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Lost in Translation: Funny Signs in Asia

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When two languages come together that have almost nothing in common, it’s easy for things to get lost in translation. Luckily for us, when translations between English and Asian languages go wrong, the end result can often be pretty entertaining.

Asia Society invites you to send in your photos of the funniest translations gone wrong. The photos can be of signs, T-shirts, or anywhere you see an amusing, strange, or an outright hilarious disconnect between something written in an Asian language and its English translation (or vice versa!)

Join our Flickr Group Pool and submit your photos now! And remember to check back regularly to see what your fellow travelers have submitted. Selected photos will be featured here on AsiaSociey.org.

Judy | 08:12:10 08:59pm
Check some of these out: http://engrish.com/
Emile Chungtien Chi | 07:20:10 09:26pm
The pics here are really terrific. I have a few such pics which I took in various places in China, one of which I just posted to this group.
Mort Young | 07:20:10 05:34pm
Yes, they are funny. Now imagine thatyou speak fluent Mandarin, your first language. English is your second, third, or fourth language. Write a few signs in Mandarin.
Orlandy | 07:14:10 10:45am
One of the funniest I've had sent to me is the Fook Yue Seafood Restaurant :-)
ChinaMatt | 07:13:10 11:04am
I loved the Chinglish signs around China. Sometimes they turned into unintentional poetry. Other times, they were just confusing. My favorite was a sign that wasn't written in English--the literal translation from Chinese was "Today's special: stupid chicken, duck."
Ash Chun | 07:13:10 11:50am
LOL. That's hilarious! I would love to see that sign.

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