As part of my professional work of writing user’s manuals, I  often encounter source manuals for Chinese products that were written originally in Chinese and then translated into English.

These source manuals often contain translation that is an amusing mixture of the erudite and the nonsensical, proving over and over again that good translation is a skill and an art (and that using Google Translate doesn’t always cut it).

Here are some gems from a Chinese source manual for an exercise rower that came my way recently.

I love beep sounds!

More beep sounds!

 Hear that target rate?

I am desirous of resistance level 5.

No keys be pressed!

Rectify the problem!

Children have a natural play instinct and fondness for experimentation.