Wrong Country, Avril Lavigne

My pal Randall from Hong Kong emails me:

"Hey Tian! Avril Lavigne was recently promoting in Hong Kong for an one-night show. She obviously had help from someone with a magic marker. Thought you'd be interested to see it. Cheers."

I don't know whether it was the newspaper's mistake or Ms. Lavigne's PR people's carelessness, the phrase 日本最高 on Ms. Lavigne was correctly written, but for a WRONG country.

日本 = Japan
最 = most, extremely, exceedingly
高 = high, tall; lofty, elevated

日本 【にほん】 (n) Japan
最高 【さいこう】 (adj-na,n) highest; supreme; the most

It is translated as "Japan is the best".

This also reminds me singer Alanis Morissette has blamed the effects of alcohol for telling an audience at the end of a show in Peru "thank you Brazil".

Update: Randall emails:


avrillavigne_rebenzhuigao3.jpg

"That image must have been taken in Japan, which means the "tattoo" made sense. However using it in a paper which Chinese might read (the paper is mostly geared towards English speakers), to promote a Hong Kong concert, still leads me to wonder whether it was such a great idea."

Source: HK Magazine, March 25, 2005.