<![CDATA[i18n fails]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/og.png i18n fails https://i18nfails.1a23.studio RSS for Node Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:46:48 GMT Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:46:48 GMT <![CDATA[Cavalcade of Overflows]]>

Product: Tencent / Tencent Docs

Source language: Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文)

Destination languages: English (United Kingdom) (English (United Kingdom))

音丨HAT丶云澜 Via QQ | Account Management Get Membership Join Tdocs VIP for a more efficient workflow [Open now] 380G 存储空间 100+ 功能特权 1W+ 精品模板 10+ AI特权 Limited Time Offer Enjoy Exceptional Discounts (Overflowed container) Buy Now (Overflowed container) Storage Used 192.7MB/1GB Library 0 coupons Al asst. 已用0/80积分 Switch Account Log Out Create Organization | VIP Centre | Privacy Agreement (Overflowed container)

A classic demonstration of patchwork English localization of Chinese software.

Layout

Chinese strings are usually much shorter that English strings. When a layout are designed with only Chinese strings in mind, UI elements tend to have much less space reserved. Causing issues where longer strings like the limited time promotion banner and footer links overflow the intended region. Despite it is interesting to see that some strings have seemingly taken the limited spacing into account, like “AI Assistant” being abbreviated to “AI asst.”

Missing strings

Another major characteristic of Chinese software, where UI translation is mostly an afterthought rather than an integrated part of software development. New UI elements are frequently added or changed without accompanied translations.

Bad translations

Translations are usually direct translations from the Chinese string, potentially lacking of context and appropriate localization considerations when carried out. This causes weird phrasings and cases like “Limited Time Only Enjoy Exceptional Discounts.” “Open now” which supposed to be “Subscribe now” for “立即开通（会员）” where “开通” was mistakenly translated by its literal meaning of “open.”

Value formatting

There is a reverse example of the classical issue of translating abbreviated numbers like “10k” from western context to East Asian contexts. In Chinese, “W” is an informal way of writing “万” (wàn, myriad, 104). Here in the UI, “1W+” is used for “10000+” for the counter of “精品模版” (premium templates), which makes barely any sense outside of Chinese context.

]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/cavalcade-of-overflows 6a93134a5920e050c2380454 Sat, 29 Aug 2026 17:13:46 GMT <![CDATA[Summarize Thread]]>

Product: Microsoft / Microsoft Teams

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Summarize thread

Summarize thread 💬

Destination languages: Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文)

总结线程

Summarize thread 💻

]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/summarize-thread 6a92fa2801a07a1bc6204aeb Sat, 29 Aug 2026 15:26:32 GMT <![CDATA[New Generation]]>

Product: Twitter / Grok

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

[New Generation]

New Generation (Generate new content)

Destination languages: Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文), Chinese (Traditional) (繁體中文)

新一代

New generation (generation as in Apple Pencil 2nd generation)

新一代
]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/new-generation 6a78d76001a07a1bc615949a Sun, 09 Aug 2026 19:39:12 GMT <![CDATA[1 U.S. Dollar and 2 U.S. Dollars]]>

Product: Keet

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Terms of Use and Privacy Statement

Terms of Use and Privacy Statement

Destination languages: Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文), Chinese (Traditional) (繁體中文)

1美元和2美元

1 U.S. Dollar and 2 U.S. Dollars

1 美元和 2 美元

Speculation: the footer text likely has value “$1 and $2” where $1 and $2 are common placeholder formats to insert non-text elements like links. Most other languages kept them as is (or even entire string untranslated), while Chinese language translated them as “1 U.S. Dollar and 2 U.S. Dollars” literally, thus breaking the placeholder replacements.

]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/1-us-dollar-and-2-us-dollars 6a78d1ef01a07a1bc61580f1 Sun, 09 Aug 2026 19:15:59 GMT <![CDATA[Clear ☀️]]>

Product: Microsoft / Windows Terminal

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Clear cache The cache stores data related to saved sessions and automatically generated profiles. [Clear]

Clear 🗑️

Destination languages: Chinese (Traditional) (繁體中文), Japanese (日本語)

清除快取 快取會儲存與已儲存之工作階段和自動產生設定檔相關的資料。 [晴朗]

Clear ☀️

キャッシュのクリア キャッシュには、保存されたセッションと自動生成されたプロファイルに関連するデータが格納されます。 [キャンセル]

Cancel (?!)

