# Non-Asian "Engrish?"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-asian-engrish/160883>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 12, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-asian-engrish/160883 "2003-03-12T17:58:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-asian-engrish/160883/1 "2003-03-12T17:58:08Z")

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I love the [Engrish](http://engrish.com/) site. But I was wondering if any Dopers have examples of hilariously awful translations from other languages they’ve seen? French? German? Spanish? Anyone?

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**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-asian-engrish/160883/2 "2003-03-12T21:19:01Z")

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Well, I saw a menu in Czechlish once. It featured such items as:

Drowned\_men (sausages) from pickled water fished out  
Slant-eyed chicken of Mr. Kung-Pao  
Whole Pork Knuckle in Chinese art prepared  
Bottomless plate for Starvelings

Is that the sort of thing you mean?

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**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-asian-engrish/160883/3 "2003-03-12T21:47:22Z")

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Har! That’s it exactly.

[Homer Simpson voice] “Mmmmm . . . Drowned men from pickled water fished out . . .” [/Homer Simpson voice]

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**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-asian-engrish/160883/4 "2003-03-12T21:51:34Z")

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How about a funny Japanese take on a Hawaiian word? Japaiian?

The local food counter has a tip jar with the word “Maharo” written on it.

It never fails to make me chuckle.

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-asian-engrish/160883/5 "2003-03-12T22:57:56Z")

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I once ate in our company cafeteria in Brussel. The menu was in French, Flemish and English. The special that day was “Cod gills”. I thought that was about the nastiest sounding dish I’d ever heard of, so I asked a couple of folks, “Does that really mean what it says in English”. After some thought, they agreed, that yes, that was correct. Decided to pass on it. But at the lunch table I found that what they called the “gill”, was the we Floridians would call the “cheek”, eg, the meat on the face of the fish which covers the gill flap. So while not technically incorrect, it was at least unappetizing.