Sign Language （間違っている英語の看板） Archives - Page 11 of 44

An Indecipherable Christmas!

Ever Moment Christmas

X Ever Moment Christmas

Tim says:

Apparently the writer of this sign wanted to say that this Christmas was a special moment. However, I had to stare at this sign for several moments, and I couldn’t find a way to read it as understandable English!

I’m still not sure exactly what the intended meaning was but here are a few ideas:

O A season of special moments O A Christmas to remember O An unforgettable Christmas

周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！

For stressed-out parents

Brood Pressure Gauje

X brood pressure gauje

Tim says:

This sign from a department store has two mistakes. Can you find them?

First, “brood” means 「一腹の子」. Usually it’s used when talking about animals, but sometimes for humans, so you could make a joke that this device can be used when your kids are putting pressure on you! Of course, the word they intended to write was “blood”.

Also, “gauje” is not an English word. They’ve misspelled “gauge” on this sign.

This device is called 「血圧計」 in Japanese.

O blood pressure gauge

Hope it’s extra happy!

Happy Merry Christmas!

X Happy Merry Christmas

Tim says:

Just like last week’s photo, this week’s features some repeating. “Happy” and “Merry” mean the same thing! It’s kind of strange to use them both together. I feel as if the writer was thinking of “Merry Christmas” as one thing, and wanted to wish us a happy “Merry Christmas”. But, for a native speaker, that doesn’t make any sense.

O Merry Christmas

A Significant Sign

Spacious space

X Spacious space

Tim says:

It’s not exactly an English mistake, but it sounds odd to use two different forms (in this case, an adjective and a noun) of the same word together in a sentence. Also, it’s a “tautology”: the word “spacious” implies that there is a lot of space, so there’s no need to use the word “space” (although “space” could mean an area of any size).

I suggest the following, which sounds better and is more descriptive:

O Spacious dining area

A Mysterious Generation

Beyond the Generation

X Beyond the Generation

Tim says:

What does this mean? 「世代の向こう」?? Does it mean they’ll make you look a generation younger? You’ll look the same age as your children? That’s my guess. Here’s a clearer way to say that:

O You’ll look 20 years younger!

By the way, “esthetic” is usually used as an adjective in English, not a noun! This is not “an esthetic”; it’s “an esthetic (or “aesthetic”) salon”.

A change is needed on this screen!

changes

X Changes

Tim says:

When “change” is used as a countable noun, it means 「変更」 or 「修正」. But on this currency exchange machine screen, the intended meaning is 「お釣り」, so it should be used as an uncountable noun.

O Change

It doesn’t make sence!

sence

X Spirits/Sence/Service

Tim says:

“Service” is no problem, but the other two are not correct.

“Spirits” (plural) often means 「蒸留酒」or else 「霊」. I don’t think this hair salon has any alcohol or ghosts in it! They should have used “spirit” （生気）as an uncountable noun.

Not only is “sense” spelled wrong; it’s also being used here in its Japanese meaning. It would be better in English to say “good taste” or “sophistication”.

O Spirit/Sophistication/Service

A Sad Sheep

glooming

X Glooming Lamb Room

Tim says:

“Gloom” means 「暗闇」and also can be used to mean “sadness”. It can be a verb but I’ve seldom heard it used that way. This sign should say “grooming” (身繕い); this is an L/R mistake.

I really am not sure why the word “Lamb” is on this sign. Is it because poodle hair looks a bit like wool on a lamb? Or is it another misspelling? If you have any ideas, please tell me!

Anyway, “Grooming Lamb Room” is also the wrong word order; this is better:

O Room for Grooming Lambs

Name formatting

Joseph S. Nye Jr.

X Joseph S. NYE, JR.

Tim says:

These men’s names are arranged so that their family names are in larger type on the second line. Or, at least that’s the intention. But the man in the middle does not have a family name of “S. Nye, Jr.”!

His family name is “Nye”. “S.” is the first letter of his middle name, Samuel — his “middle initial” — and should be on the first line, after “Joseph”. “Jr.” (which means “junior” — in other words, his father’s name was also “Joseph S. Nye”) should be after the family name, but in smaller type, since it is not part of the family name.

O Joseph S. NYE, Jr.

Which lady will it be?

Lady's Day/Men's Day

X Lady’s Day/Men’s Day

Tim says:

Can you see the mistake here? Men’s means belonging to many men, or all men; Lady’s means belonging to only one lady!

The correct plural possessive form is Ladies’, with an apostrophe after the “s”:

O Ladies’ Day/Men’s Day

Category: Sign Language （間違っている英語の看板）

An Indecipherable Christmas!

For stressed-out parents

Hope it’s extra happy!

A Significant Sign

A Mysterious Generation

A change is needed on this screen!

It doesn’t make sence!

A Sad Sheep

Name formatting

Which lady will it be?

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