Sammich

I found out something interesting in Chinese class the other day.  I’ve mentioned before how foreign words are either translated directly into Chinese by meaning, or transliterated by the sounds of the words themselves.  When they do a transliteration in this manner they often choose characters with specific meanings to impart an impression in the customer’s mind.  One example of this transliteration is Subway, the sandwich place. 

There is a word in Chinese for subway, dì tiě, which literally means “earth iron.” The sandwich chain, however, is sài bǎi wèi.  These three words mean “compete 100 taste.” In other words, a Subway sandwich is so delicious it can compete with 100 tastes.

I thought that was cool as hell.