Funny mistranslated signs – what would you do?
1. On a detour sign in Japan: Stop: Drive Sideways
2. In a hotel room in Cambodia: Sorry for guests who have problem, and thank for
guests who have no problem
3. In a Norwegian lounge: Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar
4. In a Mexican hotel: The manager has personally passed all the water used here
5. In a Bangkok drycleaners: Drop your trousers here for best results
6. In a German maternity ward: No children allowed in the maternity ward
7. In a Hong Kong dress shop: Ladies may have a fit upstairs
8. In a doctor‘s surgery in Rome: Specialist in women and other diseases
9. In a Danish airline office: We take your baggage and send it all directions
10. In the lobby of a Bucharest hotel: The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that
time we regret that you will be unbearable
11. In an Athens hotel: Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours
of 9 and 11 A.M. daily
12. In a Viennese hotel: In case of fire, do your utmost to alarm the hotel porter
13. In the window of a Swedish furrier: Fur coats made for ladies from their own skin
In their eagerness to move into and conquer new markets, many huge Western
companies forgot to do their homework.
14. Pepsi‘s famous slogan “Come Alive with Pepsi” was dropped in China after it was
translated as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”.
15. When General Motors tried to market the Chevy Nova car in Central and South
America, they overlooked the fact that Nova means, “it doesn't go” in Spanish.
16. Coca-Cola was horrified to discover that their name was first read by the Chinese as
Kekoukela, meaning either “Bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax”,
depending on the dialect.
17. When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say
"It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you". However, the company's
mistakenly thought the Spanish word “embarazar” meant embarrass. Instead the
ads said that “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant”.
18. Clairol messed up with their translation in Germany and made the mistake of trying
to sell customers a manure stick instead of a mist stick for their hair!
19. Coors Beer told customers that their beer made people have diarrhea. What they
meant to say was that it “loosened you up”!
20. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as
in the United States, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in
Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what's inside, since many
people can't read.
21. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which
promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I
saw the Potato" (la papa).
22. Toyota Fiera was contoversial in Puerto Rico, because 'fiera' translates to "ugly old
woman."
23. Rolls-Royce tried selling their "Silver Mist" model, but few bought it. Probably
because it comes out as "Silver Manure" in German.
What a fine array of products the world has in its shop window:
24. Atum Bom - Portuguese tinned tuna
25. Polio - Czech detergent
26. Vaccine - Dutch aftershave
27. Prison - Ugandan body spray
28. Puke - Turkish playing cards
29. Colon Plus - Spanish detergent
30. Crap - French chocolate
31. Mercy - Japanese toilet paper
32. Plop - Swedish chocolate bar
33. Plopsies - French breakfast cereal
34. Zit - Greek lemon and lime soft drink