Because Granada sees so many tourists, many of the bars and restaurants attempt to translate their signs and menus into English. Here’s the latest catastrophe I saw during my visit back in December:

How does one get it so wrong? Is there not a single native speaker in the whole city who could have lent a hand? “Media tostada” means “half a piece of toast.” I suppose “half” and “happens” sound similar, but I wouldn’t invest in a large stand-alone sign before double-checking.

To the owner’s credit, he got the spelling of “coffee” right the first time. But by the look of things, he was so eager to print the sign and start pumping up his British tourist revenue that he forgot to add the double ‘e’ during the second go-around.

So unfortunately, in English you can’t say “coffee happens” or “toast happens.” You can, however, say “shit happens,” which is exactly what happened to this sign.

P.S. More hilarious mistranslations in Spain, and some others world-wide.

About The Author

Jenny

Jenny Marshall studied Language, Culture, and Society at the University of California Santa Barbara, and now teaches English in Spain. Here she writes about the intersection of language and culture, and lives a life translated by travel.