Mysterious sign in East Broadway Chinatown

September 8, 2012 12:32 PM

What is this mysterious sign written in a mix of what looks like Tibetan and Hangul in NYC's East Broadway Chinatown?

In the otherwise very Fuzhouese area on East Broadway just east of the Manhattan Bridge, there's a sign written in something that looks like Tibetan or another Brahmic script. Just below it is something that looks like Hangul. If it were Hangul, it reads "chi - gan".

The other signs in Chinese advertise medical and legal services located in the same building.

What does the sign say and what language is it?

posted by pravit to writing & language (3 answers total)

The Korean part, read "chi - kwa," is used to denote dental office or dentist.
posted by needled at 12:34 PM on September 8, 2012

The Tibetan is definitely Tibetan. With the aid of www.nithartha.org, I can give you the first line

stabs bde'i, "easy"/"convenient"
so sman, "tooth medicine"/"toothpaste"
khang, "shop"/center"

The second is probably just the address but I can't read all the letters reliably.
posted by doiheartwentyone at 4:29 PM on September 9, 2012

Who'd have thoughit, a Tibetan-Korean toothpaste store/dental office in East Broadway Chinatown! Bit more mundane than I'd been hoping but I'll take it!
Which leads to the question of why they advertise their services in Tibetan and Korean when there are very few of either in the area (that has to be the only Tibetan sign I've seen in the area if not all of NYC), but I guess that's a mystery for another day. Thanks for the answers!
posted by pravit at 6:03 PM on September 9, 2012