There are so many automatic AI translation tools available now. You may have wondered if you need to bother with an English translation of your website. Most browsers have built-in automatic AI translation abilities. Many will detect pages that are not in your native language and ask if you want to translate them. This might do in a pinch. But what if you want to appear professional to an English-speaking audience? You need a proper translation of your site. Don’t believe me? Wait until you see my last example…

What do I know about automatic AI translation?

I’ve visited hundreds of Korean city sites to review English Korean city slogans. Some have proper English translations (which still need the help of a qualified proofreader). But many use an automatic AI translation service called “auto-trans”, which is horrible. 

A few weeks ago, I caught a post on Reddit (since removed) about an automatic AI translation fail. When I started investigating, I found lots more examples…so many I decided to write this blog!

The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) is Korea’s most popular sports league. There are currently 10 teams, and as you’d expect, each team has a website. Only two of the teams offer actual English translations of their site. This leaves non-Korean speaking visitors to rely on automatic AI translation. The pages mainly consist of player names and positions. Surely there’s not much room for error. Well…

For this post, I used a Chrome-based browser called Sidekick, which I’ve written about before. It uses Google Translate to translate webpages. This post is in no way a criticism of any of the KBO team pages. Nor am I commenting on their choice not to have an English version of their sites. These are simply examples highlighting potential issues when relying on automatic AI translation tools. 

Let’s start with the basics—how does automatic AI translation fare?

Let’s start with the page menus. When visiting one of the team sites, you have this Korean menu for the different player positions.

Korean menu from a baseball team's site.

When you ask Google Translate to translate this to English, you get this.

The automatic AI translation of the above menu, with incorrect terms such as bowler (pitcher)

You’d think AI could identify that this page is about a baseball team and use the correct terms. Proper use of capital letters (rather than random usage) would also be nice.

BTW, here’s what you get on the Hanhwa Eagle’s site, which has an actual English translation of the site.

Another Korean menu from a baseball team page

They’ve translated the above as:

A non-automatic AI translation, which uses the correct English terms

So much better. I’d make all the positions plural (pitchers, catchers, etc.), but at least the correct terms are used. And capital letters are used correctly.

The inspiration for this post resulted from a poor translation of a player’s name. What? Why would you need to translate a player’s name? Good question. I have no idea. As with Hanhwa’s and Lotte’s sites, I would expect to have Romanizations of the Korean names. It turns out that even that can be problematic with automatic AI translation. Look at how this player’s name has been Romanized.

An automatic AI translation of a Korean name, which differs from the provided English spelling

The top line is the Romanization of his name (곽빈) as it appears ON THE KOREAN SITE. But the AI translation has opted for its own Romanization of Gwak Been. Not a good start. As I often say about AI—not very “intelligent.”

There are some things automatic AI translation tools can’t do

Some sites use pictures where the text is embedded in the picture, so the automatic AI translation can’t do its job.

Image of a Korean baseball player with Korean text

But the description underneath is still subject to automatic AI translation…

An automatic AI translation of the Korean text above, including the line" Introducing Kang Min-ho, a leading role model for the homeowners.

I’d argue a closer translation would be
“Meet Kang Min-ho, the team’s nurturing leader who leads by example.”

But this highlights another potential problem with AI translations. If you use images with embedded text, automatic AI translation tools can’t do their job…even badly. 

Then there’s this perplexing example.

profile pic of baseball player Je Hwan Yoo
automatic AI translation that has not only translated the Korean, but also rewritten the English

On the right, the automatic AI translation has translated the top Korean line to Jehwan Yoo. That’s despite the Romanized name on the Korean site being Je Hwan You. The first part of a Korean name is the family name or surname. 

Family Name: Je
Given Name: Hwan Yu

But the translated version makes it look like:
Family Name: Yoo
Given Name: Jaehwan

Both are possible Korean names. But the automatic AI translation has not only distorted reality. It’s also inexplicably “translated” the Romanized name from “Je Hwan Yu” to “You Hwan Yu.” Explain to me how that’s intelligent!

Even foreign players aren’t safe

This first example is actually kind of funny.

Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Come on

The player’s actual name is Adam Oller. Oller has been Hangulized as “올러”. Incredibly, the automatic AI translation tool has translated this rather than Romanized it. But it got that wrong as well. While “올러” is close, the actual phrase for “come on” is “얼러, though “올러” could be a slang or colloquial way of saying it. But it’s not something you’d expect from an automatic AI translation. So, the automatic AI translation has failed twice here.

The player Ariel Jurado has suffered a similar mistranslation of his name.

Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Even after 75

This has also been mistranslated as a colloquial expression meaning “even after.” The fact that it comes before his number, 75, makes it look like it’s saying, “He’s still playing, even after the age of 75.”

Profile pic of a Japanese baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as On the forehead

Finally, the Japanese coaching staff member, Toshiaki Imae, gets this unfortunate translation.

