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Engrish is a term used to describe funny and often unintentional misuse of the English language, and there's a website of the same name that has been running since 1999, sharing examples of such instances.

Whether we're talking about restaurant signs, Amazon ads, or product labels, turns out, there's no shortage of texts that were introduced to the public without running them through a proofreader first.

But before we continue, it's important to note that Engrish is not trying to mock or criticize non-native speakers but rather to appreciate the humor that unexpectedly arises in everyday life. So, without further ado, let's do just that!

More info: Engrish.com | Facebook | Instagram

#1

Thank Goodness I’m Stuck In The Past

Thank Goodness I’m Stuck In The Past

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LaserBrain
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What it says in Japanese is that it's dangerous to go further than this point.

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English belongs to the Germanic languages branch of the Indo-European language family.

It is one of the most popular languages in the world, with approximately 1.5 billion speakers, the mother tongue of more than 350 million people, and the most widely taught foreign language.

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#4

I’m Betting It’s Not A Bible

I’m Betting It’s Not A Bible

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#5

Sometimes We Wish You Were Someone Else

Sometimes We Wish You Were Someone Else

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To someone who is well versed in the language, the mistakes in these pictures might seem absurd, but despite its prevalence, English is quite hard to learn.

"The most difficulty arises when people ... don’t have the advantage of sharing many borrowed words or grammatical patterns," "Sean Sutherland, senior lecturer in English language and linguistics at the University of Westminster, United Kingom, said.

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"This will include speakers of Arabic, Urdu, and Bengali"

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In his own experience, the most common complaint learners make about English is that the spelling of words often has little or nothing to do with their pronunciation.

"It’s easy enough to teach someone how to write the letter 'a', for example, but then they must be taught that its pronunciation changes in words like hat, hate, and father. In oak, it isn’t pronounced at all," the linguist explained.

"Compare this to the simplicity of Spanish, a language in which an 'a' and other vowels rarely change pronunciation from word to word."

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#12

I Feel I Can Trust Light Gary

I Feel I Can Trust Light Gary

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Furthermore, English keeps adopting new words from other languages (350, to be exact, according to David Crystal's book 'English as a Global Language').

With so many sources behind its evolution, English is malleable, or as Robert Burchfield, calls it in 'The English Language', "a fleet of juggernaut trucks that goes on regardless."

No form of linguistic engineering and no amount of linguistic legislation will prevent the myriads of change that lie ahead, he said, and people whose texts ended up on 'Engrish' would probably agree.

#14

Swearing At The Water Does Help

Swearing At The Water Does Help

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#17

Waves Begin At 9 Am

Waves Begin At 9 Am

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#23

Because A Whole Child Would Be Insane

Because A Whole Child Would Be Insane

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#26

If You’re Alive, Thank A Sign

If You’re Alive, Thank A Sign

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Trinity Han
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Speaking as someone who understands Chinese, it actually says "be careful".

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#27

You Won’t Like The Paper, Either

You Won’t Like The Paper, Either

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#28

And Yet We Keep Selling Them

And Yet We Keep Selling Them

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#31

Batman Will Be Sad That He Went Legit

Batman Will Be Sad That He Went Legit

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Undercover
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The pure existence of penguins makes every day nicer, even without drugs 🥰🐧

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#32

Then Open The Door To Turn The Knob

Then Open The Door To Turn The Knob

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#33

Shart Will Do In A Pinch

Shart Will Do In A Pinch

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A B C the Third
Community Member
11 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Shít. Shít shít shít. BP, get your fúcking censoring straight, stop censoring the punchlines of your own fúcking jokes. /edit: lol, some special snowflake reported this comment and got my account banned from commenting. ABC the Fourth, here we come.

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#35

He’s A 9, But A 10 With Soup

He’s A 9, But A 10 With Soup

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BrownTabby
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The vowel drop overcorrection! In Japanese every consonant except “n” has to have a vowel after it, so there are a lot of loan words where a vowel has been added on the end. So when Japanese people learn English they have to learn to drop the vowel in a lot of those words, and sometimes they drop a vowel that was legit. I am still not OK after hearing a Jpop song where they wanted to say “thank you” in a bunch of languages and they knew that the French word is pronounced “merushi boku” in Japanese so they sang “merci bock”.

