Terrible Spanish Translations That Are Simultaneously Hilarious And Sad

Translating languages is quite tricky; a word-for-word translation often leads to some hilarious sentences that barely make any sense. Most of the free translating software available translates word-for-word, resulting in inaccurate translations that should definitely not be used in anything important.

Translators can be quite expensive, so people often prefer a semi-decent translation rather than paying a lot of money to someone. Only a certified translator can provide an accurate translation that makes sense and sounds good; otherwise, you will end up with disastrous results.

It's always important to ensure that everyone feels welcome in their community by including signs in languages that are widely spoken in the area. Spanish, for instance, is a language that many Americans either speak as a first or second language.

Therefore, it's necessary to include it in the various signs around the city, especially if they are important. Many companies and individuals try to incorporate the Spanish language in their signs to ensure that everyone understands their warnings or notifications.

Sadly, most of them do not give much importance to ensuring that their translations are accurate, resulting in some seriously hilarious outcomes because of that.

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

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.