When English Slogans Go Wrong in Chinese: Cross-Cultural Marketing Fails

It was a casual walk down a street in the UK when I stumbled upon a small Italian restaurant called Sonas. I had just finished dinner at a nearby Chinese place when something caught my eye—Chinese menus posted outside the Italian restaurant. Naturally curious, I leaned in for a closer look.

The translation was… funny. Not in a mocking way, but in a “this clearly wasn’t reviewed by a native speaker” kind of way.

For example, “Baby Gem” (a type of lettuce) had been translated as “宝宝宝石” (“baby treasure gem”)—in Chinese means baby precious stone. And the section “Starters” became “初学者” (“beginners”), making the menu feel more like a language course than a dining experience.

As I was standing there reading and smiling to myself, the restaurant owner stepped out and asked, “How’s the translation? Does it look okay?” I told him, quite honestly, that while some of the dish names were more or less understandable, the section headers and tone were definitely off.

He laughed and admitted that the staff had used Google Translate to put it together. Then he offered, “Would you help us fix it? Dinner’s on us!” I smiled and told him we had already eaten, but promised to follow up by email—and I did.

Why Does This Matter?

It’s easy to think of translation as just swapping words between languages—but language is culture, and culture is nuance. While machine translation tools like Google Translate or even AI-powered assistants are improving rapidly, they still often miss cultural context, tone, idioms, and even basic logic.

Some examples we've seen in marketing include:

• “Finger-licking good” becoming “Eat your fingers off” in Chinese.

• “Nothing beats our meat”, a cheeky slogan for burger chains, if translated literally, can come off as awkward or even inappropriate in Chinese—especially without the original humor context.

• Health or beauty product names translated too literally, causing awkward or even offensive interpretations in Chinese-speaking cultures.

And sometimes, these errors go beyond being funny—they risk miscommunication, embarrassment, or even reputational harm.

Why Human Review Still Matters

AI translation is a helpful starting point—but it’s not the final answer. Especially when it comes to branding, tone, and consumer trust, human translators with cultural fluency are still irreplaceable.

Whether it's a restaurant menu, a website, a product name, or a marketing slogan, having a real person who understands both cultures can mean the difference between "Baby Gem" and " baby precious stone"

In cross-cultural communication, it's not just about being understood—it's about being understood correctly.