Buzz
Anyone who's ever dabbled in learning a new language knows that while translation apps can be handy, they're far from perfect. It's easy to spot when something has been run through an online translator, as certain words or phrases get all mixed up in the process. Just take a look at the many amusing mistranslations that surface online daily. (For example, a hotel in Iraq once had a buffet sign that accidentally labeled meatballs as "Paul is dead.")
On the flip side, when done right, literal translations—also known as word-for-word translations—can offer a fascinating glimpse into the history of a word, as well as how different cultures view everyday things. To celebrate this, we've picked 25 of our favorite foreign terms and their quirky, literal meanings.
1. CHUỘT TÚI// RAT POCKET
Meaning: KangarooLanguage: Vietnamese
Many Vietnamese animal names sound like a group of stand-up comedians were let loose in a zoo, roasting every animal in sight. A shark is called a “fat fish,” a skunk is dubbed a “stink fox,” and a baboon is humorously named a “monkey head dog,” which sounds like a creature from folklore you'd want to avoid.
2. STROZZAPRETI // PRIEST STRANGLER
Meaning: A type of pastaLanguage: Italian
The origin of this pasta’s name is as bizarre as its shape. It’s said to have come from a time when greedy priests, after receiving the dish from locals, devoured it so quickly that they choked, as reported by BBC Good Food.
3. SYUT GWAIH // SNOW CUPBOARD
Meaning: RefrigeratorLanguage: Chinese (Cantonese)
Mandarin and Cantonese, two of China’s major languages, share some similarities, but this term is specific to Cantonese speakers, especially in Hong Kong.
4. AMUSE-BOUCHE // MOUTH AMUSER
Meaning: A type of appetizerLanguage: French
This term doesn’t translate exactly into English, mainly because the French have cornered the market on food terminology. An amuse-bouche is essentially a bite-sized hors d’oeuvre (which means appetizer, but literally “outside of work”). It's also sometimes referred to as amuse-gueule, which carries the same meaning.
5. DEDOS DO PE // FOOT FINGERS
Meaning: ToesLanguage: Portuguese
Why create an entirely new word when toes are just the fingers of the feet? That seems to be the reasoning behind the combination of these two words in Portuguese, French, Arabic, and several other languages.
6. BRUSTWARZEN // BREAST WARTS
Meaning: NipplesLanguage: German
Although this might seem a bit unusual to English speakers, many Germanic languages use the same word for both “warts” and “nipples,” as highlighted by The Economist.
7. SMÖRGÅS // BUTTER GOOSE
Meaning: SandwichLanguage: Swedish
The word gås literally means goose, but the Online Etymology Dictionary explains that it can also refer to a clump (of butter). With Smör meaning butter, smörgås can be translated as either "butter goose" or "butter butter." Over time, smörgås has come to mean “bread and butter,” which is essentially a sandwich. The word smorgasbord, which English has adopted, makes more sense when thought of as a “sandwich table” or simply a buffet with an array of dishes. Are you with me so far?
8. PAPIER VAMPIER // PAPER VAMPIRE
Meaning: StaplerLanguage: Afrikaans
As The South African points out, there are many Afrikaans words that sound amusing when translated directly into English. For example, popcorn becomes “jumping corn,” a chameleon is called “step softly,” and a weed is referred to as “look around tobacco.”
9. SURTAN ALBAHR // CANCER OF THE SEA
Meaning: LobsterLanguage: Arabic
Calling it “cancer of the sea” might sound like an odd name for a lobster, but this term seems to be a result of multiple meanings. The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic [PDF] explains that the Arabic word for cancer is derived from a root meaning “to grab/to swallow,” which eventually led to the word for lobster.
10. NACKTSCHNECK // NAKED SNAIL
Meaning: SlugLanguage: German
Itchy Feet, a travel and language comic by Malachi Ray Rempen, showcases the humorous outcomes when German is translated directly into English. For instance, a light bulb becomes “glowing pear,” a bicycle is “go wheel,” and a funeral is “into-the-groundening.”
11. DIAN NAO // ELECTRIC BRAIN
Meaning: ComputerLanguage: Chinese (Mandarin)
Chinese can sound quite lyrical to non-native speakers. This is because it’s a logogram-based language, where each character represents a word. Instead of creating an entirely new character for “computer,” existing characters are combined to convey a fresh concept. Hence, we get “electric brain.”
