I need a translation of the characters on this messenger bag – can anyone help?
UPDATE: I don’t have a photo of the characters unobstructed by the strap, but am adding a photo of the back, in case that helps… I’m interested in buying one of these bags, but don’t want to if it says something like "Pig dogs love Elvis and go to school in flannel pajamas." [Well, actually, I probably would want to buy that one, but you know what I mean.]
I could ask someone to help but some of the characters are being blocked by the handle. Do you have a better view of the bag? Just Email me.
Those are Cantonese written using Chinese characters.
My husband can read a few of the characters and he’s going to run it past one of his Chinese co-workers to make sure. From his preliminary reading the top characters are “mare” “cat” and the characters in the upper right are “Hong Kong.”
Sorry I can’t help, but good idea to ask – otherwise you might run into the same problem Cameron Diaz did when she carried a bag with a Maoist slogan to Peru:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=3311836
I asked a friend who asked her father and the literal translation is: Golden Silk Cat or perhaps meaning a very precious cat. I think the bag is safe to buy!
Hi, my mom Candace Hammond reads your blog, and asked me to help you translate it. In the right hand corner, it says xiang gang which means Hong Kong. The two characters that the top that are not obstructed by the strap says: da ma, which means hit mom, very odd. The last line the two characters says: mao si which means cat silk. The very last line appears to say: ju jia some character then hao then another character then an du/duo, ju jia means live at home, then the hao means good, and then an means peace and du/duo means more. The back of the bag the first big character is you, for oil, then it has the same characters as the front which means hit mom then the character after that is lao which means old. The next line with big enough characters are you feng mao si quan, you is oil, feng is wind, mao is cat, si is silk, and quan means all. So it is something about wind oil and all cat silk. Basically this bag means nothing in Chinese, although a very good conversation piece about wind oil and hitting old mom. I’m pretty sure that most of my translations are correct, all the characters are in traditional, so I had a little bit of trouble translating them. Enjoy your new bag!
I ran this past my Chinese coworker, and she said pretty much confirmed what Emma said. She said that the middle characters referred to a type of precious cat (like of the Persian variety), but she felt that most of the rest was nonsense (except for the little ‘Hong Kong’ in the upper right). She’s native Chinese but really didn’t get the bit about ‘hitting mom.’
Hi bumped into your blog and would love to help. Native Chinese in Hong Kong here ! The bag is probably from G.O.D. selling home accessories and apparel. Basically the top three characters refer to a brand of herbal oil for minor ailments used in the 60’s or 70’s. The bottom line refers to “pussy cat”, and underneath, “live in a better place and homey” and on the back there where a truck is shown, was the kind we used for moving homes (as in relocation). Just drop me an email if there is anything that I can help. A more than safe buy I would say, the shop has a name for using these oldies concepts into funky apparel.
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In 2005, Patti Digh started her blog, 37days, following the death of her stepfather who died just 37 days after being diagnosed with cancer. Six books about living mindfully followed. And there’s more to come.
