Poster of recommended and forbidden words for Chinese store clerks
(UPDATE: Cory just told me he took this photo when he was in China!) Sign found in a clothing store in China that tells clerks what to say and what not to say to customers.
Recommended Words:Link
- What price are you willing to pay?
- Wonderful and it fits you perfectly!
- You have good taste. You have made a good choice.
Forbidden Words:
- You are crazy.
- Just go away.
- Stupid guys.
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"Forbidden words" numbers eight through ten don't have English translations. Could anybody who knows Chinese post what they say?
..but what do the forbidden eight, nine, and ten say?
#8 If you can't afford it, don't bother ask.
#9 Are you a man (or a pussy)?
#10 Just look at you (does not seem to be someone that can afford this).
No idea what the words say but here's a generic cantonese curse word everyone could use whenever.
POK GAI = literally means "go die in the street" but usually used in the sense of "fuck off" or bastard.
Use it to impress your friends and get beaten up by the triads.
My favourite on that list? "No Money, no touch."
Does that mean if there is money touching is allowed?
Funny coincidence: I actually shot that pic, or one very much like it, last week in Beijing. It's the Beijing Silk Market.
The best sign I saw on my recent trip to China and Japan: On a door to an outside smoking area
I don't understand #10, but Tian is right on with #8. I'd translate #9 as "You're really a man?"
The original post (http://blogs.24.com/ViewComments.aspx?mid=200a91ba-b3d4-40b2-b829-222dabc0cbb5&blogid=757ebc7c-22f2-4894-8bf7-ff449f941fdb) has a "Silk Street" logo (presumably from the Beijing market). But I'm a little confused, because the characters are traditional (as opposed to simplified) characters, which are rarely used in Mainland China. Is there a Silk Street in Taiwan?
JUST TAKE IT AND LEAVE ME ALONE!
lol
Micah,
#10 瞧你那德性! should be translated in English as "[Just] look at your attitude!"
I am also surprised to see the following phrase is not listed in the Forbidden Words:
買不買？ 不買拉倒，滾蛋！
Which means:
[Do you want to] buy or not? If not, go fuck off!
-Tian
Disclaimer: I maintain a website that keeps track of misuse of Chinese characters in the West.
www.hanzismatter.com
Like Micah says, this sign uses traditional characters, which generally aren't to be found in mainland China.
HAHAHAHA, I was told "you are crazy" or "you are ridiculous" every time I tried to haggle to a reasonable price at the fake market in Shanghai. I would leave the stand, they would literally drag me back, and I would get a good deal. After this psychologically exhausting haggling, the vendor would congratulate me on my admirable negotiating skills and profess their admiration for my stubborness in getting the cheapest price for my fake Gucci bag purchase, "you very good negotiator." Good times!
what do the eight, nine, and ten say?
I live in São Paulo, Brazil, and near my house there is a Chinese shop where you can find a sign that says: "If you break something, you will pay". I have a friend who dreams of winning in the lottery just to go there and break everything with a baseball bat.
I live in São Paulo, Brazil, and near my house there is a Chinese shop where you can find a sign that says: "If you break something, you will pay". I have a friend who dreams of winning in the lottery just to go there and break everything with a baseball bat.
What would be really funny is if the "Recommended Words" section gave substitutes for what you would normally say in "Forbidden Words". So that when you enter a store, they will greet you with "You are crazy!" If you ask how much something is, "No money, no talk!". Or #7 in response to "I'm not sure I should get this." "Just take it and leave me alone!"
That Japanese sign is the product of machine translation, I think, because it translated an honorific passive as a real, grammatical passive. The Japanese part basically says "To our customers who smoke: Smoking is prohibited inside; please use the smoking area outside." --It's in really polite Japanese, though, so I think it really tripped up the machine.
Here's a picture I took today of the plaque right next to the one in the post. It confirms the one in the post at least exist in the Beijing Silk Market (1st floor south entrance).
http://lu.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=177638&l=9320f&id=667511918
In my personal opinion this market has to be one of the most polyglot places in the world. I haggled in 4 languages myself and I heard at least 10 more.