]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/clear 6a78cb6f01a07a1bc615769b Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:48:15 GMT <![CDATA[Character 🔠]]>

Product: hCaptcha

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Drag the character to its matching silhouette

Drag the character 🐦‍⬛ to its matching silhouette

Destination languages: Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文)

点击被线条遮挡的字符

Click the character 🔠 behind stripes

]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/character 6a78c68f01a07a1bc6156677 Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:27:27 GMT <![CDATA[Resume 📃]]>

Product: DuckDuckGo

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Button: [Resume ▶️]

Resume ▶️

Destination languages: Chinese (Traditional) (繁體中文)

按钮：[简历 ▶️]

Resume 📃

按鈕 [簡歷]
]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/resume 6a78c25a01a07a1bc6155edf Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:09:30 GMT <![CDATA[Mouse 🐭]]>

Product: Microsoft / Paint 3D

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Tabs: [Mouse] [Touch] [Pen] [Keyboard]

Mouse 🖱️

Destination languages: Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文)

标签 [老鼠] [触摸] [笔] [键盘]

Mouse 🐭

]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/mouse 6a78c06d01a07a1bc61556a3 Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:01:17 GMT <![CDATA[Escape First Alchemist]]>

Product: Escape First Alchemist

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Open fantasy game options menu styled as an illuminated book on a desk. The left page is titled “Options” and lists categories: “Game,” “Keyboard,” “Controller,” “Video,” “Audio,” and “Language,” with “Keyboard” highlighted. The right page shows keyboard and mouse bindings: W Forward, R Backwards, A Left, S Right, left mouse Use Item, right mouse Drop Item, T Inspect Item, P Add to Inventory, mouse Zoom, Shift Run, Ctrl Crouch, Tab Inventory, X Sight Spell, - Force Spell, Q Rotate Left, and F Rotate Right. At the bottom are “Reset” and a mouse icon with “Back.”
A dark, atmospheric first-person game scene showing a worn handwritten note floating above a wooden desk in a dimly lit study. On the left edge of the screen, a vertical black tab reads “Inventory” with a small “Tab” key icon beneath it. The desk surface is cluttered with blurred objects including a compartment tray, papers, dishes, and small tools. The background is intentionally out of focus, emphasizing the glowing note and the narrative text overlay on the right side of the screen. The right side displays white stylized serif text reading: “I am once again reminded of my trip to Cairo, so long ago. The conversations I had with my colleague, whom I assumed was insane at the time. He was speaking of having dreams, dreams about meeting a god. Later, right before he was ushered away to that awful institution in London, he grabbed me and whispered to me : The way is open! We must break apart! Then we can be gods! One that is three! Now I am beginning to understand what he might have been trying to tell me. If only I had listened!” The handwritten note in the center contains cursive writing, but most of the text is too small, blurred, and partially obscured to read clearly. The overall lighting is warm and sepia-toned, creating a mysterious and ominous mood.
A fantasy-themed game “Options” menu designed as an open illuminated book resting on a wooden desk surrounded by antique objects, including a feather quill, rope, and metal instruments. The pages feature ornate Celtic knot borders and faint geometric magical illustrations in the background. Warm amber lighting and soft blur effects create an atmospheric medieval-fantasy appearance. The left page displays the heading “Options” in a decorative serif font. Beneath it is a vertical navigation menu reading: “Game” “Keyboard” “Controller” “Video” “Audio” “Language” “Video” is highlighted in gold, indicating the selected category. The right page lists graphics settings in the same stylized serif font: “WindowMode” — “Windowed” “Resolution” — “3840 × 2160” “Quality:” — “Ultra” “AntiAlias:” — “fxaa” “V-Sync” — checkbox icon “Motion Blur” — checkbox icon “Apply” At the bottom-right corner is a mouse icon followed by “Back.” The interface mixes several visual text styles: decorative medieval-inspired serif lettering for headings and settings labels, modern technical text such as “3840 × 2160” and “fxaa,” and icon-based UI elements including checkboxes and a mouse symbol. Some labels have inconsistent spacing and capitalization, such as “WindowMode” and “AntiAlias,” blending fantasy aesthetics with modern graphics terminology.
Screenshot of a fantasy game interior with an open inventory menu overlaying the left side of the screen. The inventory panel resembles an aged parchment book with decorative Celtic-style borders and the heading “Inventory” at the top. Below the title are two tabs labeled “Items” and “Potions,” with a small “Q” key icon beside “Items” and an “F” key icon beside “Potions.” The inventory grid contains 16 empty slots arranged in four rows and four columns, with the top-left slot highlighted. A vertical tab on the right edge of the panel reads “Inventory,” with a small “Tab” key icon beneath it. Near the bottom of the panel is a button labeled “Reset items” with a “T” key icon. The background shows a warmly lit medieval-style room that is heavily blurred, featuring stone walls, a fireplace on the left, a wooden staircase and chandelier in the center-right, candles throughout the room, and a long wooden counter on the right. A small white crosshair is visible near the center of the screen.
Close-up of the right page of an open book–style game menu featuring a confirmation dialog. The page has a parchment texture with ornate Celtic-inspired borders and decorative background illustrations. A vertical list of menu options appears in a medieval fantasy font, including “Resume,” “Save Game,” “Options,” “Extras,” “Leave,” and “Exit.” Centered over the menu is a large confirmation message reading “Are you sure?” in white text. Beneath the message are two response options: “Yes” on the left and “No” on the right. The “No” option is highlighted, indicating the current selection. The confirmation prompt partially overlaps and obscures the underlying menu items, drawing focus to the decision dialog. The screenshot emphasizes the confirmation state before performing an action, likely related to leaving or exiting the game.

