Here's a quirky take on mobile translation apps, and there are sure to be others out there using symbols to get what you need.
As with many of these startup services, Symbolic was borne out of one traveller's frustration with not being able to make himself understood whilst in Shanghai.
So, he (Remi Guerineau) set about developing a mobile app which could do the job for him.
It already features more than 3,000 symbols across a number of categories including health, food, travel and clothing and is available in five languages.
There are also plans to add more symbols as well as introduce an iPad app.
Here's a clip:
Symbolic App - World visual kit from Symbolic App on Vimeo.