Non obvious translation of the day

[anonymoose]

We have a long-running "word of the day" thread, in which people are posting interesting (and often obscure) vocabulary that they come across.

 

Inspired by a sign in a hotel, I thought I'd start a thread for non obvious translations, that people are welcome to contribute to in the same vein as the "word of the day" thread.

 

The essence of "non obvious translations" is phrases in Chinese or English that one may find difficult to translate succinctly because they require an entire rework of the sentence on a structural level going from one language to the other.

 

So to kick this off: as anyone who frequently stays in hotels will surely be familiar with, there is usually a slot in the room near the door in which you are supposed to put your key card to turn the room electricity on, as in the picture below.

 

 

I just found it interesting that "Insert card for power" is translated as 插卡取电. It's very easy to understand when you see it, but I would have probably been scratching my head wondering how to translate "for power" had the answer not been printed right there above the English.