# What if I wanted a ridiculous tattoo in another language? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-i-wanted-a-ridiculous-tattoo-in-another-language/974250 "2022-11-02T21:17:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-i-wanted-a-ridiculous-tattoo-in-another-language/974250/41 "2022-11-13T12:05:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Chinese: 愚蠢的美国游客 > > Japanese: 愚かなアメリカ人観光客 Since no one else has said it, these are correct. When I was first in Japan in the early 80s, there was a very popular t-shirt with “New York Chastity Club” in bold letters. I have no idea why. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-i-wanted-a-ridiculous-tattoo-in-another-language/974250/42 "2022-11-14T00:14:29Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I have no idea why. Possibly to stop stupid tourists from hitting on her. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-i-wanted-a-ridiculous-tattoo-in-another-language/974250/43 "2022-11-17T12:23:38Z")
I know you are joking, but this was in a small town in Kyushu in the early 80s and there were very few Western tourists this far from Tokyo or Kyoto. It was a time period where if you met another foreigner, you stopped and talked. Some of Japanese weird English actually can be back-translated into Japanese and it’s possible to see why they used those expressions. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-i-wanted-a-ridiculous-tattoo-in-another-language/974250/44 "2022-11-17T12:34:08Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > The problem is, even if you successfully get “Foolish American Tourist” tattooed > on you - no one is ever going to believe you did it deliberately. I used to read the website **hanzismatter** (about people with silly or misspelled tattoos with Chinese characters) and by far the most common reaction was “that’s dumb”, not “I can’t believe it!”. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-i-wanted-a-ridiculous-tattoo-in-another-language/974250/45 "2022-11-17T12:41:02Z")
[![](https://preview.redd.it/drpzagkdm6691.jpg?auto=webp&s=0ff93e10463ded4fb6dd948f5eea76794303f331) ](https://preview.redd.it/drpzagkdm6691.jpg?auto=webp&s=0ff93e10463ded4fb6dd948f5eea76794303f331) ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-i-wanted-a-ridiculous-tattoo-in-another-language/974250/46 "2022-11-18T00:01:52Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Some of Japanese weird English actually can be back-translated into Japanese and it’s possible to see why they used those expressions. Very true. I’ve seen this with many languages. It’s baffling at first but then it is also entertaining. I love languages. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-i-wanted-a-ridiculous-tattoo-in-another-language/974250.md?page=2)