One thing I love about going to a country where English isn’t the first language is seeing the different things written in English that either
- A) don’t make any sense
- B) make sense, but probably should be written in a different way
Although I saw quite a lot of this in Korea (and it made my days exploring so much more enjoyable), I only ended up documenting four instances of it – so here they are! I hope you’ll have a good chuckle just as I did when coming across them.
1. Fast food? oh, no! It’s slow and fast
This first one I came across while meandering through Myeongdong.
“Fastfood? oh, no! KONO is Slow AND Fast”
What does this even meeeean? That the fast food is slow… but fast? Do they make it slow, but you eat it fast? Do they make it fast, but you eat it slow? What are you trying to tell me KONO Pizza?!
Also, interesting concept for a pizza. Though not sure if I could eat it without making a giant mess.
2. Cans, bottles, and pets!
The next one I found on a recycling bin at a 7/11:
Cans, bottles, pets… wait… hold up… PETS??? PETS?!!
“Just casually going to go recycle my water bottle, but while I’m at it, I guess I can throw my dog in there too.”
FYI: I’m well aware that Koreans don’t actually throw their pets in the recycling – but I’m genuinely curious whether “pet” in Korean translates to something else in English? Because if you read out the Korean word that’s written at the end of that sign it is practically pronounced as “Pet.”
3. When the food is ugly, but you don’t want to completely ruin its self-esteem
Next up is probably one of my most favourite ones:
“Ugly but tasty riceballs”
I’m sold! At least the restaurant’s being honest with us, I guess?
Sort of regretting now that I didn’t eat them to see whether they actually were tasty.
4. Angry coffee
And finally, the name of a coffee shop:
“Shut up & Take Coffee”… beautiful, just beautiful hahaha – I think they need a chain in Canada that can compete with Starbucks and Tim Hortons.
I hope you guys enjoyed these as much as I did!
Have you ever come across any funny English while traveling?
Until next time!
xx
Haha, I love how attentive you walked trough the city. Pet-disposal and shut up coffee. 💕
Hahaha thank you!
This is awesome – had a great laugh! 😀
Such silly things happen even in English-speaking countries! The other day here in the UK at a chain cafe Pret a Manger (with excellent food, btw) I saw a sign “And here is where all our delicious food is made…” and below it a door that says “Toilets” 😛
Ahahaha ohhhh boy!
Pet stands for “pet bottles.” It’s just the plastic water and drink bottles you buy from the store. I like the “ugly but tasty rice balls.”
Ooohhhh! Thank you for clearing that up for me!
No problem. I was also confused the first time I saw that.
I enjoyed this. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
And thank you for taking the time to read this! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
That was really funny lol. Maybe you should do one in the Philippines. Im sure we have those bloopers as well. In Laguna, they sell these soup called “butt and balls”. You can imagine what they’re made of.
It would be amazing to visit the Philippines and do one of these blogs! Fingers crossed that I can come visit one day! (😂😂😂 butt and balls? Have you tried the soup?)
Hope you really do get to come someday 🙂 And dear God no, I haven’t tried it as I was petrified by the fact that it is really a soup made from a bull’s butt and balls. lol. They say it is aphrodisiac.
lol. this post reminds me of a notice i saw in my dorm’s laundry room its says “no fingering other people’s clothes” and someone had circled the “fingering” and wrote “wtf lol” next to it. and yet that notice stayed there for 2 years! no one understood i guess haha.
No way!! Ahahaha oh boy