How Come Female Cosmetic Brand Sound like Chinese Foul Words?

Last time when I was young, I learnt to pick up a few foul words because of bad influence. However, if my parents caught me scolding that, I would be in big trouble because usually they would be threatening to wash my mouth with soup water! Nowadays, it’s completely a different case; if any Chinese foul words accidentally slip out of one’s mouth, it might be the name of a famous cosmetic brand!

Years ago, when I was walking around the supermarket, i almost saluted the child who I thought was scolding her mother’s mother. I thought she was asking her mother to XXX up her mother, until I realized that she was just repeating a famous cosmetic brand name from Japan – Kanebo.

I don’t know the true meaning of the brand name but I do love the idea of ‘legalizing’ foul language into brand name. Imagine, I said this word when I was young, I don’t know whether I could be even speaking again (my parents wash my mouth with soup water, remember?).

I’m sure everyone heard of the Lancôme Paris, a prestigious cosmetics brand.

If the name was pronounced correctly, it sounded something like ‘land comb’; however if this brand name fell onto the mouth of a Chinese girl who don’t speak much English, then it would be a disaster! Once, I busted into laughter when I heard a Chinese girl asking her boyfriend to get her the facial product, “I would do anything for a ‘lan come’!” If I did not see that she was pointing at the product, I would have asked them to get a room! In hokkien, ‘lan’ actually means a male body part, and the pronunciation is different too. So, asking ‘it’ to come… you get what I’m trying to say. By the way, if it was said the over way round, there is a new set of meaning.

Last but not least, heard of this famous French brand?

I really don’t know how to pronounce the name, that’s why I never try to do so. Not that I am afraid to make mistake, but that my life would be in danger if I do so. Imagine I go to the perfume shop and said this “Hi, can I have a look at your ‘strange dick’?” I would be ended up in police station, because the only way I know to pronounce 'Guerlain' is ‘Guai Lan’ and what does that mean? Click here.

Hmm… I thought that it is hard to understand female, but it seemed harder to understand the name of their cosmetic products.