이마 is indeed forehead, and 에 is used as the preposition “on.” But again, I find myself asking a familiar question. “Why is the automatic AI translation tool translating names instead of Romanizing them?”

automatic AI translation of the Romanization of a English player's name (Jack Log / Zach Logue)

And just like Korean players, foreign players are subject to mis-Romanizations of their names (that already exist). The correct English spelling of this player’s name is the bottom one. The top one has been Romanized from 잭로그.

An unexpected pitfall of using automatic AI translation

Most of these humorous automatic AI translations resulted from the same issue. The automatic AI translation tool attempted to translate rather than Romanize the names. Numerous claims exist about all the “wondrous” things AI can do. You’d think it could discern that these pages are baseball team rosters and only need to be Romanized. There’s no need to attempt to randomly translate these names.

These examples will be the most amusing to readers who understand some Korean. Even if you don’t understand Korean, you’ll still enjoy these automatic AI translation fails.

Profile pic of baseball player
automatic AI translation of the name Woo Jeong An as Friendship
우정 means “friendship, but what happened to the second half of his given name, An?
Profile pic of baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Actor Yeol
배우 means “actor,” but Bae is his family name, and Woo Yeol is his given name.
Proflie pic of baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Vegetable disease
This is an overly literal translation of his name, but it is not natural Korean for “vegetable disease.”
Profile pic of baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Genius Hwan
천재 does mean “genius,” but Cheon is his family name, and Jae Hwan is his given name.
Proflie pic of baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as The best
Technically, you can consider this a correct translation. But it’s rarely, if ever, used in this way. “The best” would be more commonly translated as 최고 or 최상.
Profile pic of baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Final
While 최종인 technically means the “final person,” it’s not standard Korean.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as trend trend
Even when it’s sort of right, it’s still wrong. 추세 means “trend” and 현 means “current.” Thus, a more natural mistranslation here would be “current trend.”
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as strong wool
The family name Kang can mean “strong,” and adding Han can make it an adjective (강한). What’s most peculiar is that the automatic AI translation tool has translated 울 as “wool.” This is the Korean transliteration of wool, not the Korean word for wool, 양모.

And the head-scratching “translations” continue

Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as function code
함수 can mean “mathematical function,” while 호 has many meanings, one of which is “code.”
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as One or two sol
한 means “one” and 두 means “two,” but why not go for the complete mistranslation, “One or two pine trees?” 😉
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Hanyu Island
섬 means “island,” but it’s typically used to mean “an island”, while 도 is more commonly used in the name of an island (Jejudo). This would’ve worked better if his name had been 한유도. But then the automatic AI translation tool may have spit out “one judo.” 😉
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Hongdae people
인 does mean “people” (외국인 = foreign person, 한국인 = Korean person). Hongdae is a popular neighborhood in Seoul. But I’m not sure you would refer to people from that neighborhood as “Hongdae people.”
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as brass
황동 means “brass” and 재 means “material.” In this case, the automatic AI translation tool “correctly” dropped the superfluous “material.”
Profile pic of a baseball coach
automatic AI translation of his name as coaching staff typical diagram
Again, technically correct, as 전형 means “typical” and 도 can mean “diagram”. But again, also not standard Korean, which would likely be 전형적인 도해. This one is a bit funnier when viewed as an entire phrase. “Coaching staff typical diagram” implies that this coach draws typical diagrams or plays.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as wholeness
Literal translations strike again. 정수 can mean “essence” or “core,” while 성 is a common suffix meaning “-ness.” At least this is a positive mistranslation.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Assistant
조수 is a common word for “assistant,” and 수행 can mean “to carry out a task.” But it appears the automatic AI translation tool has used 수 twice here. This mistranslation could make it seem like this is an assistant and not a player.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Quiet
This is another stretch. While close to 조용한, 조요한 doesn’t actually mean quiet. It would’ve made much more sense just to Romanize the name.

You’d think Romanizing names would be “easy”—you’d be wrong

Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Sovereignty
You’ll have to trust me that this has been translated as “sovereignty,” which is 주권.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Right to compensation
This is a literal legal translation of 변상권. This mistranslation could cause some confusion. It could imply the player is entitled to some form of compensation.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as This is a problem
This one is pretty confusing. 이 means “this,” but 의리 means “loyalty” or “moral obligation.” Why it would be translated as “This is a problem” is very confusing.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Move on
Yet another stretch. While 이동 does mean “move,” 이동걸 isn’t standard Korean for “move on.”
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as This one
Here, the two syllables have been translated independently of each other. 이 means “this” and 한 mean “one.” But the proper way to say “this one” in Korean is 이것.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Heterogeneious
이형종 is a scientific term for “heterogeneous type,” but it’s also a pretty common name.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Easy River
This is a rather confusing example. 이지 has been interpreted as the Korean transliteration of “easy.” But 강 has been translated to “river.”
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Beneficial
이로운 does mean “beneficial.”
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Small Jun
소형 does mean “small,” but you’d expect AI to understand that this is a name.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Strong hands
Yup, 손 means “hand” and 힘찬 means “strong.”
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Grandson
This is a literal translation of the different parts of the name, but it’s not standard Korean for “grandson.” That would be 손자 (grandson).
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Song Chan's
의 is a possessive marker, akin to ’s in English. But just like in English, it needs an object. Song Chan’s “what”?
Profile pic of a baseball player
Maintenance
While 유지 means “maintenance” and 성 means “achievement.” But this wouldn’t typically be translated as such.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Six leaves
육 means “six”, and both 선 and 엽 can mean “leaf.” But to translate 육선엽 fully, it would be closer to “six-line leaf” or “six-thread leaf”—whatever that means.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Salt Iron
염 means “salt,” and 철 means “iron.” But what happened to 상 (which could mean “above,” “mutual,” “trade,” or “constant”)?

