Chinese A-Z (3)

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'N' stands for Chinese 'No' Signs

For a sign to say "do not" something, usually means that the something is done very often. The sign acts as a reminder to people who do the bad act.

"Don't J-walk" / "Don't sabotage public property"


"Don't smoke in public areas" / "Don't spit on the floor"

"Respect old, love young, beautiful world" / "Sacrifice walks with me" / "Protect the environment"

There is another one which says: "送一片真情" ("Give a true heartfelt action"). Hahaha.

'O' stands for Chinese Old Man Park Karaoke

Karaoke station set up in a park for elderly people.

These men have vintage voices!

'P' stands for Chinese Parental Lock-Down

At a Chinese migrant school - school kids' parents locked down until 2:30pm on a Friday afternoon.

'Q' stands for Chinese Quarrellers

A quarrel starts from a trivial matter, and the matter being: 'Your tricycle cart can get through the metal pole barriers without banging'. Follow the story.

"Your tricycle cart can get thru the metal pole barriers without banging"

"No, the metal poles are too narrow."

"Get off. Let me show you how to do it."

Then this...

"Na wo qi gei ni kan ke yi ba?" Tussle tussle tussle. Ha.ha.ha.ha.

'R' stands for Chinese Rubbish Collectors

I'm quite sure that the people in white work for the restaurant next door.

At national park - uncle collecting rubbish with bare hands

'S' stands for Chinese Sticky Beaks

Police catch an illegal tricycle operator. A crowd gathers after 15 minutes of verbal exchange with the result of: the tricycle operator strongly refusing to go to the police station. Police used no force.

I have found Chinese people to be exactly like the people in Chinese ancient TV dramas, where when an argument, fight, or something unusual happens, people would make a encircle the situation and just stand there to watch. And throw in a few comments here and there as well! Such as: "Zhe ge ren ming ming bu dui" or "Zhen mei li mao" or "Dui, da ta! Da ta!" Maybe not the last one, but people love to gather to watch a good show. I like this characteristic. It's called "being open about interests".

'T' stands for Traditional Chinese Cat

At Yu Yuan, a famous garden in Shanghai - a Korean tour guide called this cat a "Traditional Chinese Cat", at which the Korean tourists ran up to the cat with "aaah aaah"s to take photos. For your information, this is an ordinary Chinese cat.

'U' stands for Chinese Upgrade Needer

A crowd gather on Nanjing East St outside Rolex to listen to a brilliant saxophonist playing on the balcony. Some people show appreciation, while others take out mobile phones and cameras to capture the music.

Hahahaha (!!!) at older uncle's video recording device.

'V' stands for Chinese Variety of Fishes

At a Japanese fish restaurant ("魚" means fish)

'W' stands for Chinese Warning Notices

No translation required. The basic message is to carry bags on the store side of the street while walking on the foot path.

'Y' stands for Chinese Youth Communism Uprising

Young Leader leads fellow grade two students in disciplinary exercises.



Observe the speed and ease of how the words roll off the tongues.

'Z' stands for Chinese Zoo

Entrance of a Chinese zoo.

The conversation at the ticket counter as below:

Sam: Ni men you shen me dong wu? (What animals do you have?)

Reception: Ni yao kan shen me dong wu? (Which animals do you want to see?)
Sam: You shen me dong wu? (What do you have to show?)
Reception: Hen duo zhong… li mian dou you. (Many types... we have all the animals)

Sam: (Face)

They had every animal in the zoo(!!)? I thought that was cute, because i was thinking of one of those big and slow-moving types.

Wish you enjoyed reading Sam's Chinese A-Z. There is much more content to write about. Visit me everyday.