Every translator I know gets a kick out of looking at bad translation pictures or pictures with bad grammar and spelling.
I'm not sure why that's the case, but I'm guessing it must be kind of like slowing down as you're driving past a wreck. There's probably a feeling of interest in figuring how bad it was, but then relief that you weren't the one that screwed up. There have been plenty of examples of bad translations throughout the history of translation, and the one thing translators want to avoid is having their name and translation associated in any way with that history.
Well, lucky for you (or unlucky if your bad translation picture makes it on our site), we've got a place here where you can indulge all you want in the mistakes of other translators.
Just don't be too harsh since you never know when a picture of your bad translation might appear on here!
If a (*) appears next to the name of the photographer, it means that the photo is being used under a Creative Commons license. The particular license and its terms of use can be found here.
But before we look at the pictures, here is a video I put together of some pretty funny translations:
Now on to the bad translation pictures:
Photo by: Helga's Lobster Stew(*) This is a picture of a translation on a sign in China.
Photo by: djrue(*) This photo is a picture of various language translations of a sign in McDonald's restaurant.
Photo by: sandcastlematt(*) "What made this sign extra bizarre to me is that it is in the "Garden of the Senses" - a small, wonderful courtyard in Montreal's Botanical Garden designed for the visually impaired. You are supposed to touch and/or smell all the plants - so why have a prickly plant at all, and why is this the only sign in the whole garden without a braille translation!? Otherwise, though, a really great garden and a wonderful idea."
Photo by: Drpoulette(*) Photo taken of a sign at a restaurant in Mexico.
Photo by: Magnet Chick(*) A handwritten sign in Chinese with an awkward and incorrect translation.
Photo by: Clint This picture was taken at a petting zoo in Utah. It wasn't a translation, but it was so bad I had to take a picture of it.
Here Are Some User Submitted Photos
This is a picture taken at a hardware store. The box contains "Hex Rubber Mats", but the Spanish translation underneath translates back to English as "Evil Eye Rubber Tangles".
Prominent sign outside a Tucson hospital: This is one of many examples of horrible signage evident throughout southern Arizona, where it is especially painful to read a bad translation because there are so many Spanish speakers.
Photo by Rainy Tuscon, Arizon
Taken at a top notch camping ground in the Loire Valley of France, summer 2009. The staff was rather friendly so I didn't want to bother them with a better translation, and it is pretty funny anyway.
Photo by Thomas France
Funny translation of Black Diamond run. This sign is all over the place at Tignes and Val d'Isere, France.
Photo by Lil Paris, France
Sign on some steep stairs inside the Dragon Tower in Harbin. This one always makes me giggle :-D
Photo by Diego Beijing, China
Yum yum yum. Wildlife. This was, go figure, at a zoo in China. A panda zoo. Full of tasty, tasty pandas.