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#39

Grandma Is Getting Suspicious About Our Family Portrait

Grandma Is Getting Suspicious About Our Family Portrait

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#41

As Long As It Is Past-Your-Eyes... . (Found In South Africa)

As Long As It Is Past-Your-Eyes... . (Found In South Africa)

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Laughing Orc (he / him / orc)
Community Member
11 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is a low fart spread that thing you do when you don't want to make a noise so you try to spread your buttcheeks to minimise the sound? Or is that just me? 🤔

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#42

Your Vehicle Will Be Toad

Your Vehicle Will Be Toad

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QUINN SANE
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Learning Academy needs to learn the difference between your and you’re.

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#43

Choose Wisely On Erection Day!

Choose Wisely On Erection Day!

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#44

This Body Isn’t Just Going To Injure Itself

This Body Isn’t Just Going To Injure Itself

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María Hermida
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Spain, when somebody falls down, many people ask "have you fallen down?", instead of "are you ok?". They are trying to be helpful, but it sound absolutely ridiculous. Of course I've fallen down, I'm not here on the floor for pleasure!

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#45

Octopus Is Welcome

Octopus Is Welcome

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#46

Thank You For Pleasuring Me

Thank You For Pleasuring Me

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#47

Be Sure To Visit Some Place!

Be Sure To Visit Some Place!

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#49

Tell Me Your Pharmacist Doesn’t Respect You Without Telling Me

Tell Me Your Pharmacist Doesn’t Respect You Without Telling Me

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María Hermida
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Japanese and Chinese people find it extremely difficult to hear the difference between "r" and "l". It's such an obvious difference for us, but they can't hear it.

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#50

Right Click For Toilet Paper

Right Click For Toilet Paper

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BrownTabby
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Japanese for “click here for [thing]” is “[thing] is here”.

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#53

That Grass Don’t Replant Itself But You Can Always Have Another Kid

That Grass Don’t Replant Itself But You Can Always Have Another Kid

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TotallyNOTAFox
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The caption is not wrong, humans are a regrowable ressource after all!

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#54

It’s The Secret Spices!

It’s The Secret Spices!

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#55

People Are Lining Up For Drowning Accidents!

People Are Lining Up For Drowning Accidents!

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#57

No Daughter Of Mine Is Wearing Sparkphss On Her Prodnetions!

No Daughter Of Mine Is Wearing Sparkphss On Her Prodnetions!

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#61

Please Don't Make Cameras Angry

Please Don't Make Cameras Angry

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#64

They Have Quite A Student Body

They Have Quite A Student Body

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#65

Or Just Poach Me Into Orbit

Or Just Poach Me Into Orbit

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Ashley Merrill
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So there's an amazing food truck in northern Utah called "Fry Me to the Moon." The donuts are excellent.

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#66

Paper Does That To Me

Paper Does That To Me

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BrownTabby
Community Member
11 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This isn’t totally different from what the actual Japanese text says in this kind of ad. The “won’t you ~” thing is a stock phrase - for example, where English advertising might say “buy my festering turd of a record”, Japanese advertising tends to say “won’t you buy my festering turd of a record?”

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#67

Happy Smorked Turkey Day!

Happy Smorked Turkey Day!

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#68

*cough* Giant Hornet

*cough* Giant Hornet

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#70

Christmas Text Is Made

Christmas Text Is Made

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#71

Nothing Stimulates Like The Apocalypse

Nothing Stimulates Like The Apocalypse

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BrownTabby
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don’t know what they’re going for here, but “stimulate your five senses” is a stock phrase in Japanese advertising. It means there’s more to the experience than just looking at stuff.

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#76

It's Sad Because Porky Was In Recovery

It's Sad Because Porky Was In Recovery

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#79

Let’s Tame Activity

Let’s Tame Activity

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#80

What Happened To Sugar And Spice?

What Happened To Sugar And Spice?

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Rafis Poulio
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let 50 cents. No phone, no pool, no pets. I ain't got no cigarettes. Ah but two hours of pushing broom buys an eight by twelve four bit room. I'm a man of means by no means. King of the road.

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