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A slogan t-shirt is a must-have in any wardrobe. Wearing one is an excellent way to make a statement, tell a joke, advertise a product or celebrate your favorite band without actually saying anything! Some slogan shirts have become all-time icons, including “I 'Heart' NY” and “Keep Calm And Carry On.”
But what if the scribble on the t-shirt makes zero sense? Well, the chances are it ends up on this very entertaining and utterly hilarious Twitter page called “Poorly Translated Shirts.”
With 187k followers, the account is dedicated to sharing the most random collection of shirts that were “lost in translation, found across the world.” Below we selected some of the best ones so pull your seat closer, everyone!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
gotham-panda 3 years ago
Is this poorly translated or a cry for help from the garment factory?
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 3 years ago
This feels like a cry for help from the garment factory worker...
Christina B 3 years ago
This is not lost in translation - it's just straight up FACT no matter where you live
Rharah-The-Tired-Artist 3 years ago
i feel the same. no moneh. still gotta pay those student loans
RELATED:
#2
Carole 3 years ago
Yeah, looks very intentional to me, specially since the image illustrates exactly what it says.
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Anonymouse 3 years ago
Okay, not gonna lie, this made me crack up (with snorting and everything) during quiet work time in eighth period in school. Bored Panda will be the death of me. :)
#3
Scott T Brynildsen 3 years ago
He's actually a really great guy. My dad knew him when he was still alive and Joe would take the same train home every night to tuck his children in because he'd lost his family. He has many degrees and is ridiculously smart, the problem is his brain is working so fast his words don't always keep up with his thoughts... good thing you're so slow and have to talk s**t on the internet like a twelve year old girl. Must be nice for you to be able to hide on the internet instead of feeling the pressure from being of the most powerful person on the planet. Maybe show some respect, kid.
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Beverly 3 years ago
It is. It displays all the usual MAGA wittiness; i.e. none.
Load More Replies... Amanda Rose 3 years ago
Which vegetables are we talking about here? A girl needs to plan her dream home.
Kurtis Karr 3 years ago
From an old pic of the slogan on the back of a suspicious-looking van.
Adam Francis 3 years ago
"Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids." – Joe Biden
Today, no real fashionista can imagine their wardrobe without one, two, or too many slogan t-shirts. This very casual piece of clothing has been allowing people to subtly send messages since as far back as the 1960s, so it’s not a modern invention of hipster-powered wear.
According to Harper’s Bazaar, the trend of slogan t-shirts began in the 1960s when a shop called Mr Freedom on King's Road in Chelsea sold Disney-inspired slogan tees. British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood took this trend a step further the next decade with politically motivated t-shirts.
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Heidi Illum 3 years ago
Hahahaha, reminds me of when my daughter was 3 or 4 and asked me, if I knew elephants like penis. Nope........... can't say I do!
However, only in the 1980s did the slogan tee really come into the spotlight with English designer Katharine Hamnett's infamous politically charged t-shirts.
"That T-shirt gave me a voice," Hamnett recounted of the iconic moment she shook hands with then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher while wearing a t-shirt that read '58% don't want Pershing', an anti-nuclear statement. Hamnett's t-shirts became instant hit among the crowds and they were copied everywhere.
Today, slogan t-shirts are still a must-have staple. Many fashion brands, including luxury fashion houses like Dior and Saint Laurent, are creating their own versions of the t-shirt.
#8
Your Neighborhood Alien 3 years ago
Reminds me of one of the best Bowie songs, "Little Fat Man": https://youtu.be/kg7cCvojz2k
#9
Emma Kilcup 3 years ago
These aren't translation fails, these are everyday words where I come from!
Meanwhile, poorly translated shirts subvert the idea of carrying a message on a shirt by deliberately not making a lot of sense. Poorly Translated Shirts is part of the Good Shirts project, which began as an Instagram account documenting the strange and fascinating shirts its creator found in Hanoi, Vietnam.
“While living in Hanoi, I became obsessed with these strange shirts that bore corrupted versions of famous company logos, misjointed platitudes or complete nonsense text vomited all over a T-shirt,” the creator explains on the Good Shirts website.
#10
gotham-panda 3 years ago
This one doesn't seem like a mistranslation. But the meme referenced might make it in poor taste.
#11
swasti mukti 3 years ago
Exactly what i'm gonna say if i ever try surfing..seconds before i drown 😂
#12
Do-nut touch da donut 3 years ago
To anyone who wants to know wht they meant to translate... its supposed ta say " buy a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime"
* ~ l a s a n y a ~ * 2 years ago
Give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime...I like this shirt better
According to the description, they sought them out at every marketplace like a thrifter searching for a hidden gem, though the gems they desired were not typically beautiful, but strange and rife with mistakes.
