A poor translation can result in missed opportunities, costly mistakes or embarrassing situations. An error is even more striking when it is into your own language. In the following we will illustrate a few examples of how embarrassing an apparently funny Chinese translation can be.

Funny, right?

This sign makes us laugh because we all know what this construction company was trying to say, but the English is so obviously wrong (word order, spelling… )
Hey, we just don’t say it like that in English, right?

Here, in Beijing, a restaurant wanted to attract international visitors during the Olympic games.
They didn’t speak any English, so they used a computer program. They sent out their text to be translated, and assumed that the text they got back said the same thing.
The result speaks for itself.
And no professional human translator in sight.

More funny translations which are either word-by-word machin-like translations or mixed use of Chinese pronunciation with English words:

Rubbish Only, No Cigarette Butt Please

Non-recycle

Kaifeng Bus Stop Entrance

Totally non-sense

Humorist? Fu le You!

Hey Mr. Lining, please call CCJK to take care of your translation job.

A professional translator will be needed to build the image of a government authority.

ICBC, please be careful not to be sued by your female clients.

Whether you are a public listed company, a giant bank or government authority, translation is something that can not be discounted. Otherwise you will risk ‘yi smile generous’ (怡笑大方). Please count on a professional translation firm like CCJK.com to help you out in these embarrassing situations.

Read Also: Marketing Materials Localization: How to Do it Right?

Take a look at how we helped our client by localizing their project for Chinese language. Click here to read the complete case study