We’re not sure which was more disappointing: getting caught in the act of stealing, or learning that the food he spotted wasn’t real.
fail
One school hopes a simple motivational tool will help students get into their dream universities.
Surprisingly, no animal was seriously harmed during the filming of this video – unless you count its bruised ego.
New video shows that North Korea is possibly in possession of the Action Movie FX app, arguably the most devastating weapon simulation app known to man.
Though the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, always drive around the giant iron beams.
Cat can’t quite get his box together, but he still gets an A for effort in the outtakes for Kuroneko Yamato’s commercial.
Domo-kun is down on the ice and can’t get up! Who can save the furry, brown monster mascot?!?
Traveling in a country where you aren’t super confident with the lingo can be extremely daunting, and simple acts like ordering food become a bit of a nightmare. If you don’t speak the language, you won’t know what foods are on the menu or how they are prepared. Dictionaries, both paper and electronic, are definitely helpful tools when deciphering a menu and many restaurants also try to provide at least some English—one of the most used languages in the world—on their menus.
But sometimes, for all their good intentions, restaurants fail. While this may make ordering lunch a little bit trickier, it is at times like these that we are blessed with some wonderfully bad translated food names.
Today’s special dishes come compliments of restaurants in Taiwan and China that just couldn’t quite find the right words to describe their respective delicacies. Look forward to dishes including mermaids, fried Wikipedia and confused pizzas after the jump.
First impressions are very important, not only for people but for products too. A product’s packaging and labels can make or break a deal depending on whether the design and text on it appeals to the consumer. And, as you know, some companies choose to scrimp and save on hiring a professional to handle their translation needs. In many of these cases, the joke’s on them because they end up with hilarious gibberish on their products.
A Japanese Twitter user recently shared a photo of a Chinese product that had Japanese written on its warning label, and the text was so bad we couldn’t even imagine what product that label was supposed to be on! Take a guess and join us after the break!
As an amateur athlete there is nothing more worthwhile and thrilling than representing your country at a major competition. However, there is also nothing more heart-wrenching than failing on such a big stage. For this pair of Filipino divers, they might have scored 0.0 on their dives, but they scored a perfect 10 in Internet comedy. Their performance has unfortunately brought up the question of whether or not these horrendous attempts were intentional.
They say that one of the main reasons so few Japanese people master the English language is because they’re worried about making mistakes or embarrassing themselves. While we do wish more Japanese would break out their English a little more often (get a couple of drinks into your coworkers and you’ll be amazed at how much English they actually know), at the same time we can’t really blame them for being reluctant to speak, because learning a second language as an adult can be tough.
After all, when our words fail us, it can not only result in confusion, but very often shock, laughter, and even anger. Just ask the kind folks who were good enough to share with us their most awkward and memorable mistakes made when speaking – or rather trying to speak – Japanese.
Join us after the jump for 22 tales of language mishaps. Oh, and maybe make some notes while you do so that none of these ever happen to you!
Watching people fall unexpectedly is our guilty little pleasure, so what could possibly make it better? How about Japan’s legendary assassins popping in at opportune moments to cause such falls? Face plants are great, but when they are caused by a ninja they become a lot funnier. Don’t take our word for it though; see the video after the jump!
Although April Fools’ Day is the prime time for playing tricks on your friends, that doesn’t mean the other 364 days of the year are completely off-limits. One Japanese man recently devised a very silly plan to startle his friend, but an unplanned turn of events left the trickster himself surprised and embarrassed.
Media in Japan, us included, have been all over Taco Bell’s return to the country this week, but talk hasn’t been entirely of tacos. The Taco Bell Japan website was also making news when Japanese speakers noticed it had some pretty terrible and funny English-to-Japanese translations.
Finding the perfect gift for someone can be very difficult. Usually, if you spend enough time with someone and really listen to the things that they say, it should be easy enough to find a gift that they will appreciate, but maybe your special someone goes out and buys everything for herself, or you aren’t too sure about what she’s into lately.
So if you are having problems, we’ve got a handy DO NOT BUY guide for you. These are the gifts that women in Japan have received that didn’t make them happy at all, so avoiding anything on this list will certainly give you a good place to (not) start your shopping from.
First Ladies Michelle Obama and Akie Abe have finally met for the first time and have been enjoying each other’s company this past week. They are both powerful women who are continually working for women around the world to have larger, more active roles in both government and business, so it was fantastic to see them launching new programs in support of women. Each year we take steps to make the world a more equal place and 2015 doesn’t seem to show any signs of being any different.
