Poorly translated English signs in China (a.k.a. “Chinglish”) make for some funny bathroom humor and epic translation fails!
If you’re looking for some good ‘ol Chinese “potty humor”, you won’t be disappointed by these poorly-translated bathroom signs.
Believe it or not, these types of translation errors can be found everywhere in China, not just the bathrooms.
You’d think that at some point somebody in China would say “You know, we have tons of foreigners living and working here in China…perhaps we should ask them how they would translate this?”
But nope. They don’t. They just translate however they darn well please. As if toilets in China weren’t interesting enough, they had to make the signs weird too. The translations they come up with are, well…
…interesting to say the least. Check it out.
1. Women Really are “Pests”
I heard that whoever was translating this sign had recently had a fight with their girlfriend. Gotta get rid of those pests!
2. Male + Female = “Fale”
Worker: Hey boss, the sign doesn’t have enough room to write “female toilet”. What should I do?
Boss: No worries. Just combine “Male” and “Female” to create a new word “Fale” and people will understand what you mean.
3. I Don’t Want What He’s Delivering
My friend is a mailman. I mean, he’s also a “maleman”, but I didn’t know there was any other kind of man to choose from.
4. What is He Doing in There??
Honestly, I didn’t want to know what he was doing in there to begin with. Now? I’m petrified.
5. It’s a Stall, Not a Stable
Although I guess if you think about it, the stalls in a Chinese bathroom can look very similar to a horse stable. Yikes.
6. Would This Sign Be a “Stool Sample”?
This is one of those times when having two meanings of a word in English can come back to bite you. In this case, we’re confused with “stool” as a seat and “stool” as a…well, you know.
7. Keep an Eye Out for Hygiene
“…because if you find it, report it to us immediately. We will have none of that here in our Chinese bathrooms!!!”
8. No #2 in HERE!
We will NOT tolerate anything other than urinating in this room! Take that sh#t elsewhere.
9. But What if You Have a Strong Urge?
Those who may feel strongly about using the bathroom need to look elsewhere. According to this poorly translated Chinglish sign in a Chinese bathroom, only the weak need sit here.
10. When a Translation is Literally “Bad”
Apparently the translator of this China bathroom sign knew that this bathroom was particularly bad. Either that, or he didn’t realize that the graphic was a wheelchair.
11. Where Deformed Men Go to Die
China is notoriously bad about its treatment of handicapped people, but this just goes a little too far, don’t you think?
12. You See, This Means…Whaaaa?
Most poorly translated Chinese signs that we refer to as “Chinglish” are at least understandable. I mean, you know where they were coming from.
This guy? Whoah…I’m pretty sure he was drunk off his butt when he translated this.
13. The Real Cause of Hemorrhoids
Now you know. Honestly, I know a few people who would like to install a sign like this in their own bathrooms for their spouses to see!
14. Don’t Srit, Please
Seriously, sritting is a really bad habit.
In this case, I’m actually grateful for the graphic. Otherwise, I might have mistaken the “r” in srit to supposed to have been an “h”. And that would have just been wrong!
15. Oh, What Fresh Air!
Nobody’s quite sure what this translator meant. Anybody who has been anywhere near a public Chinese bathroom knows that there is no such thing as “fresh air” within 500 meters of that place.
16. China Loves the Word “Civilized”
It’s true. If you see enough translated signs in China, you’ll see that they love the word civilized. And they want everything to be civilized.
Are you walking? Walk civilized. Are you peeing? For goodness sake, just be civilized about it, won’t you!?
17. “One half step for man…”
…one giant leap for civilized mankind.
Again, that word civilized. In this case, all you need to do is precede half a step (whatever the heck that means) in order to be civilized.
18. So What Are You Supposed to Do Here?
You have to wonder, if you can urinate or defecate in a bathroom…what are you supposed to be doing anyway?
And another thing: you gotta wonder just how bored the Chinese police are in this city that they would show up about a bathroom call.
More Great Chinglish Signs
If these crappy translations on Chinese signs weren’t funny enough, check out even more great Chinglish signs to keep you laughing!
