Hairdryer Sign in Chinese
Can you read it?
Read time: 4 minutes
Happy weekend!
Today we’ll break down a short hairdryer sign in Chinese I came across at the change room of a community pool.
Learning to read real signs like this propelled my Chinese reading because they are practical, digestible, and useful.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Listen & Read
Listen to the speaker reading out the sign and follow along with the characters & pinyin below. Listen to as many times as you like.
This may seem intimidating because you may not understand much initially, but don’t worry! This is to help you get used to the sounds. We’ll get into the translation in the next step.
Wèi wéihù gōnggòng shǐyòng quányì jí wèishēng
為維護公共使用權益及衛生
为维护公共使用权益及卫生
Qǐng wù jiāng chuīfēngjī shǐyòng yú tóufǎ yǐwài zhī bùwèi
請勿將吹風機使用於頭髮以外之部位
请勿将吹风机使用于头发以外之部位
Step 2: English Translations
Read the English translations and vocabulary list and check how much you understood.
Wèi wéihù gōnggòng shǐyòng quányì jí wèishēng
為維護公共使用權益及衛生
为维护公共使用权益及卫生
For health and hygiene,
Qǐng wù jiāng chuīfēngjī shǐyòng yú tóufǎ yǐwài zhī bùwèi
請勿將吹風機使用於頭髮以外之部位
请勿将吹风机使用于头发以外之部位
Only use hairdryer to blow dry hair, not other body parts.
Step 3: Repetition
Most people stop after reading the translation, but they miss the most important step: repetition. This will help you improve your reading and speaking.
Read the characters out loud with the pinyin. Focus on getting the correct tones. Go back to the original audio in Step 1 if you need to hear it again.
Wèi wéihù gōnggòng shǐyòng quányì jí wèishēng
為維護公共使用權益及衛生
为维护公共使用权益及卫生
Qǐng wù jiāng chuīfēngjī shǐyòng yú tóufǎ yǐwài zhī bùwèi
請勿將吹風機使用於頭髮以外之部位
请勿将吹风机使用于头发以外之部位
Step 4: Final Test
Bring things full circle and read the original text one more time without pinyin. This will prepare you for the real world.
How does it feel compared to when you first read it?
Congrats! You just read a real-world Chinese sign!
I used this simple but powerful 4-step method to help me get fluent in Mandarin, consume native content, and speak with locals confidently.
See you again next week for another real-world breakdown.
Vocabulary List
Never forget this vocabulary by downloading the full lesson with flashcards, native audio pronunciation to help your tones, and real video examples to learn how to practically use the vocabulary.
Some other ways I can help you:
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The Language Learner OS: If you keep forgetting vocabulary it’s not you, it’s your system. This is the all-in-one language system I built to stop myself from constantly falling behind while making learning fun and motivating.