By Zhen-Kang —

When good signage goes bad

The potentially offensive charm of Taiwanese typos…

A typo on an aisle marker sign at a Taiwanese supermarket. It reads “Instant Noodies”.
My favorite recent example. Photo: Zhen-Kang.

Something that delights me in Taiwan is the ubiquity of unconventional (or outright wrong) English. As someone who works with words, I find these quirky compositions open my mind to new ways of describing the world around me.

Like when I insert a coin into a parking machine, and its status changes to “Having dollars in machine”:

Close-up of a dot matrix display on a Taiwanese parking machine, which includes the English sentence “Having dollars in machine.”

My most recent favorite typo, though, undoubtedly, is the “Instant Noodies” section at my local supermarket:

A hanging aisle marker at a Prosperity Plaza supermarket in Taiwan. It is aisle number 62, labeled “Instant Noodies”.
Disappointingly, I saw only pasta.

I also enjoy, but don’t frequent, another supermarket’s “Adult Milk Powder” aisle:

A hanging aisle marker at a Prosperity Plaza supermarket in Taiwan. It reads “Adult Milk Powder”.

And I never pass up a visit to the “Cabbage/Dehumidifier” section:

A hanging aisle marker at a Prosperity Plaza supermarket in Taiwan. It is aisle number 39, labeled “Cabbage/Dehumidifier”.

But intriguing aisle names aren’t the only unexpected signs I’ve seen in Taiwan.

After all, there was that one time I literally saw God:

A large sans-serif illuminated sign that reads “God”, covering the second floor of a building that has floor-to-ceiling whisky advertisements in the first floor window.
The Chinese text roughly translates to “Trendy Music Bar”.

But English signage isn’t always unexpected or wrong. Sometimes, directly translated from Chinese, it’s simply unusually direct. And also wrong.

For example, there’s no doubt about what this shop sells:

A pet food shop sign that reads in English “Just food for pet”.

Nor what you can do HERE!!!:

A cartoon signpost on an exterior window, which reads “Take Photo HERE!!!” (with three exclamation points after “HERE”).

And—I could be wrong—but it may even be possible to buy alcohol at this place:

Low-resolution image of a business called “Booze”, taken from the far side of Love River in Kaohsiung.

Not every sign is so directly informative though. Sometimes, signage can be poetic—offering all sorts of philosophical guidance.

I, for one, appreciate the “Healthy and Beautiful Artist Nail Life”:

English sign above a building entrance that reads “Healthy and Beautiful Artist Nail Life”.

And the suggestion, at a real estate office which, so far as I could see, did not have a courtyard, to “DISCOVER SERENITY IN OUR COURTYARD”:

The words “DISCOVER SERENITY IN OUR COURTYARD” printed in upper-case on a real estate office window.

Or, when I’m in full blossom, being reminded to take root:

A cafe window with the sentence “Whenever in full blossom, don’t forget to take root” printed on the window.

And of course, when making daily, to “do one thing at a time, and do well”:

Close-up of a sign on a business which reads “MAKE DAILY / Do one thing at a time, and do well”.
Clearly, that one thing is not proofreading.

The choice of fonts can also foster ambiguity—potentially leading to disappointment for anyone who tries shopping at what appears to be the neighborhood “Homo Boutique”:

A business sign in cursive script which looks like it says “Homo Boutique”, but which on closer inspection actually says “Home Boutique”.
That second “o” is actually a dangerously cursive “e”.

Speaking of ambiguity, I wisely chose not to drop my clothing and allow this business to “take care of the rest”:

A business sign that says “SPA: Drop your clothing. We take care of the rest”.

Although at least, had I embarrassed myself, I could’ve found the affirmation I needed to carry on:

A comic book-style poster on a building which reads “Yeah! Let’s keep going!”

Meanwhile, I don’t even want to joke about this one:

Sign for a pet grooming business in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, called “Pet Girl Grooming”.

I’ll just join my life instead:

A pink scooter with Hello Kitty and the words “Join your life” printed on the side.

For a year and a half, I’ve been collecting such examples of amazing typos and unconventional grammar, along with examples of fun or clever typography in Taiwan.

These are all on my second Instagram page, @taiwantype.

I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.

Because, as we all know, “Love’s tongue is in the eyes”:

A postcard taped to a mirror at a traditional barbershop in Tainan City, Taiwan. It comprises photos of a man and woman standing in a field, with the heading “Love’s tongue is in the eyes”.
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