Destination languages: Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文), Japanese (日本語), French (Français), Korean (한국어)

Alt text: A fantasy-style game “Options” menu displayed as an open illuminated book on a wooden desk. The left page shows the heading “Options” and a vertical menu with the items: “Jeu,” “Clavier,” “Contrôleur,” “Graphismes,” “Audio,” and “Langue.” “Clavier” appears selected. The pages are decorated with Celtic knot borders and faint circular magical diagrams in the background. The right page lists keyboard and mouse controls in French with small key icons. The readable controls include: “W — Avancer” “R — Reculer” “A — Se Déplacer Vers G…” (text partially overlapped/cut off) “S — Se Déplacer Vers D…” (text partially overlapped/cut off) Mouse icon — “Utiliser” Mouse icon — “Baisser” “T — Examiner Objet” “P — Ajouter à l’inventai…” (text partially overlapped/cut off) Mouse icon — “Zoom” “Shift — Sprinter” “Ctrl — S’accroupir” “Tab — Inventaire” “X — Sort de vision” “– — Sort de force” “Q — Rotation vers la gauche” “E — Rotation vers la droite” At the bottom of the right page are “Réinitialiser” and “Retour.” Several lines on the right page overlap decorative background graphics, making portions of the text faint or partially obscured. The scene is warmly lit, with a quill pen, rope, and other desk objects visible around the book.

(Text labels overlapping)

W - 前へ移動D

Forward → 前へ移動D
(Did they forget to delete the letter D?)

Screenshot of an open book–style settings or controls menu displayed on a wooden desk. The book has ornate Celtic-inspired borders and decorative illustrations on both pages. Surrounding the book are fantasy-themed objects, including a feather quill on the right, a coiled rope with a red gemstone or ornament in the upper-right corner, and metallic objects partially visible on the left. The interface contains Korean text that is incorrectly rendered. Numerous characters are replaced by empty square placeholder boxes (“□”), commonly referred to as tofu, indicating missing glyphs or unsupported characters. These tofu boxes appear throughout the menu, including headings, labels, and control descriptions, making the text difficult or impossible to understand. On the left page, a language selection section is shown, but several entries contain tofu characters. Visible text includes fragments such as “게□”, “□반”, “게□패드”, “그래□”, and “오디오 언어”, with missing characters represented by square boxes. On the right page, a list of controls is displayed alongside keyboard and mouse icons. Examples include: “W □□으로 움직이기” “S □로 움직이기” “A □□으로 이동” “D □○미□□으로 움직이기” “사용” “내려놓기” “F 조 아이템” “Q 인벤토리에 □가” “확대” “전□ 질주” “Ctrl □□밀기” “Tab 인벤토…” “X 시야 주문” “— 힘 주문” “Q □□로 회전” “E 우로 회전” Many of these labels contain tofu boxes embedded within the text, indicating missing Korean characters. Additional truncated text appears near the bottom of the right page, including “재□정” and “🖱 □로”. The screenshot highlights a localization or font-rendering issue where Korean text is displayed with missing glyphs and placeholder squares throughout the interface.

