Chinese food is China-nam-nam

Jens Skovgaard Andersen, editor

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Chinese food is China-nam-nam is written by Jens Skovgaard Andersen

Chinese food - dumps - food - china - china food - travel

Chinglish on the menu

Chinese is a very complicated language that one does not just learn in one morning. The same apparently applies to English - especially if you are in China.

Anyone who has traveled in China will have encountered confusing, incomprehensible or even howling beard translations into English. Often, however, one can guess a little ahead as to what the real meaning is, but sometimes there is simply too much distance between what stands and what should have stood.

I came across my latest Kinatur on a menu card that at least did not make me much wiser about what it was I got on the plate:

“Acidic beans in fleshy foam”

Uhh, I do not really know… It otherwise looks very good in the picture, I think, but the description pulls a little in a different direction.

“Wood must become meat”

So I do not think I have time to wait. And I actually also prefer that my meat on the plate comes from an animal.

“Later bacon”

Is it something that has been bacon? Or is it monstrous something that turns into bacon later? I'm generally a big fan of bacon, but then it has to be bacon now!

“The customer-gets-angry-sauce”

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Are you going to Australia? Beware!

Hmm, that's at least honest marketing if it fits. Judging from the picture, it otherwise does not seem that there is quite a lot of sauce - so maybe that is what the customer gets angry about.

“Listen to beer”

See, here's something you can understand. I have always listened to my beer, and I am sure that my beer also listens to me - even though we do not always speak exactly the same language…

Have you come across funny or crazy translations on your journey? So feel free to tell about them in the comments below

About the author

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Jens Skovgaard Andersen, editor

Jens is a happy traveler who has traveled to over 70 countries from Kyrgyzstan and China to Australia and Albania. Jens is educated in Chinese studies, has lived in China for 1½ years and is a member of De Berejstes Klub. He has extensive experience in the world of travel as a tour guide, lecturer, advisor, author and photographer. And, of course, most importantly: As a traveller.
Jens often looks for places where there is also the opportunity to watch a good football match in the company of other inveterate fans and has a particular fondness for the FREM football club, where he sits on the board.
For most people, it's obvious to look up to Jens (he's barely two meters tall), and he's a 14-time champion in the TV quiz Jeopardy, so if you can't find him out in the world or in a football stadium, you can you will probably find him touring the Copenhagen quiz environment.