough about the pissing, but what’s pericarp?

Good to see Chinglish alive and well!

One more photo of the Forbidden City: This one is an example of Chinglish. The sign reads “Relic Protected, No Scratch“! I guess the meaning is pretty clear from that, but it’s a pretty amusing choice of words…

Another example of Chinglish, following the previous example (Love Dirl, Love Goll). This one says Please Continue To Visit on an exit sign. They really don’t want you to leave!

Of course what they really mean is please visit again. It’s just a small mistake but it changes the entire meaning of the sign – and adds a little brightness to the day of native English speakers who see it.

This photo has now been removed from Flickr.

The t-shirt says “Love Dirl Love Goll“! What’s that! Maybe the D and G are the wrong way around? Should it say Love Girl Love Doll?

Anyway, it’s a fine example of the hilarious Chinglish you’ll see in China. Chinglish stands for Chinese English and some of the examples are just fantastic. You’ll see it all over China.

I’ve written about Chinglish before in a guest post as part of Snoskred’s Get out of your niche series.

Chinglish is slowly being eradicated, which is a great pity, as it really adds richness to life in China. I’ll be adding more ‘Chinglish‘ posts in the future.