NIGHT BUS·Games·Lost in Translation

Lost in
Translation.

104 foreign idioms from 50+ languages. 3 options each — one real, one plausible decoy, one absurd. Vote A, B or C. Wrong = take a dare. Learn languages while you lose your dignity.

Players
2-12
Round Time
2 MIN
Vibe
CULTURED
Setup
ZERO

Real foreign words. Absurd fake meanings. Choose carefully.

100 phrases from 50+ languages — Italian, Korean, Yiddish, Tibetan, Hawaiian, Inuit, Welsh, Bengali, even Easter Island Rapa Nui. Each comes with two possible meanings. One is real. One is a punchline. Pick wisely.

01 — REAL LANGUAGES · 3 OPTIONS

One real meaning. One plausible decoy. One absurd joke.

Saudade. Hyggeligt. Ikigai. The phrases are real. The decoy sounds like another idiom from the same language. The third is for laughs. Group has to pick the actual meaning.

02 — 50+ LANGUAGES

From Mandarin to Maori.

European, Asian, African, Pacific, Indigenous languages all represented respectfully. Each round teaches you something genuinely beautiful or surprising about a culture.

03 — 50/50 ANSWERS

The correct answer randomizes each game.

Sometimes A is right. Sometimes B is. Each play, the order shuffles so you can't game it. You actually have to read.

SPONSORED · NB-AD
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Test your linguistic luck.

100 phrases in the deck. Here are 4 examples. Correct answer highlighted in green.

NB·08 · 01
▸ ITALIAN
"In bocca al lupo!"
Good luck!
Watch where you're going
I'm being eaten by a wolf
Literally "in the mouth of the wolf" — the Italian way to say "good luck". Reply: "crepi il lupo" (may the wolf die).
NB·08 · 02
▸ KOREAN
"Han (한)"
Collective historical sorrow / unresolved grief
Quiet endurance
Korean for "one more shot please"
Untranslatable Korean concept rooted in their history. Carried in the soul, expressed in art and music.
NB·08 · 03
▸ INUIT
"Iktsuarpok"
The anticipation of waiting for someone to arrive
Spotting whales offshore
A polar bear's morning yoga routine
Inuit word for that restless waiting feeling — keep checking outside even though you know they're not here yet. Deeply relatable.
NB·08 · 04
▸ JAPANESE
"Komorebi (木漏れ日)"
Sunlight filtering through leaves
Morning fog
A grandma named Komori
Literally "sunlight that leaks through trees". A poetic word for a real visual phenomenon.

Read. Vote. Drink. Learn.

01

Read the phrase

Phone shows a foreign idiom + 3 possible meanings: one real, one plausible decoy, one absurd joke (A, B, C).

02

Group decides

Debate which is real. Each player picks A, B or C in their head.

03

3-2-1 reveal

Tap REVEAL ON 3. Everyone shouts their answer. Wrong = take a dare. Right = you sound cultured.

Try one of these next.

Sound smart. Sound silly.

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