10 Catastrophic Translation Fails in History

Translation seems like an easy task these days, with the help of technology such as Google at our fingertips, but it isn’t always so simple. Simple translation when trying to greet someone from another country is one thing, but interpreting major documents or treaties is another. Translators and interpreters are professionals with years of experience, but humans make errors—even computers that translate make mistakes. Bad translations can be very costly and even lead to deadly circumstances. Here are ten catastrophic translation failures throughout history.

Related: 10 Interesting Political Traditions from Around the World

10 Jimmy Carter on Poland

Jimmy Carter traveled to Poland in 1977 for a news conference, but the translation of his speech sounded like seduction. The professional interpreter, Steven Seymour, who was responsible for translating his English into Polish, made many mistakes. Carter told the people of Poland that he had “come to learn your opinions and understand your desires for the future,” but Seymour’s translation showed an erotic desire to “get to know the Poles carnally.”

Another phrase used by President Carter was “I left the United States this morning,” and it was mistranslated to say, “I left the United States, never to return.” Another translator was chosen to take over after the mishaps, but the second translator proved to be just as bad. The translator could not understand Carter’s Southern accent, so the translator made the decision to remain silent for the remainder of the speech.^[1]

9 Mars

Italian Astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli was observing Mars in 1877 when he claimed to see channels running through the planet’s surface. He used the word “canali” to describe the channels, and it was mistranslated into English as canals. Percival Lowell read about this and was convinced that the canals were real and wrote about it in the Atlantic Monthly. His writings covered the existence of Martians on Mars, due to the canals being created by them.

Several other people believed this, too, and wrote about it, and several works of fiction were inspired by these views. The water-carrying canals were just a product of misinterpretation, and most astronomers now agree that Mars does not have any channels. NASA even said, “Crisscrossing lines covering the surface of Mars was only a product of the human tendency to see patterns, even when patterns do not exist.”^[2]

8 HSBC Slogan

In 2009, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, better known as HSBC, was getting ready to launch a $10 million rebrand of its global private banking operations after a mistranslation. HSBC is known for its memorable ad campaigns, such as the “different points of view” campaign, but its “Assume Nothing” campaign didn’t quite work as well.

The phrase “Assume Nothing” was mistranslated in several countries to mean “Do Nothing.” In December of 2024, their market cap was $174.73 billion, making them the world’s 83rd most valuable company by market cap. Doesn’t look like the bad translation was bad business, after all.^[3]

7 President Carter, Again

President Carter’s mistranslation in Poland was much worse than what happened to him in Japan, but it was once again another translation error. In 1981, the U.S. President visited a small Methodist College in the countryside of Japan to give a graduation speech. He opened with a joke, and the audience erupted into laughter after the interpreter finished speaking. Carter wasn’t expecting the joke to be so successful, and after the speech, he asked the interpreter why he received such a reaction.

The interpreter tried to dodge the question from the former president but eventually admitted that he told the crowd, “President Carter told a funny story. Everyone must laugh.” Carter said it was the best response to a joke he has ever had in his life.^[4]

6 Parker Pen

Parker has been crafting pens for more than 125 years, and they had passed the $1 million mark by 1918. The successful business produced a very unsuccessful advertising campaign when it was translated into Spanish. Parker was the first company to develop a pen that could be carried in a pocket without leaking. They used the slogan, “With no fear to be embarrassed,” and the pen sold very well.

The slogan was later rebranded to “Avoid embarrassment—use Parker Pens,” which was very successful and popular throughout the United States. The company made the decision to start selling its products in Latin America, and the slogan would need to be translated. The word “embarrassment” is a homonym for “pregnancy,” and the translation sounded something like “To avoid pregnancy, use a Parker pen.” The pens were wrongly advertised more as a contraceptive instead of a writing utensil.^[5]

5 The Waitangi Treaty

The Treaty of Waitangi was signed by more than 500 tribal chiefs in 1840. It was a written agreement between the British Crown and the Maori people of New Zealand. It paved the way for British immigration to New Zealand and established their government, but it also guaranteed the Maori rights and privileges.

The treaty was imperfectly translated into the Maori language, stating that the indigenous people would have control over the territory but would surrender the governance to the British. However, the English version demanded a surrender of authority in all its rights and privileges. The founding document remains contentious due to the difference in translations.^[6]

4 Nikita Khrushchev

In 1956, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev gave a Cold War-era speech at a reception at the Polish Embassy in Moscow. In his speech, he was interpreted as saying, “Whether you like it or not, history is on our side… We will bury you” to the Western ambassadors in attendance. The phrase was then found on the cover of magazines and newspapers around the world, especially in America. Americans considered this a threat to their country, but the words were taken out of context.

Khrushchev’s words were closer to meaning: “Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in.” He was ultimately trying to say that communism would outlast capitalism. Others believe he used a more common Russian phrase, “We will be present when you are buried,” which means “We will outlast you.” Khrushchev said himself that he only meant that “socialism will inevitably succeed capitalism.”^[7]

3 Justin Trudeau Speech

Justin Trudeau’s, the Prime Minister of Canada, speech got lost in translation while speaking at the White House. Americans watching the speech from home on ABC News saw several phrases such as “Nazi innings,” “railroad stations in Motorola,” “portfolio of us old guys,” and “recourse to ice packs.” Of course, those weren’t actually the words or phrases that he said.

ABC claimed the translation mistakes were made by a computer program that was automatically translating words from French to English. The computer was unable to understand the phrases said by Trudeau, and there wasn’t an actual person controlling the translations. The speech was Trudeau’s first to a United States audience.^[8]

2 Pepsi Slogan

Some of the most popular Pepsi slogans from the past include “Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Pepsi,” “You Got the Right One Baby,” and “More Bounce to the Ounce,” but one past slogan didn’t work as well once it was mistranslated. In the 1960s, Pepsi released its new “Come Alive! You’re in the Pepsi Generation” campaign.

The campaign was going very well until it was released in China. The slogan translated to “Pepsi—Bring Your Ancestors Back From the Dead.” Of course, it was not able to bring back the dead, and the campaign was short-lived.^[9]

1 The Hiroshima Bombing

One of the most famous cases related to mistranslation is attached to the first atomic bombing. In 1945, Japan was presented with terms of a declaration of surrender by the Allied countries. Once the terms were translated to Japanese from English, it was delivered, and a response was awaited. The terms stated that any negative response by Japan would lead to “absolute destruction,” and it called for the immediate surrender from Japan. The Tokyo Prime Minister did not immediately release a statement and was assessing the situation. He was making the decision to wait before making a public official comment.

The Prime Minister used the word “Mokusatsu” to express his thoughts, which is derived from the Japanese term “silence.” The word can have several meanings, but the translation to English showed that he ignored the situation and “treated it with silent contempt.” The international news organizations published that the ultimatum was “not even worthy of comment” by the Japanese.

Americans felt as if there was no end in sight to the war, and the mistranslation may have led to the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima just ten days later. More than 150,000 people were killed as a result of the bombing, which would make it the deadliest translation error. We may never know the result if the Prime Minister’s words were translated correctly.^[10]