Have no the adult the child that look after with the old man prohibition against the next sea swimming

A set of rules on a Chinese beach, photographed by my dad, November 2005.

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Comments

filmgoerjuan says:

I think it would be easier to just not swim, period, ever again, than to try to figure out what these conditions are...yikes! :)
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

Sockeyed says:

It is indeed important to heed the warnings of the area travels the head office!
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

kristi_t says:

This belongs in this group:
www.flickr.com/groups/engrish/
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

hendriko says:

awesome
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

codeman38 says:

Wine empress is with the body? Whaa?

This is why automated word-for-word translation is not a good idea...
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

hellochris says:

This is indeed the most awesome sign in the history of english, engrish and chinese!
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

mr phillip says:

"The weather is abnormal"? Looks fine to me. Great shot, congrats to your Dad.
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

.eti says:

The area travels the head office.

this is Engrish Plus!
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

welovepandas says:

brilliant!
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

bethyb says:

But I love bottom sea swimming!!!
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

jmholloway says:

oh noes.
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

trey996 says:

All your "Rule of First Swimming Area" are belong to us.
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

pleverr@gmail.com says:

Rook! Godzirra!
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

nep says:

Do not mock our sign!
(signed) -- the area travels the head office
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

viru valge says:

Is the Chinese also as bad?
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

blatch says:

I wonder if it's legally binding.
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

imorgan73 says:

What do they have against bottoms?
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

It's all very well for us Anglos to sneer, but at least they're making an effort to accommodate English-speakers. How many of us can even begin to speak more than one language or even bother to translate our notices into other languages. And if we did, I wonder how good they would be? Yes, have a good laugh, but don't think you're superior.
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

Brimley says:

*heart*
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

torokun says:

Wow. Here's a quick literal translation:

1. Those who, after drinking wine don't feel well, may not go down to the ocean to swim.

(I would like to note here that they put in empress for 'after' because the communists simplified the character for 'after' to the same one as 'empress'. Many of these simplifications were poorly conceived.)

2. Those who do not bring/wear water safety devices may not go down to the ocean to swim.

3. Children without supervising adults and old people are strictly prohibited from going down to the ocean to swim.

4. Between 8pm and 8am it is strictly prohibited to go down to the ocean to swim.

5. Ocean swimmers must obey the direction of the lifeguard, and must swim within the designated area.

6. When the weather is unusual/abnormal, or when the waves are large or the water is flowing rapidly, it is strictly prohibited to go down to the ocean to swim.

7. Please be aware of the notice at the gate as to whether you may or may not go down to the ocean to swim.

Trevor Hill
www.glome.org
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

CthulhuSpitt says:

Number 6 sounds like a haiku.
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

Kara McNair says:

"It's all very well for us Anglos to sneer,"

... fun, too!
- Homer S
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

welborn says:

6.
When the weather's bad
or the waves are large or swift
swimming's not allowed
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

gnet2k4 says:

All your swim belong to us!
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

rorytait says:

I don't hear anyone sneering, I hear them laughing, because it's damn funny.

If I translated anything into Mandarin I expect it would also be hilarious.
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

zagu says:

and, now, a poem:

Have no--
the adult,
the child,
that look after/ with the old man--
prohibition
against the next
sea.

Swimming.
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

welborn says:

1.
Empress wine beguiles?
Emperor illness enslaves?
Say 'no' to the waves.
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

Alex Castro says:

this is the best engrish site i've ever seen
Posted 50 months ago. ( permalink )

goldenratio says:

ha! classic.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

etsn00 says:

wow, this is some half-a$$ translation.

for you "anglos", the "bottom sea," "next sea," and "descend the sea" are translated from the same two characters in chinese which means "to go down to the sea" (because you know, the water level is generally below ground level...). what i'm saying is, this is completely inconsistent.

i have no idea how this translation came about. some of them are translated like they fed it into some automatic translation service, but other parts look like someone gave it some thought. guy probably got paid for x number of hours and decided after x hours that that's all the effort he's gonna put in.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

jonbigelow says:

passepartout,

Name one other country where you can take your driving test, or hell VOTE, in 10+ different languages.