“Still, there was an accidental beauty to the shirts I found, something profound and hilarious-without-trying. Over time, as the Instagram page grew and as submissions poured in from all across the world, the theme of the account began to change to a more all-encompassing fun T-shirt enthusiasm. Today, I post shirts that, accidentally or on-purpose, make me laugh.”
#13
Robert T 3 years ago
It wasn't me, and it wasn't my grandma either, especially not banging on the bathroom floor!
Stephanie Paich 3 years ago
I feel like this is a little kid's shirt. There's nothing wrong with the message on it.
Dagnirath 3 years ago
Reminds me of a shirt I had when I was little. It said "Whatever it is I didn't do it" and had a stick figure kid with something all over it's mouth.
#15
Pumpkin Spice 3 years ago
You should probably put a /s by this to tell some of the more...righteous Pandas that you're joking.
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The Twitter page of Poorly Translated Shirts is home to 187.9k followers who come in for a daily fix, and it seems like the account’s audience is still growing. It’s easy to see people’s fascination with absurdity in such a mundane form like a t-shirt. Both rich in history and totally without, these poorly translated shirts speak to the audience who don’t expect much except hilarity itself.
#16
Buren 3 years ago
I want to print this on paper and slip it under my nrighbors' doors to give them something to wonder about for the next three weeks.
Headless Roach 3 years ago
After the 3 weeks ask them casually if they are getting the same messages from 5A lady too (or whatever number doesn't exist in your building)
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#17
Headless Roach 3 years ago
You just saved me 2 weeks, don't know how to thank you.
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#19
Stephanie Paich 3 years ago
I remember the days before I had a job and could read a boot surf and dance seep all day.
#21
#22
Stacy Jones 3 years ago
I wonder if the original intention was for it to say "Asexual | Aquatic | Apathetic | Affluent." Still a weird motto for a shirt, but at least they all start with A.
#23
Mark Wilson 3 years ago
I hope this is the UK meaning of pants... trousers should stay visible please
BAN CAPITAL LETTERS 3 years ago
yep; it says "knowledge is like underpants, you can't see it but it's very important"
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Edda Kamphues 3 years ago
Wait a sec ... until I find my invisible pants and get promptly fired.
#24
Augie Chapin 3 years ago
horny men don't look at small tits? is that what you saying without saying?
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#25
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Stefaan De Clerck 3 years ago
Rather Bob Marley ft. the Dubliners ... or Bob Marley ft. Metallica ;-)
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#30
Billy Harrelson 3 years ago
Yeah, the Meats didn't do too well and got beaten by the PartyTrays.
Natalie Kelsey 3 years ago
My son works in the meat department of a grocery store, this would be a fun shirt for him. Or my smoker/bbq obsessed father and brothers in law
#31
Your Local Slytherin 3 years ago
"Hosre, this says hosre, if we wanted to spell horse we would have,"
#32
still tired 3 years ago
Translation : Why be racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic when you could just (be / buy) (not sure about ouets, anyone have an idea what that means?)
Kurtis Karr 3 years ago
"Why be racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic when you could just be quiet?"
Ella Saylor 3 years ago
Why be racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic when you could just buy outfits
ThatBiBookLover 3 years ago
Why be racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic when you could just buy outlets? 🤣😭
#33
UncleRussian 3 years ago
Ah yes I remember the episode where Ponge Bob went to take back the holy land
#34
mark glass 3 years ago
The only way to disappear while wearing that is at a Mary Kay convention.
#35
Joshua David 3 years ago (edited)
Hims is an easy way to treat hair loss, ED and get vitamins and such. Is that what they meant?
bottomless.abyss.of.bordem 3 years ago
I always wondered what Donald was saying. I'd pay good money to unknow.
#36
Stephanie Barr 3 years ago
Technically incorrect, too. Ironically, the opposite is closer to actuality (as men are XY and women are XX).
Vervelende Panda 3 years ago
Wait... So 2 boys are needed to equal 1 cool girl? Or is one cool girl only worth half a boy? Is this an insult for boys or cool girls?
HarperTheCentaur (they/them) 3 years ago
Yeah, it's in a similar vein to the t-shirts with phrases like "I'm not a girl but my boyfriend is"
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* ~ l a s a n y a ~ * 2 years ago (edited)
girls aren't the same as demiboys. i would know, i'm a girl.
#37
Dillon Brown 3 years ago (edited)
Well I haven't seen their clam myself but I think they might be a little too harsh on themselves. Every clam is different and we should celebrate the differences. Too much pressure to have a perfect clam these days, I say!