Japanese department store chain LUMINE has claimed that they also wish to support working women and released two short videos to show that. But instead of empowering and encouraging women, people are finding the videos extremely offensive and are criticizing them harshly. How bad could they be?
MOST POPULAR
Now
Japanese sandwiches give foreign reporters culture shock at Tokyo Olympics
President of France meets with manga, video game royalty in Tokyo【Video】
Problem solved: How to open a Japanese convenience store onigiri rice ball【Pics and video】
Can you spot the hidden cats at this Tokyo train station?
Canadian reporter’s love for 7-Eleven steals the show at Tokyo Olympics
Coco’s gets into Japanese summer spirit with amazing kakigori shaved ice desserts!【Taste test】
TV audiences in Japan surprised to see “Pikachu,” “Raichu” as members of U.S. Olympic team
Nihon? Nippon? What’s the correct name for “Japan” at the Tokyo Olympics (and in general)?
Japanese manga lovers vote for top 10 shonen manga with the best endings
Casio partners with Pac-Man for a new but vintage-looking digital watch
Weekly
- Canadian reporter’s love for 7-Eleven steals the show at Tokyo Olympics
The young girl starring in this cool retro-style McDonald’s Japan video is actually 62 years old!
The crazy ordeal of putting together Japan’s 366-piece sushi plastic model kit【Photos】- Japanese manga lovers vote for top 10 shonen manga with the best endings
This one photo shows how tough times are in Tokyo’s Akihabara these days
Olympic media dismayed by their subpar and overpriced food and drink
Google made a free-to-play ninja cat RPG to celebrate the Tokyo Olympics, and it’s awesome!
Japanese retro gamer completes collection of every Nintendo Famicom cartridge ever released【Pics】
Taco Bell’s anime mecha commercial has us emotionally invested in nacho fries【Video】
Makoto Shinkai or Mamoru Hosoda, who makes the better anime movies?【Survey】
Monthly
Engrish mistake turns innocent sign into X-rated notice at Japanese store- Canadian reporter’s love for 7-Eleven steals the show at Tokyo Olympics
- The young girl starring in this cool retro-style McDonald’s Japan video is actually 62 years old!
Japanese idol goes viral for display of superpowers at train station【Video】- The crazy ordeal of putting together Japan’s 366-piece sushi plastic model kit【Photos】
- Japanese manga lovers vote for top 10 shonen manga with the best endings
World Record? Japanese trainer holds gym for 1,422 days and counting in Pokémon GO
Zelda hacker arrested by police in Japan for selling modified Breath of the Wild save data
After 40 years, Hayao Miyazaki’s first solo-directed anime is finally coming to North America
Giant cat appears on new 3-D billboard outside Shinjuku Station 【Video】
Yearly
Nintendo puts out important notice for casual gamers who’ve bought a Switch during the pandemic
Studio Ghibli releases 400 images from eight movies free to download online
A Pokémon glitch no one discovered in 18 years has been found…by a pet fish in Japan?!?【Videos】
Man sheds half his body weight, looks like a handsome model in just one year
Top 10 anime women with biggest, most impactful breasts, voted by thousands of Japanese netizens
Akihabara saying goodbye to landmark as giant Sega arcade announces it’s closing for good
Man loses 200 times at crane game, calls police to investigate, staff member loses 300 times too
Hayao Miyazaki has a gripe against Japanese female voice actors
Japanese wife/artist solves “I don’t know. What do YOU want to eat?” problem in an awesome way
Totoro discovered in Japanese forest【Photos】
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Coco’s gets into Japanese summer spirit with amazing kakigori shaved ice desserts!【Taste test】
TV audiences in Japan surprised to see “Pikachu,” “Raichu” as members of U.S. Olympic team
Nihon? Nippon? What’s the correct name for “Japan” at the Tokyo Olympics (and in general)?
Japanese manga lovers vote for top 10 shonen manga with the best endings
Casio partners with Pac-Man for a new but vintage-looking digital watch
First-ever Super Sentai Restaurant opens in Tokyo thanks to high-end karaoke chain Pasela Resorts
Olympic media dismayed by their subpar and overpriced food and drink
Osaka icon loses legs, restaurant says famous crab is exhausted
Mr Sato’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day at Doo Wop Chicken Burger in Tokyo
Tour the Japanese imperial family residence through this special post-renovation feature【Video】
Kyoto cotton candy brings us the taste of a traditional Japanese festival
At this Kyoto shrine, be careful what you wish for—and how—, because you just might get it
-
