"Common Fat Dragon?" — Tourist's Funny Misinterpretation Of KLIA Announcements Goes Viral
The netizen asked, "What does 'pu long pang' (普龙胖) mean?"
By Yap Wan Xiang — 19 Feb 2025, 02:13 PM
Malaysians were amused by a Chinese tourist who sought help after repeatedly hearing a phrase she thought meant "common fat dragon" in KLIA's airport announcements
In a Xiaohongshu post published in December last year, Mia shared her experience of repeatedly hearing the phrase "pu long pang" (普龙胖) and wondered what it meant.
The phrase does not mean anything in Mandarin, but can be loosely translated to "common fat dragon" based on the individual characters.
Translation: What does the constantly repeating KLIA announcement "pu long pang, pu long pang" mean?
Image via 辣子鸡丁Mia线 (Xiaohongshu)Her question quickly went viral, garnering over 1,200 comments on the platform and amusing thousands of Malaysians
"It actually is 'penumpang', meaning 'passenger'," explained the top comment.
"Sorry, I laughed so hard. I really don't get 'pu long pang'," read a reply to the comment.
Other Chinese netizens took the opportunity to ask about other Malay words that they often hear in public announcements
"Also what do 'Duanduan' (端端, loosely translated to 'straight straight') and 'Banban' (办办, loosely translated to 'do do') mean?" asked a Chinese national.
A Malaysian then explained the phrases are 'tuan-tuan' and 'puan-puan', or 'gentlemen' and 'ladies' in English.
One netizen asked what 'dai ni ma kan si' (带你妈看戏, translated as 'bring your mum to the theatre') means, to which another person explained that the announcement was actually of the BM words 'terima kasih', or 'thank you' in English.
"On Singapore subways, you often hear 'be happy happy'," a netizen wrote, and a local explained that it's actually 'berhati-hati', or 'be careful' in English.
This humorous exchange highlights the challenges of understanding different languages and the amusement that can arise from misunderstandings.
