Unintentionally funny translations

[Indie]

I always get a kick out of the signs on all the more "modern" salones de belleza that offer "Bisex Services".

I think they mean "Unisex".

And calamardoazul beat me to the "American Beauty Soplay" sign on La Avenida Independencia. I love that one. Can't you just hear them saying 'soplay'? :classic:

-Indie

 

[Marc]

Signs and shirts

We went to the big Cathedral in Santo Domingo (I can't remember what it is called, but you know the one I mean) - the rules are very strict. No shorts, no pictures during mass, etc. We look over at one of the ushers as the mass is about to start and he has this T-Shirt that says "Don't ask me SHIT". And the "SHIT" was written in about 10" letters, white, on a black T-shirt. We nearly killed ourselves trying to hold our laughter in church...too funny.

Got a pic of a sign in Las Terrenas that is supposed to be a One Way sign. They have the white arrow on the black background alright, but the sign says "No Way"....hehe.

m

 

[Rocky]

Signs

A business in Santo Domingo with a hand written sign on the closed door, saying "cerado por que me duele" (closed because I hurt)
The town of Cutupu between Moca and La Vega, which, when pronounced in good ole French Canadian, means, "bum you stink".
The water company here in Sosua, Inapa, again in French Canadian, means "there is none".
A sign on the Sosua beach that says "FOOD-DRINK, Get inside please"
Guys walking around town with t-shirts from some European country that say "Singha beer" (don't think I'll translate that one)

 

[La Reyna]

Re: Signs

A business in Santo Domingo with a hand written sign on the closed door, saying "cerado por que me duele" (closed because I hurt)
The town of Cutupu between Moca and La Vega, which, when pronounced in good ole French Canadian, means, "bum you stink".
The water company here in Sosua, Inapa, again in French Canadian, means "there is none".
A sign on the Sosua beach that says "FOOD-DRINK, Get inside please"
Guys walking around town with t-shirts from some European country that say "Singha beer" (don't think I'll translate that one)

Singha Beer is not European, its Asian.........

Cerado porque me duele means Closed,because it hurts me

But doesen't matter ......kisss bye

 

[Keith R]

More precisely, Singha is a Thai beer, and not a bad one at that.

 

[Chirimoya]

Thanks!

So many of you have posted my favourites that I am left with very little to add. Criss, Marc, Jane J. Trina, Indie - LOL!

So many menus offering "mouse de chocolate"!

So many incongruous slogans on T shirts! "I danced my butt off at Becky's Bat Mitzvah" also sticks in my mind.

Has anyone read the English instructions on Septicon mouthwash? I haven't got a bottle at the moment, being a fresh- breathed kind of gal, but if anyone does, please post what it says in this thread.

Chirimoya de oro

 

[samiam]

Near Pato Beach (close to Bani)
There is a colmado with a big sign that has a black guy with long curly hair........the name of the colmado: Bo Mali

A cuartel de policia (you've probably seen this picture in your emails) in El Limon, Samana: D' Tacamento Policial

Meat shop Dario near Higuey:
Vendemos carne de todo tipo de animales.

 

[La Reyna]

A friend of mine (he is Dominican aswell) has a T-Shirt which says
Pornomeister (we have a drink here in Europe which is called
Jagermeister, what means Master of Hunting so you all can imagine what means Pornomeister) But he couldn'n imagine till I told him jajajaj

 

[MrMike]

I have an internet cafe called "Gringos Mojados" (long story) it's not really mine anymore, (another long story) but one day an illiterate salesman stood outside the front window for 15 minutes asking passers by what the name of the place was, then came in asking to speak with "Domingo Morales".

 

[pasha]

Painted on a house wall.....

in a mountain village in Yemen, "advertising" a psychotherapist:
PSYCHO THE RAPIST.

Best, P

 

[Indie]

I once saw a hand-written sign in a colmado that said, "SE ALQUILA CUARTO A MUJER TRANQUILA".

So I guess if she has epilepsy, she shouldn't even bother calling, right?

-Indie...still laughing...

 

[Pib]

From the Rancho Baiguate website:

Like rafting, participants must know how to swim, beat least 14 years old and imperfect health and physical good conditions._{^{bolding mine}}

Not sure it was mistranslated, but it is funny.

 

[An Evil]

If you ever hire a plumber or electrician, make sure he hands you a list of the items he'll need. You always get a laugh from "semento pebese", "tayrra", and many others.

When I worked at one particular zona franca we had our own techical lingo that got abused by the staff, all the way from the line assemblers to some of the engineers. They wrote "leibol" instead of "label", "richet" instead of "recheck" and "ribels" instead of "rivets". Make any man dyslexic, they would.

 

[Pib]

Did they use teipi too?

 

[XanaduRanch]

Did they use teipi too?

Only if they could get into the storeoom to get it. Past the "wachimun".

 

[Jane J.]

I believe that's "guachiman", lovingly known as "el guachi" and even more affectionately as "el guachi guachi".

 

[Al Fresco]

Sign on an art gallery in Puerto Plata:

We sail square of paint



Menu translation at Samana's chinese restaurant for Spaghetti Carbonara:

Espaqueti al Carbon (translated back means Grilled Spaghetti)

 

[D.D.]

more T shirts

- On a visit to a construction site on one of our farms, I noticed the contractor wearing a T shirt that read: ?It started out with a kiss, It ended up like this? with an arrow pointing down towards his massive beer belly. I just about died laughing.

- Long ago when my boss met our new cook for the first time on one of his occasional visits, he was rather impressed with the size of her breasts. Throughout his stay, he kept making comments to me about her boobs. I jokingly told him to keep his hands off. On his next visit with a couple of friends from California, I was driving them to my house when he asked if I still have the young lady working as a cook. I said yes and he started telling his friends about ?dolly?. Everybody was excited to meet her making all kinds of sexual comments as to who is going to get the first squeeze and so on. When we arrived, my boss went straight to the kitchen with his friends following behind him. The girl was at the stove doing something with her back towards them when she heard their foot steps. When she turned around to face them, there was a moment of silence and then they all broke out into a big laughter all at the same time. She was wearing a T shirt with a big watermelon painted on each breast. At the bottom it read ?hands off my melons?. Poor girl, you should have seen the look on her face. Though I had nothing to do with it, my boss accused me of pulling a fast on him. Nedless to say, all the maids are now wearing uniforms.

 

[samiam]

JAJA

I just saw the funniest T-Shirt about 10 minutes ago. I even asked where I could get one. It said:

Yo tambien votaria por er diablo


Funny as hell :laugh:.....and I didnt even have to think that one up!!!

 

[Chirimoya]

Got one

from the people who brought you Septicon:

Syrup of Nasturtuim Officinale, Onions, Raphanus Sativas and Honey (that's watercress, onion and radish to you and me).

Reinforced with naturals vitamins and proteins.

Delicious Flavor for Childrens and Adults.

ANTIASHMATIC POTENT

(it gets better)

The syrup of Nasturtium Officinale, Onions, Raphanus Sativus and Honey, respitory track is specially indicated for catarrah, asthma, persistence cought, bronchips, amigdalitis, faringitis, laringitis, renitis, sinusitis.

(blah blah blah)

FORM OF USE:
Childrens: 2 peaspoons before meanls.
Adults: 2 tablespoons before meanls.

I don't understand how someone goes to the trouble of putting a product out onto the market without making sure that the English translation on the packaging is somewhere near accurate!

Bronchips anyone? A peaspoon will suffice.

Chiri