Terrible Spanish Translations That Are Simultaneously Hilarious And Sad

Bad translations can turn a simple sign into an accidental joke, and this collection is full of exactly that kind of mess. From store labels to public notices, these Spanish attempts range from slightly off to completely baffling, which is part of why they are so hard to look away from.

The images below show what happens when businesses, offices, and random sign makers try to translate without really checking the result. Some are funny because of awkward wording, while others are just plain sad, especially when the mistake is sitting in a place everyone can see.

By the end, it is hard not to wonder how many of these signs made it out the door unchanged.

1. "Sh*t you see at work. I'm not a fluent Spanish speaker by any means, but I thought this was pretty sad, if not amusing."

They are trying to say: "Please clean this microwave."

nereid_bound

2. "I am so confused. 😂 This is at the local grocery store. The Spanish here means 'I can walk,' which, in all the Spanish dialects I’ve encountered, is not a good translation for 'pot pie.' So far, we’ve determined that if you type in 'pot pie' into Google Translate and allow it to detect the language, it detects Romanian and gives you 'can pie.' In Spanish, the word 'pie' actually means 'foot,' so...?"

cottrellevant

3. "Word? Chicharrones de Polio?!? No thanks, local hood Chinese food spot!"

It's supposed to say 'pollo' (chicken), not Polio.

chunk_tmny

4. "An old photo of the sign on a public park restroom in Fredericksburg, VA"

Reddit

5. "This is my office's attempt to say something in Spanish."

LoHollis

6. "Toallas higiénicas" actually means maxi pads.

flowermiko

7. Turkey (the bird) is "Pavo" in Spanish. It should normally be "Pavo."

MastersOfNaming

8. "Use the 'Ñ' letter in 'año' for the title to say 'The Year of the Dog' rather than 'The Dog's Butthole'"

Reddit

9. "Thank you @AdvanceAuto, but I have no need for free gasoline for a year from an 'anus.'"

They were trying to say 'Win free gasoline for one year,' but ended up saying 'Win free gasoline for one anus.'

SAndion

This chaos is like the 81 visual anomalies that have everyone’s logic spinning in the mud.

10. "This is what happens when you don't have any Latinos at your job site."

bigjhuanosto

11. Pole in Spanish is either 'poste' or 'palo'; they misused 'polo' as in 'North Pole.'

Henac

12. "What's a Tolido??? I saw this on the bathroom wall at the rest stop on the drive home..."

IG

13. "From my friend's family restaurant. 'Bar glasses only' was supposed to be printed in Spanish as well as English... They decided to keep the sign as it was."

Reddit

14. "This is in South Texas, so it’s extra unforgivable."

Reddit

15. "Reproducir ahora" translates to "reproduce now."

_Sebastian_

16. They ended up saying "Hand is washing, no whitening, no falling, iron cute."

DiegoJParra

17. They didn't even bother to translate "relief."

equispe

18. They started translating and gave up mid-sentence.

UofLTranslation

19. "-What do you do for a living? -I am a translator. -With Google Translator and other automatic translators? -Aha, of course."

E_Bujakiewicz

20. "When you can’t afford a professional translator. 🤦‍♀️"

JenniInterprete

21. "This is a Spanish birthday card I got. I misread the rest, holy please."

Reddit

Whoever was in charge of making these signs obviously didn't care enough to properly check if the translations were accurate. Most of the online translators aren't accurate at all, and even after using the most reliable ones, it's still necessary to double-check with a native speaker or someone who speaks the language fluently.

Some of these mistakes are funny, but others are just painful to read.

Still feels unfair? See why one friend demanded $800 vet bills after pet sitting failed.