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#38
Little Wonder 3 years ago
Weird. Just after I saw this, Mastermind came on the TV and the first contestant's special subject is Twin Peaks. *looks around for Agent Cooper*
tara 3 years ago
Twin Peaks, it was a series in the 90s (rebooted a few years ago) about who killed the prom queen (Laura Palmer) in the picture...I don't think Arnold Palmer is dead though......
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#39
Passerby 3 years ago
And some, including me, never even arrive at the pre-sexy stage in the first place.
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Joshua David 3 years ago
I get seeing one of these on a hanger but there are quite a few people actually wearing these and my next question is where at?
#40
bottomless.abyss.of.bordem 3 years ago
Are they collecting donations? People with because syndrome need our help not our criticism.
#41
Dacă nu pierdeam, câștigam 3 years ago
Lmao how could someone not know how to spell Mashcachiutes
Vince Eagle 3 years ago
No idea. Thought it was easy to spell Massoftwoshits
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Dillon Brown 3 years ago
As I live in massachubatts I can confirm. It's very difficult to drive or walk through them they is so manys
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#42
#43
nobodyever 3 years ago
“Let me go!Let me go! Not gonna sell drugs any more!” Idea from another BP post
Firstname Lastname 3 years ago
It's very clearly Elsa as an undercover cop telling you to "freeze criminal!"
#44
#45
Kevin Sutton 3 years ago
Duh, it says it right there, it's your Guardian Angle
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#46
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! 3 years ago
Some of these really make you wonder what they thought they were saying.
#47
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#51
Headless Roach 3 years ago
Which part of "Fashion has air" don't you understand?
Load More Replies... Joshua David 3 years ago
I couldn't get past the un matched synthetic hair lobster somehow attached to her hair.
#52
#53
Alicat Wombat 3 years ago
At this point I’m really worried that t-shirt manufacturing causes strokes
#54
#55
Stardust she/her 3 years ago
I did some maths and figured that his sisters would probably be Zisa and Zaggie. Don’t know why i did this
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#62
Natalie Kelsey 3 years ago
Aliens are getting pretty good at English, I understood what they meant
#63
Terry Armstrong 3 years ago
Why 2 different types of apostrophe?? Second type is back to front and upside down...
#64
Rebecca Groves 3 years ago
Yay! The luck boys shirt! Karina drew them on Drawfee recently. https://youtu.be/7gMYPvwi43I
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#70
Duane Martin 3 years ago
That made me laugh way too hard then it should have lol
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Lucy Reeves 3 years ago
Ah yes, this always gives me comfort when I need spiritual inspiration.
#71
#72
WindySwede 3 years ago
Photoshop? Same colors on fonts in shadows and highlights, and strait rows..
#74
Prius Owner 3 years ago (edited)
From Conan the Barbarian, was Arnold's first spoken line in the movie. If said in his thick Austrian accent (at the time), this shirt makes sense.
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#77
Gloria Bethallen 3 years ago
For some reason, it seems the censored word was here
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Vanessa Richardson 3 years ago
A friend is someone who believes in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself.
Your Neighborhood Alien 3 years ago
I'm glad Gon's friend helped Gon when they didn't belieue in gonrseif
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#81
Joshua David 3 years ago
Something tells me this was made in The South US. I live in them parts.
#82
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What do you think ?
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 3 years ago
This is why translators and interpreters need to be paid more. I would totally wear a lot of these as someone working in the linguistics field.
Altair 3 years ago
Solidarity ✊ Tshirts like these are funny and cute so 'sall good, but public signs frustrate me big time. They didn't even bother to have a budget for a decent translator? Icrieverityme
Load More Replies... Al Christensen 3 years ago
These photos need to be interspersed with bad Chinese and Japanese tattoos that are actually nonsense.
April Caron 3 years ago
I see iPhone’s autocorrect issues are impacting more than just my text messages.
Deutschland Mädchen 3 years ago
These were hilarious! I was actually laughing aloud at some of these. I need more of this stuff!
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 3 years ago
This is why translators and interpreters need to be paid more. I would totally wear a lot of these as someone working in the linguistics field.
Altair 3 years ago
Solidarity ✊ Tshirts like these are funny and cute so 'sall good, but public signs frustrate me big time. They didn't even bother to have a budget for a decent translator? Icrieverityme
Load More Replies... Al Christensen 3 years ago
These photos need to be interspersed with bad Chinese and Japanese tattoos that are actually nonsense.
April Caron 3 years ago
I see iPhone’s autocorrect issues are impacting more than just my text messages.
Deutschland Mädchen 3 years ago
These were hilarious! I was actually laughing aloud at some of these. I need more of this stuff!
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