(Text straight out turning into tofu)

A dimly lit first-person game scene set in a study or library, with a glowing handwritten note floating above a wooden desk. The background is heavily blurred, showing shelves, papers, dishes, and desk objects in warm brown and amber tones. On the left edge of the screen is a vertical black interface tab labeled “在庫” with a small “Tab” key icon beneath it. On the right side of the screen, large white Japanese text appears in a mix of several different fonts. The text is partially clipped off at the top edge, cutting away the beginning of the first sentence. Visible text includes: “ずいぶん前にカイロに行った時のことを、改めて思い出しています。” Followed by several paragraphs describing conversations with a colleague about dreams of meeting a god, confinement in a London institution, and a whispered warning. One slanted passage reads: “道は開かれた！私たちはバラバラにならなければならない！そうすれば神々になれる！3つのうちの1つだ！” The final visible paragraph begins: “今になって、彼が私に伝えようとしていたかもしれないことが分かってきました。” The handwritten note in the center uses faint cursive Latin script that is mostly illegible due to blur, small size, and low contrast. Some text lines at the top are clipped off by the screen boundary.

(Text overflowing screen)

A fantasy-themed game “Options” menu appears as an open illuminated manuscript laid across a wooden desk with a feather quill, coiled rope, and antique instruments nearby. The pages are bordered with intricate Celtic knotwork and faint geometric magical designs. Warm golden lighting and soft blur effects give the interface a dreamlike medieval atmosphere. The left page displays Japanese menu items beneath the heading “オプション” (“Options”). The menu entries read: “ゲーム” “キーボード” “ゲームパッド” “グラフィックス” “オーディオ” “言語” Colored underline marks appear beneath many characters, resembling spellcheck or font fallback indicators. The right page shows graphics settings in a mix of Japanese and English text: “ディスプレイモード” — “ウィンドウ表示” “解像度” — “3840 × 2160” “クオリティ” — “Ultra” “エイリアシング” — “fxaa” “V-Sync” “モーションブラー” “適用” Checkbox icons appear beside “V-Sync” and “モーションブラー.” At the bottom-right corner is a mouse icon followed by “戻る.” Near the lower center and right portions of the pages is a list of font names rendered in different styles and colors: “Code2000” “Noto Sans CJK” “Arial Unicode MS” “AR PL ShanHeiSun Uni” “DF Kai” “PMingLiU” “Droid Sans Fallback” “Droid Sans Japanese” The UI presents a noticeable potluck of fonts and fallback typefaces. Decorative medieval serif lettering mixes with modern sans-serif system fonts, East Asian typefaces, inconsistent character rendering, and differently colored text samples. Some Japanese glyphs appear mismatched in weight and style, suggesting multiple fallback fonts are rendering simultaneously. The result is a visually inconsistent interface where fantasy-themed typography clashes with modern multilingual font substitutions and technical graphics terminology.

(Missing translations and font potluck. This is easily the worst font fallback I’ve ever seen anywhere.)

A dark, atmospheric first-person game scene set in a blurred study or library, with a glowing handwritten note floating above a wooden desk. The desk is cluttered with bowls, papers, and small objects under warm amber lighting. On the left edge of the screen is a vertical black interface tab labeled “道具使” with a small “Tab” key icon beneath it; the text appears clipped or truncated, suggesting the full label extends beyond the visible area. On the right side of the screen, large white Chinese text overlays the scene in a serif-style font. The text describes memories of a trip to Cairo, conversations with a supposedly insane colleague about dreams of meeting a god, and a warning before the colleague was taken to an institution in London. A highlighted section reads: “道路已开辟！我们必须解体！这样我们就能成为神了！三位一体！” The final line reads: “要是我当时听他的就好了！” Colored underline marks in red, yellow, green, and blue appear beneath nearly every phrase, resembling spellcheck indicators or font-debug overlays. Near the upper center-left of the screen, several font names appear in different colors and type styles: “AR PL ShanHeiSun Uni” “Code2000” “Arial Unicode MS” “Droid Sans Fallback” The UI has a noticeable potluck of fonts and fallback typefaces. The Chinese overlay text uses a clean serif font, while the floating font labels use mismatched playful sans-serif and handwritten-style fonts in bright colors. The handwritten note in the center uses faint cursive Latin script that is mostly illegible due to blur and low contrast. The combination of fantasy-themed visuals, multilingual text rendering, debug-like underlines, and multiple fallback fonts creates a visually inconsistent interface with clashing typography styles.