Get over yourself. It's funny.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

staglicious says:

passepartout --

dude...there's always someone like you around to ruin the fun. if they really were "making an effort" then you would assume that it would be at least somewhat coherent...

get over yourself
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

.eti says:

Passepartout, you don't really get the point of the pictures in the Engrish group. If we're not allowed to laugh anymore that would be pathetic. I hope the Chinese would also laugh at my first attempt to write anything in Chinese!
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

solarium_rider says:

I don't even want to know what the rules are like for the second swimming area.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

ddburg says:

What! You can no read/sympathise signage, engrish make from?
GOD, I've read too many translated manuals. I thought it was pretty plain.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

stosh machek says:

humor can be as elusive
as a good translation
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

recordkick says:

You have no chance to survive make your time.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

logicbomb says:

you win many engrish its too good thank baby
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

johnmaguire says:

you've been boingboinged, by the way
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

allenu says:

guh?
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

xiaming says:

Great! Please consider adding to Flickr pool Chinglish www.flickr.com/groups/chinglish/
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

Gail at Large says:

Whoa, getting BoingBoinged must've spiked your photostream views, too:

www.boingboing.net/2005/12/02/delightful_engr ish_o.html
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

kika_wong says:

Haha...what an "accurate" translation from Chinese to English...
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

Desiree S says:

Bwahahaha this is great. Made me laugh while sitting here alone. Someone in another room asked if I was ok. Agreed: You have no chance to survive, make your time!
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

pepinlachance2 says:

I think the intentions of the sign were pretty clear all in all, even if it was poorly translated at least they made the effort.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

e-man says:

As a professional translator myself, this just goes to show just how underrated this job is, the budget never stretches to include a pro translator...I've seen these kinds of signs in many other languages as well
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

Chiva Congelado says:

The funniest part is that I actually understood what it meant, and I've never learned Chinese. =)
Posted 44 months ago. ( permalink )

Voetmann says:

ROFL! Instant fav!
Posted 40 months ago. ( permalink )

Icefield says:

Lollol!!
下海游泳=Next sea swmming...
Posted 39 months ago. ( permalink )

billadler says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called 1-2-3 Signs, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 32 months ago. ( permalink )

rickyfan3956 says:

Bwahahaha....

All your base are belong to us!!!
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

EdavidC says:

wine empress?
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

mangosteen queen says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Bad translations -- mauvaises traductions -- traduzioni brutte, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Noct-NATE says:

This is ENGRISH!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

lopez4949™ says:

it gave me a headache. i will forever be bewildered.-lopez4949
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

rickyfan3956 says:

Ha ha! I put "Have no the adult the child that look after with the old man prohibition against the next sea swimming" into the translator at translate.google.com and had it translated into Chinese and then had the Chinese translated back into English, and this is what came out: "There is no adult to take care of children and the elderly to swim against the sea to the future"! Sounds like the caption to a very surreal dream or maybe to a Salvador Dali painting!
Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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Taken with a Kyocera Finecam SL300R.
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Taken on November 27, 2005
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Have no the adult the child that look after with the old man prohibition against the next sea swimming

Comments

filmgoerjuan says:

Sockeyed says:

kristi_t says:

hendriko says:

codeman38 says:

hellochris says:

mr phillip says:

.eti says:

welovepandas says:

bethyb says:

jmholloway says:

trey996 says:

pleverr@gmail.com says:

nep says:

viru valge says:

blatch says:

imorgan73 says:

passepartout says:

Brimley says:

torokun says:

CthulhuSpitt says:

Kara McNair says:

welborn says:

gnet2k4 says:

rorytait says:

zagu says:

welborn says:

Alex Castro says:

goldenratio says:

etsn00 says:

jonbigelow says:

staglicious says:

.eti says:

solarium_rider says:

ddburg says:

stosh machek says:

recordkick says:

logicbomb says:

johnmaguire says:

allenu says:

xiaming says:

Gail at Large says:

kika_wong says:

Desiree S says:

pepinlachance2 says:

e-man says:

Chiva Congelado says:

Voetmann says:

Icefield says:

billadler says:

rickyfan3956 says:

EdavidC says:

mangosteen queen says:

Noct-NATE says:

lopez4949™ says:

rickyfan3956 says:

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