Our writer’s scheme to keep the birds off his balcony backfires in a spectacularly birdbrained way.
fail
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.
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.
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!
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.
There’s something about tales of inept criminality that we just can’t resist, especially when it seems like a case of fate conspiring against the wrong-doer. Like the man arrested for robbery in China’s Shandong province on Thursday who was on his way back from a temple, having gone to give thanks for not being caught.
Don’t you just hate it when you open up a bag of chips only to find that one third of the air-filled bag actually contains greasy goodness. Or how about when you crack open a box of cookies and are greeted with cardboard on both ends, squishing the available cookie space in half. Oh, the disappointment! Well get ready for a similar tale of a girl who thought she was buying a long lightning cable, but found that the product fell short of her expectations after opening it.
How far would you go to pass a test? At all points in our life, tests determine whether we succeed or fail with little remorse for how much grueling effort actually went into studying for it. One test in Japan is extremely taxing and foreigners and Japanese alike shudder at even the thought of taking it. We are talking about the Japanese driver’s license test and one first year high school student from Fukuoka who had failed the written portion 20 times, finally resorted to cheating in order to try and pass it.
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Monthly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad- Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
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Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style- Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
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Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]- Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】- Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
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Raw chicken dishes to be regulated by Japanese government
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Foreign tourists injured in Nissan GT-R crash near Tokyo’s Shibuya Scramble Crossing
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Potato-Chip-Flavored Dressing coming to stores in Japan
Grandpa Sensei solo art exhibition returning to Tokyo and he’ll be there every day of it
Japan to get new high-speed train connecting Haneda and Narita airports, ease overtourism
Famous sweets store in Ameyoko fills a bag with sweets and a show, but is it still worth it?
A visit to Sri Lanka’s knockoff knockoff Uniqlo (no, we didn’t stutter) to see its rare “Pikachus”
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