Chinese characters can be read left to right, right to left, or top to bottom. This is the basis for the following Mandarin Chinese joke about a young woman on a bus.
This Mandarin Chinese joke will be presented in Chinese characters, followed by Pinyin Romanization, an English translation, and an explanation.
Traditional Characters
有一位小姐去搭公車，她不管到了哪一站她都站起來一下，為什麼呢？
因為她把「下一站停車」看成「車停站一下」啦！
Simplified Characters
有一位小姐去搭公车，他不管到了哪一站他都站起来一下，为什么呢？
因为他把「下一站停车」看成「车停站一下」啦！
Pinyin
Yǒu yī wèi xiǎojie qù dā gōng chē, tā bùguǎn dàole nǎ yī zhàn tā dōu zhàn qǐlai yīxià, wèi shénme ne?
Yīnwei tā bǎ “Xià yī zhàn tíngchē” kàn chéng “Chē tíng zhàn yīxià” la ！
English Translation
There is a young woman riding on a bus, and everytime the bus comes to a stop, she stands up. Why?
Because instead of reading the sign as “Stopping at the next bus stop”, she reads “When the bus stops, stand up”!
Explanation
When riding a bus in Taipei (and perhaps also in Chinese cities), you push a button to let the driver know you want off at the next stop. The button causes a sign to light up, which reads “下一站停車”. If these characters are read right to left, they mean “When the bus stops, stand up”.