12. BERGMAL // ROCK LANGUAGE
Meaning: EchoLanguage: Icelandic
As Iceland Naturally pointed out, this translation is quite appropriate because an echo typically bounces off nearby rocks or walls, as if they’re the ones communicating. If only we could understand what they’re saying…
13. TOILETBRIL // TOILET GLASSES
Meaning: Toilet seatLanguage: Dutch
Alternate definition we’re suggesting: the figurative glasses you put on when you’re barely awake at 3 a.m., stumbling in the dark to find the bathroom.
14. JOULUPUKKI // CHRISTMAS GOAT
Meaning: Santa ClausLanguage: Finnish
Originally translating to Christmas Goat or Yule Goat, joulupukki was once a very different figure: a “troll who used to scare naughty children,” as The New York Times reports. Over time, the concept evolved and merged with Santa Claus, but the name endured.
15. SCHLAGZEUG // HIT STUFF
Meaning: DrumsLanguage: German
As Your Daily German explains, the word zeug (meaning "stuff") originally referred to “pulling something towards you” for use—basically a tool. It’s used for a range of objects, including an airplane (flugzeug, or “flight stuff”), a lighter (feuerzeug, or “fire stuff”), and a toy (spielzeug, or “play stuff”).
16. MONTAÑA RUSA // RUSSIAN MOUNTAINS
Meaning: RollercoasterLanguage: Spanish
Rollercoasters are referred to as “Russian mountains” in Spanish and various other Romance languages due to the fact that the earliest version of the ride—a slide on an ice-covered hill—was invented in what is now Russia in the 15th century. In other languages, rollercoasters are called “train of death” (Croatian), “wavy iron road” (Hungarian), and “American hills” (Russian).
17. SPOOKASEM // GHOST BREATH
Meaning: Cotton candyLanguage: Afrikaans
While English expressions like “cotton candy,” “fairy floss” (Australia), and “candy floss” (UK) might not be perfectly intuitive, the Afrikaans term “ghost breath” is at least unique in its creativity. It certainly earns points for originality.
18. GAESALAPPIR // GOOSE FEET
Meaning: Quotation marksLanguage: Icelandic
Icelandic is famously difficult to master, and examining some of its words offers a glimpse into why. A comic strip series on Bored Panda highlights quirky literal translations, such as “animal garden” for zoo, “womb cake” for placenta, and “bride to buy” for wedding.
19. AIN HTAUNG // HOUSE PRISON
Meaning: MarriageLanguage: Burmese
Marriage isn’t always viewed in the most flattering light—linguistically, that is. The Burmese term ain htaung can be understood as “fall into marriage,” and it’s used in the same way as htaung kya, meaning “fall into prison.”
20. NIU ZAI KU // COWBOY PANTS
Meaning: JeansLanguage: Chinese (Mandarin)
Chinese isn’t the only language to link blue jeans with American culture and the Wild West. In Spanish, they’re called vaqueros ("cowboys") or tejanos ("Texans"), and in Danish, they’re referred to as cowboybukser, literally meaning "cowboy pants," as noted in the Denim and Trousers ebook by Marquis Schaefer [PDF].
21. HABLEÁNY // FOAM GIRL
Meaning: MermaidLanguage: Hungarian
Haven't you ever watched The Little Foam Girl? It's a Disney classic!
22. KANTH LANGOT // LARYNX LOINCLOTH
Meaning: TieLanguage: Hindi
As noted in the book Chutnefying English, many Hindi words were created to resist English terms that had been solidified during British colonial rule:
“The adoption of loanwords in Hindi has been inconsistent, with some of the more comical translations (like lauh-path gaamini or 'iron-path traveller' for 'train,' and kanth-langot or 'larynx loincloth' for ‘necktie’) being the target of much deserved mockery.”
23. STOFZUIGER // DUST SUCKER
Meaning: Vacuum cleanerLanguage: Dutch
Laura Frame, a Scottish illustrator from Glasgow, created the “Amusing Dutch Words” series to showcase some of her favorite literal Dutch translations, such as “mirror egg” for fried egg, “garden snake” for hose, and “wash bear” for raccoon.
24. JAGUCHI // SNAKE MOUTH
Meaning: Water faucetLanguage: Japanese
This artistic interpretation isn't far off—a faucet does resemble the mouth of a snake, especially if you let your imagination run wild.
25. GAVISTI // A DESIRE FOR CATTLE
Definition: War Language: Sanskrit
In the 2016 sci-fi thriller Arrival, viewers were introduced to a fascinating aspect of one of the Sanskrit words for war. This term is tied to ancient practices where early Aryans sometimes launched attacks against indigenous people 'to acquire cattle,' as detailed in an article published in The American Journal of Theology.
