Funny English on Japanese Shirts — and Japanese on Yours?

[Sam7010]

I often wear T-shirts, and I’ve noticed that many clothes in Japanese stores have English text on them.
Most Japanese people don’t really read or understand the words — they’re treated more like decoration or a design pattern.
But I wonder… when native English speakers read them, do they ever find them funny or kind of uncool?

On the other hand, do any of you own T-shirts with Japanese text on them?
I’m really curious — do you wear them because of the design, or do you understand what they say?

 

[RepresentingCaution]

 

[AYM]

I have a shirt with text on it paired with a bunch of pictures of Japanese mango, or whatever you call it. It looks a lot like this.

Spoiler

I don't know what they're saying though, but since they're sticking their tongues out my guess is it's to remind you how to check for strep throat.
When I wear it in public I get a lot of comments like, "nice," "nice shirt," or "where did you get it?" Everyone probably thinks my walking health PSA is very helpful.

 

[Sam7010]

I see!
Whether it’s a kanji tattoo of “soup” on your butt (I just saw that in a video),
or a Japanese manga T-shirt with characters sticking their tongues out (I’ve actually seen one on the street too) —
it really shows that as long as you’re enjoying the vibe, the meaning doesn’t always matter.
This has been super interesting and fun to learn about. Thanks a lot!

 

[Golden_Hyde]

There's a stark difference between Wasei-eigo and Engrish, and Engrish is like the staple of every Japanese shirts put on, usually "aspiring" words that inherently barely makes any sense.

 

[Sam7010]

I didn’t know about “Engrish,” so I looked it up. Thanks to you, I’ve learned something new! I guess Japanese kanji must look charming to native English speakers, too.

 

[StoneInky]

I often wear T-shirts, and I’ve noticed that many clothes in Japanese stores have English text on them.
Most Japanese people don’t really read or understand the words — they’re treated more like decoration or a design pattern.
But I wonder… when native English speakers read them, do they ever find them funny or kind of uncool?

On the other hand, do any of you own T-shirts with Japanese text on them?
I’m really curious — do you wear them because of the design, or do you understand what they say?

Same. I've worn shirts with English before cuz my mom buys em for me for some reason? And I've seen my national language on some shirts... just awkwardly there, lol.

I think it's funny. Things like 'I love you' are fine, but some go around wearing a white shirt that says 'Pool'. In huge font. And that's all it says. No images or anything, the text is treated as decoration in itself.

 

[Sam7010]

“Pool”… that made me laugh!
In Japan, we sometimes see shirts with huge words like “Basic” or “Nothing” too.
It’s like wearing a random thought!