What are some entertaining literal translations?

[vellocet]

I'm making a pub quiz with entertaining literal translations from Chinese.  The question will be the literal translation, and the contestants have to answer with the colloquial English word or phrase.  For example: 

 

Giant bear cat. Panda
Five flower meat. Bacon or pork belly

Anti-Japanese war.  WWII or Sino-Japanese war
Add oil. A cheer for a team to win

 

...and so on.  Anyone got any to add?  I'm trying to come up with at least ten questions.  Nothing too weird, most of them no speeko so good, and please no chengyu.  Hopefully even if they don't know it, they can guess.  Like the panda one, even if you don't know 大熊猫 you might be able to infer the correct meaning just with a guess.  It's all in fun!

[889]

San Francisco 旧金山

Vientiane 万象

France 法国

Movie 电影

HSR 高铁

Ketchup 番茄醬

 

Stewardess 航空小姐

Elvis 猫王

Volleyball 排球

Mobile 手机

White House 白宫

Jealousy 紅眼病

[dakonglong]

My favorite is 猫头鹰, or "cat head eagle" for owl.

[Jan Finster]

热气球 hot steam ball - hot air ballon

田鸡 field chicken - frog

火车 fire car: train

 

And the most important for the purpose:

冷 知识 cold knowledge = trivia

三头六臂 Superhuman; lit. to have three heads and six arms · to be extremely talented (idiom)

[Publius]

长颈鹿 long neck deer => giraffe

树袋熊 tree pouch bear => koala

鸭嘴兽 duck beak beast => platypus

潜水艇 dive water boat => submarine

吸尘器 suck dust device => vacuum cleaner

口香糖 mouth fragrant candy => chewing gum

一氧化二氢 dihydrogen monoxide => water

怎么是你 how are you ???

怎么老是你 how old are you ???

 

 

 

[TaxiAsh]

On 3/13/2022 at 6:27 PM, vellocet said:

I'm making a pub quiz with entertaining literal translations from Chinese.  The question will be the literal translation, and the contestants have to answer with the colloquial English word or phrase.  For example: 

Great idea!! (though since you are in China, I'm not sure what the audience is 

 

I've actually learned a few new words just from this thread. I do actually find it easier to remember words this way (certainly until used them a few times) - frog is good example here, I definitely will remember this one. 

 

From my list of 外来词 I'll pick a few I like... (though I'm not sure they work unless you read the Chinese words ?) might a clue, like toy / furniture store / cars

oh well

 

Happy height - lego 乐高

Good house - IKEA 宜家

Treasured horse - BMW 宝马

free horse roaming - Mercedes 奔驰

Guarantee time prompt - Porsche 保时捷

 

Perhaps start with the obvious - you good for hello. 你好 （if english, everyone knows nihao!)

 

 

Edited March 13, 2022 at 10:46 PM by TaxiAsh
added for clarity

[大块头]

树懒 tree lazy (sloth)

挖土机 dig dirt machine (excavator)

导火线 lead fire cord (fuse)

路虎 road tiger (Range Rover)

爆炸头 explosion head (afro)

[abcdefg]

On 3/13/2022 at 1:44 PM, 889 said:

Stewardess 航空小姐

 

I usually hear 空姐  for that. (Perhaps I'm misunderstanding how the quiz works.)

 

The terms 小便 and 大便 might be used somehow in fun, not sure exactly how.  

[TaxiAsh]

On 3/14/2022 at 2:14 AM, abcdefg said:

The terms 小便 and 大便 might be used somehow in fun, not sure exactly how.  

haha!

I didn't know these!

 

I wonder if is similar to English 'Number 1 or Number 2s'

 

 

[abcdefg]

On 3/13/2022 at 9:51 PM, TaxiAsh said:

I wonder if is similar to English 'Number 1 or Number 2s'

 

Yes, exactly. Lots of small restaurants and retail shops display a prominent sign in the toilet reminding guests that their squat toilet 蹲厕所 is only for number one 小便 and that 大便 is forbidden due to plumbing limitations. 

 

       

[billymills]

树懒 tree sluggish (sloth)

挖土机 dig soil machine (backhoe)

导火线 lead fire string (intertwine)

路虎 street tiger (Range Rover)

爆炸头 blast head (afro).

[abcdefg]

On 3/14/2022 at 6:42 AM, billymills said:

挖土机 dig soil machine (backhoe)

 

I usually hear 挖机 for that. 

[Jan Finster]

On 3/14/2022 at 8:32 AM, abcdefg said:

Yes, exactly. Lots of small restaurants and retail shops display a prominent sign in the toilet reminding guests that their squat toilet 蹲厕所 is only for number one 小便 and that 大便 is forbidden due to plumbing limitations

 

So, some restaurants have no place for 大便??? Surely, some customers have no choice (after a spicy meal?)

[大块头]

It goes the other way too. My wife asked me to pick up a jar of "old dry mother" (老干妈) at the grocery store this week.

[imron]

On 3/14/2022 at 1:51 PM, TaxiAsh said:

I wonder if is similar to English 'Number 1 or Number 2s'

Not quite. In English these phrases are quite childish, but I don’t think the same is true of 大便、小便

[abcdefg]

On 3/14/2022 at 12:46 PM, Jan Finster said:

So, some restaurants have no place for 大便??? Surely, some customers have no choice (after a spicy meal

 

Yes, it can be inconvenient. 

[imron]

On 3/15/2022 at 12:17 PM, abcdefg said:

it can be inconvenient

…不便 ?

[EnergyReaper]

Now that we've already had 挖土机 posted above, I'd like to give 推土机 push soil machine (Bulldozer) and 铲土机 shovel soil machine (front-end loader)

拖拉机 drag pull machine (tractor)

救护车 save escort vehicle (ambulance)

[vellocet]

Thanks for all the suggestions!  This will be a great category.  I even added the old saw, grass-mud-horse, just so people can get one right.  ?

[amytheorangutan]

I feel like it would be a missed opportunity not to mention:

 

- 袋鼠 - bag rat - kangaroo

- 告密者 - tell secret people - informer

- 滅口 - destroy mouth - do away with a witness or accomplice 

 

learned the last 2 above from 風起洛陽 never came across them before but guessed the meaning. 
 

- 外星人 - outer star people - alien

- 極簡主義 - extreme simple ideology - minimalist