What happens when you translate your site to English yourself?

Profile pic of a baseball player
This becomes…
Proper Romanization of this name as Joo Hyung Kwang
…this, not…
automatic AI translation of his name as Fluorescence
…this (automatic AI translation).

Why would an automatic AI translation tool do this?

Most of the translations are confusing. But it gets even more confusing when the Romanized name on the Korean site also gets translated. Isn’t it already in English?

Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of the Romanization of his name as Live
Here, the Korean has been Romanized, while the English has been changed to “Live”. I have no idea what’s going on here.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as This Faith (Lee With It)
Another very literal translation. 이 means “this”, and 믿음 means “faith.” But confusingly, “Lee Mit Eum” has been changed to “Lee With It.”
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Yang Ji-ji, and of the Romaization of this name as Who is it?
This should be Yang Eui Ji (like in the first picture), not Yang Ji-ji. And why does the English get changed to “Who is it?” 
Profile pic of a baseball coach
automatic AI translation of the Romanization of his name as For Additional Printing
The Korean has been Romanized, but the English has been randomly “translated.”
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of the Romanization of his name as What is this
The Korean has been Romanized. But the English has been inexplicably “translated” into a nonsensical phrase.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of the Romanization of his name as Who is Bin?
Guess what? Yup, Korean Romanised, English randomly rewritten.

Some mistranslations are funny, but some could be problematic

Finally, we have some examples that could be problematic. This includes the example that was the inspiration for this post.

Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Allowed liquor
허용 means “permit/allow” and 주 means “alcohol/liquor,” but this is a direct translation and not natural. It could indicate this player is of legal age, i.e, he can drink alcohol.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Exclusive Stock
You’ll have to take my word for it, but this mistranslation is “exclusive stock,” which is a literal translation of 전용주. But again, this could be misinterpreted. It could imply that this player is more highly valued than other players.
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Tax offender
While 조세 means “taxes,” and 법 means “law,” this is a literal translation, not a natural one. He certainly seems very happy for a tax offender. 😉
Profile pic of a baseball player
automatic AI translation of his name as Interest rate
이율 means “interest rate,” but it appears that 예 has been ignored. Seeing this automatic AI translation could be very confusing to visitors.

Finally, my last, and worst, example of an automatic AI translation

Na Seong Beom is an outfielder for the Kia Tigers. I have to wonder if he’s aware of what automatic AI translation tools are doing to his reputation. 

Profile pic of a baseball player
In Korean, his profile pic is unassuming.
automatic AI translation of his name as Sexually explicit
But the automatic AI translation certainly catches your attention.

Well, that’s something I definitely have to click on.

Detailed profile pic for a baseball player with automatic AI translation of his name as Sexual Offender
Yup, the automatic AI translation has labeled this poor fellow a sex offender.

I almost understand how the AI translation tool translated 성범 as “Sexually explicit” and “Sexual Offender.” But what happened to 나? Why two different translations of the same name? Do you know what’s even more ironic? The Hanja (Chinese) characters for his given name, 성 (成) 범 (範), mean “model of success” or “one who sets an example through achievement.”

So, can you rely on automatic AI translations of your websites?

I certainly wouldn’t! Did you see how many mistakes the automatic AI translation tool made here? These are just names. Imagine how many other mistakes could occur with complicated sentences or slang expressions? 

Want more proof? Even ChatGPT agrees with me. 😉 I used it to research the mistranslation of Na Seong Beom’s name. It gave me this “Conclusion” about how the error could’ve occurred.

ChatGPT explanation of why these mistranslations occurred (errors in machine translation

What’s that? Consult native speakers for accurate interpretations? What a wild concept!

While checking many of these translations, ChatGPT often stated something to this effect.

Or…

…or…

I think you’ll agree that creating a proper translation of your site is much safer. This is especially true if you want to reach an audience other than Koreans. Compare the English versions of Hanhwa’s and Lotte’s sites with the automatic AI translations in this post. You tell me which ones are better.

If you need help with the English version of your site, please contact me. I’d love to help.

Subscribe to this blog or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Threads for more content and updates.

Screenshots of automatic AI translations came from the following sites:

Published by demizach

Leave a Reply