# It's all Chinese to me -any translators? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126 "2015-05-15T18:23:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126/1 "2015-05-15T18:23:59Z")
I feel so lame, I have a mug with I believe Chinese logograms on it and have wondered for ages what it says. So I thought I’d be clever and take photos of the mug and them upload them through a Google Image search, but I get no useful results that way. I don’t know any good humored Chinese speakers in my life so I’m admitting defeat. This is my last ditch effort to know what this mug says. If there are no takers, then I guess I give-up, at least for another couple of years. First logogram [HERE](http://tinypic.com/r/jheg5d/8) Second one [HERE](http://tinypic.com/r/2i6jg92/8) And final one [HERE](http://tinypic.com/r/2u6dzbc/8) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126/2 "2015-05-15T18:54:59Z")
That looks more Japanese to me, however know nothing about Chinese or Japanese languages. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126/3 "2015-05-15T19:06:56Z")
They could be Chinese characters or Japanese Kanji – they’re almost identical. It’s been many years since I studied Chinese, and these characters are written in a calligraphic style that makes it difficult for me to identify the radicals composing the characters. Notice the left sided radicals in photos 2 and 3 are identical. I don’t have my dictionary or any Chinese friends at hand so I can’t identify them. But I’ll keep working on it. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126/4 "2015-05-15T19:35:00Z")
the first one means “long life” - so says my Chinese cow-orker. ---
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126/5 "2015-05-15T19:44:32Z")
I’m really grateful for so many taking my post seriously. Thank you for your consideration and effort. ---
**Author:** ![sundog66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@sundog66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sundog66)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126/6 "2015-05-15T20:38:54Z")
It looks to me like we’ve got a _fu_, a _lu_, and a _shou_. See here: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu\_Lu\_Shou](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu_Lu_Shou) ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126/7 "2015-05-15T20:51:39Z")
Right on, sundawg! I recognized parts of the characters but not enough to be able to look them up in my old dictionary (# of strokes) or new dictionary (by radical). ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126/8 "2015-05-16T15:58:16Z")
As a Chinese speaker, sundog nailed it. They’re very common symbols in Chinese. I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up in Japanese culture as well; there’s a great deal of overlap between the two and they even named a minor deity after those characters: [Fukurokuju - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukurokuju) PS - You can just call them “characters” 😉 “Logogram” makes them sound crazy ancient. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-chinese-to-me-any-translators/720126/9 "2015-05-16T17:42:38Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > Right on, sundawg! I recognized parts of the characters but not enough to be able to look them up in my old dictionary (# of strokes) or new dictionary (by radical). I recommend you use a [newer type of dictionary](http://classic.jisho.org/kanji/) ([SKIP](http://www.kanji.org/kanji/dictionaries/features/skip.htm) system); click on Codes, scroll to SKIP code in the pull down menu.