25 Ridiculous Google Translate Fails That Made Us Guffaw | “Little Stinky but Smiled Very Badly”

Google is our go-to platform when we want help to rescue ourselves from a number of different crises. This reliable internet search engine is capable of providing almost all the answers to our questions. Whether you want to do some last-minute research on a paper due the next day or you simply need to find out the best eatery in the town you are visiting, Google never disappoints. One can argue that you can rely more on Google compared to humans when it comes to getting quick information but unfortunately, that is not always true. We have stumbled upon a bunch of instances when people shared that Google might not be the most trustworthy platform, specifically when it comes to translations. If you think Google Translate is going to help you quickly learn words of another language and become conversant in it, then you are in for a hilariously bad surprise. Google Translate is known to recognize 133 languages spoken by approximately 300 million people but these tweets show us that we should take Google's translations with a pinch of salt. Have fun scrolling through these 25 remarkable Google Translate fails.
1. Do you want to taste a shabby shark?
I hope this is a #GoogleTranslateFail. #Japan pic.twitter.com/Xipj6KVO9L
— Sarah Carol 🎙️ サラ•キャロル (@SarahCDawe) March 6, 2018
2. It is supposed to be Happy St. Patrick's Day
Happy St. Patrick's Day? #GoogleTranslateFail pic.twitter.com/ISvVd5T5VD
— John Eastwood (@JohnAEastwood) March 16, 2018
3. You might fancy some clothes sandwich which is spelled wrong as well.
Sounds like a #GoogleTranslateFail. I'm having flashbacks to some of the signs I saw in China. pic.twitter.com/gmsTl6h3wf
— Martin McAlinden (@dr_urbanus) January 18, 2018
4. Thank god, there is no loss in growing cats
😂😂😂😂😂 I'm so confused! #googletranslatefail pic.twitter.com/E9oci4ASAp
— 💜PoeticJustice1392💜fan AUs (@justice1392) July 25, 2019
5. Burn someone to bake cakes
Yeah, that's some good cake. BTW did you burn someone? #GoogleTranslateFail #ProDropLanguage pic.twitter.com/apUojyRB4W
— Alexander Tamara Steward (@Xandyballz) September 9, 2017
6. When you have to translate Google Translate
Using google translate to translate my German, and then having to translate google translate 🙄 figures 😆#googletranslatefail pic.twitter.com/3OopGrxx4F
— Katie Archbold (@KatieArchbold22) August 20, 2017
7. Beware of the zebra clans
Wild roving clans of zebras, a very real threat to museums worldwide #googletranslatefail (the actual word here was sebraklanner, beetles) pic.twitter.com/cL2lkIjmnY
— Dr. Hanneke Farstad Meijer (@DrHanneke) July 5, 2017
8. Google failing at Chinese translation
Google Translate fail of the day: Numbers. #googletranslatefail pic.twitter.com/2zdHgdoPA9
— HanyuTranslation (@HanyuTranslator) November 14, 2017
9. Don't even dare to translate DNA
"Do you want to translate this DNA sequence from Somali to English?" #googletranslatefail pic.twitter.com/3Lz59Ph7c1
— Zannah Salter (@Zannah_Du) April 25, 2017
10. Google failing at German translation too
These sentences have totally different meanings. German output means "however we hope to help with your travel plans". #GoogleTranslateFail pic.twitter.com/qNgRISKlHq
— Stephen Forrest (@saphorr) December 7, 2016
11. Mermaids are there for your rescue
The mermaids are there for everyone's safety. Please don't ignore them. :p #googletranslatefail LOL pic.twitter.com/tNce6c5fIC
— The Stress Free Spanish Teacher (she/her/ella) (@stressfreespani) November 10, 2016
12. That is a cryptic compliment
Whaaaat?! 😆🤣😃 #googleTranslateFail pic.twitter.com/W9eH8IaNJh
— Yuma Soerianto (@yumaSoerianto) June 30, 2018
13. That made us gag for sure
Same question, different (faulty) translation 😫 One reason to use a medically verified translation tool instead #googletranslatefail pic.twitter.com/SnJGHXUZDA
— Care to Translate (@CareTranslate) November 22, 2021
14. Queue and chicken are the same things, right?
Google translate at it again. Didn’t even order chicken. It’s translating the Thai word for queue into chicken. #GoogleTranslateFail pic.twitter.com/FvQTRAs2sP
— Sunny BKK Dude 🏝️ (@bkkdude) April 17, 2022
15. Not excited to try foreign cuisine anymore
When your excited to try another Country’s cuisine... #GoogleTranslateFail or #Tastydish?? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/w76ZoQTO0i
— Chris (@ChrisWhitty14) February 25, 2019
16. Pope Francis became the beloved potato of the people
I just died laughing #welcomePotato #googletranslatefail #PopeFrancis pic.twitter.com/scAFejWhhw
— Daniela ✨ (@DanielaLahoud) September 25, 2015
17. Compliments become insults
Whaaaat?! 😆🤣😃 #googleTranslateFail pic.twitter.com/W9eH8IaNJh
— Yuma Soerianto (@yumaSoerianto) June 30, 2018
18. Song translations are comedy gold
These art song text translations are completely wrong but inadvertently hilarious 😂 #googletranslatefail #traductiondemerde pic.twitter.com/GyFi1m66gE
— Natasha Gauthier, Destiny's Auntie (@ottawanag) August 9, 2018
19. Birthday wishes become funeral wishes
I laughed so hard at this #GoogleTranslateFail pic.twitter.com/8gWYQHzCGl
— Michelle Helou (@itsmichellelb) February 1, 2020
20. Five stars for abusing customers
"Good customer abuse" #googletranslatefail pic.twitter.com/aHxgjMYdud
— Roman Kalyakin (@theorm) April 27, 2018
21. Now electric drills have pronouns too?
Gay-straight amphibious is a new category to me. What are its pronouns? #GoogleTranslateFail pic.twitter.com/wxpQiw0uuo
— Arno Harris (@ArnoHarris) January 30, 2023
22. How hungry is the Sheikh though?
LOL #googletranslatefail Correct and wrong at the same time pic.twitter.com/XfAiXUk6P7
— Brooke (@Brookster81) January 28, 2016
23. An octogenarian is not an eight-year-old
No, Google. An ‘octogenarian’ is not the same as an ‘otteårige’ (‘eight-year-old’) 🤦♂️ #googletranslate #googletranslatefail #lostintranslation pic.twitter.com/sdJtqd8UJy
— Christianus Monachus (Christian Munk) (@danishmunk) January 22, 2022
24. Never use Google Translate for starting a conversation
I got this on Instagram... She isn't doing it right! 🤣#GoogleTranslateFail 😬 pic.twitter.com/D9f76pnMio
— Robi (@robi4tv) June 30, 2020
25. The ex-president won't accept his loss against Najib
The brilliance of Google Translate = Kecemerlangan Google Translate#googletranslatefail #malaysia pic.twitter.com/EFPHCysuPw
— Phoon Chi Ho (@chihohoho) November 22, 2015