50 Hilariously Bizarre Translations That Just Had To Be Called Out

The word ‘Engrish’ is a slang term that describes poorly translated, inaccurate, ungrammatical, and nonsensical use of the English language by people who aren’t native speakers.

The term is mainly linked to translations done in Asian countries such as Japan and China. Originally, the term ‘Engrish’ appeared in the 1940s, referring to mispronounced English.

Broadly speaking, ‘Engrish’ mistakes can most often be found on items of clothing that have random and nonsensical English words or phrases for the sake of fashion, as well as on signs, menus, and advertisements.

There’s a lot of unintentional humor to be found here for anyone who’s either a native or near-native-level English speaker or knows the language even semi-decently. That being said, nobody’s poking fun at the translators themselves, just their funny translations.

Region-specific synonyms for ‘Engrish’ include ‘Japanglish’ (‘Japanese English’) and ‘Chinglish’ (‘Chinese English’); however, they can have negative connotations.

One of the reasons why translating text from Asian languages into English is so difficult is because there are linguistic differences in terms of phonology, lexicon, syntax, and discourse.

Meanwhile, other reasons for wildly weird mistranslations include issues with dictionaries, outdated or poor translation software, and incorrect English textbooks.

Other potential factors include poor English language education, misspellings, as well as simply sloppy translation work on the employee’s part.

You’re going to run into a lot of issues if you’re translating a text without any input from professional translators or editors with a native English background.

You’ll also have a hard time if you translate text word-for-word without considering things like context, connotation, culture, idioms, metaphors, humor, etc.

To put it simply, quality translations don’t happen in a bubble. They require intimate knowledge of another country’s culture, media, people, and society. There’s also the question of the type of education frameworks, tools, and support offered in countries to help people learn other languages.

Having access to awesome textbooks and being given the opportunity not only to consume foreign media but also to travel abroad and immerse yourself in the culture firsthand can be game-changers.

The ‘Engrish’ website—which calls itself “The Original Engrish Site”—has been running for nearly three decades (!!!), having been founded in 1996. The curators continue posting funny translation fails on their site and social media pages to this very day.

You can send in photos of any weird translations that you’ve come across, too. Just make sure to surf the site a bit to make sure you’re not sending in pics that have been featured before.

Meanwhile, the ‘Engrish’ subreddit, which was founded in late September 2008, currently boasts a whopping 811k members (wittily referred to as ‘Grammar Police’).

According to the moderators keeping the community running smoothly, their goal is to showcase funny and baffling misuses of English, including translation errors, cultural misunderstandings, and “just plain bad grammar.”

Which of the poor translations that we’ve featured here today made you laugh and cringe the hardest, dear Pandas?

Do we have any contract or freelance translators reading this today? If so, have you ever made any bizarre and unintentionally ridiculous translation fails before that you’re still embarrassed about? What do you think lies at the core of truly great translation work? We’d love to hear from you. Tell us all about your experiences in the comments below!