Another potluck of font fallbacks

Screenshot of a fantasy game interior with a parchment-style inventory menu open on the left side of the screen. The menu features decorative Celtic-inspired borders and a large Japanese title, “在庫,” at the top. Below the title are navigation labels “アイテム” and “ポーション,” with a “Q” key icon beside “アイテム” and an “F” key icon beside “ポーション.” The Japanese text is improperly displayed, with characters overlapping each other and overflowing into adjacent UI elements, making some labels difficult to read. The inventory contains a 4×4 grid of empty item slots, with the top-left slot highlighted. A vertical tab attached to the right edge of the panel displays the title vertically in Japanese, with a small “Tab” key icon below it. Near the bottom-left of the panel, the label “アイテムをリセット” appears next to a “T” key icon; this text also overflows its intended area and wraps awkwardly across multiple lines. The background is heavily blurred and depicts a warm, medieval-style interior with stone walls, a lit fireplace, a wooden staircase, a chandelier with candles, shelves, and a long wooden counter. A small white crosshair is visible near the center of the screen. The screenshot highlights localization and UI layout issues, including overlapping and overflowing Japanese text within the inventory interface.

Inventory → Stock.
Also text overflowing container and fallback font potluck.

Close-up of the right page of an open book–style game menu showing a confirmation dialog in Japanese. The page has a parchment texture with ornate Celtic-inspired borders and decorative illustrations. Behind the dialog, menu options are visible, including “Save Game” and “Extras,” while other options have been partially translated into Japanese. A large confirmation message is displayed across the center of the page in white Japanese text, asking whether the user is sure. The message is improperly positioned and extends beyond its intended area, with the beginning of the sentence cut off by the left edge of the page and portions of the text overlapping underlying menu items. Beneath the prompt are the response options 「はい」 (“Yes”) on the left and 「いいえ」 (“No”) on the right, with 「いいえ」 highlighted as the current selection. The confirmation dialog obscures much of the menu beneath it, and several translated menu labels remain visible in the background, including 「再開」 (“Resume”), 「オプション」 (“Options”), 「退出」 (“Leave”), and 「終了します」 (“Exit”). The screenshot highlights a localization and UI layout issue where the confirmation text is oversized, overlaps other interface elements, and is partially cut off.

(Untranslated text and text truncation)

This is the first time I see so many classic i18n fails together in one spot, and the worst font fallback that is beyond my understanding. If anyone have figured out why it does fallback like this, please, please let me know. I’m so curious why this could even happen.

]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/escape-first-alchemist 6a28d02a01a07a1bc6f3ccef Wed, 10 Jun 2026 02:47:06 GMT <![CDATA[Following lists]]>

Product: Microsoft / Xbox

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Others can see your friends and following lists Decide who can see your friends and following lists. - Everyone - Friends - Only Me

Others can see your friends and following lists
Decide who can see your friends and following lists.

Destination languages: Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文)

其他人可以看到你的好友和以下列表 确定可以查看好友和以下列表的人员。 - 所有人 - 好友 - 仅限我

Others can see your friends and the lists below
Comfirm people who can see your friends and the lists below.

“Following lists” here should mean the list of accounts you are following. It was translated as the lists that are after this sentence (which there are none).


]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/following-lists 6a2846e601a07a1bc6f379e4 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:01:26 GMT <![CDATA[Thumbnail]]>

Product: Adobe / Adobe Illustrator

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Layers Panel Options Thumbnail Size Thumbnail Contents

Destination languages: Japanese (日本語)

レイヤーパネルオプション サムネイルサイズ サムネール内容

サムネ,イ,ルサイズ,
,サムネ,ー,ルの内容

Both サムネ,イ,ル and サムネ,ー,ル are valid transliteration of the word thumbnail. See Variation in notations (Japanese Wikipedia).

The inconsistency has since been fixed followed up by an Adobe Community Manager.

]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/thumbnail 6a2842e301a07a1bc6f367b5 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:44:19 GMT <![CDATA[Aaaah]]>

Product: Amazon / Amazon Web Serivces

Source language: English (United States) (English (United States))

Destination languages: Japanese (日本語)

DNSルーティングを設定する CloudFrontは、指定されたドメインからのトラフィックをこのディストリビューションにルーティングするように、Route 53のDNSレコードを更新できます。 これらのドメインに対して既にDNSを設定している場合、この変更によって設定内容が上書きされる可能性があります。CloudFront が更新するフィールドを確認し、必要に応じてご自身で変更してください。 CloudFront の DNS 設定方法の詳細については、オンボーディングガイドを参照してください。 レコードタイプ　名前　価値 A ああああ キャンセル ルーティングを自動的に設定する

Record Type / Name / Value💰
A
Aaaah

Value 🔠 → Value 💰
AAAA (DNS record) → Aaaah 😱

]]> https://i18nfails.1a23.studio/posts/aaaah 6a17048f01a07a1bc6ec7b05 Wed, 27 May 2026 14:49:51 GMT