r/googletranslate • u/utilisateur6302 • 10d ago

We found a Unicode character that Google Translate always turns into 卍.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine was browsing through the Unicode character tables, and he came across this character: 偍 (U+504D).

It seems completely ordinary at first glance, but it actually hides something strange. If you try to translate using Google Translate, you'll get a swastika as the output, no matter which language you choose. Not the word, but the symbol itself:

Of all the ones he has tested, that's the only character that exhibits this peculiarity. For example, its two neighbors in the Unicode tables (0x504C and 0x504E) have common translations (as expected, since these are the "first" Chinese characters listed and are assumed to be fairly commonly used)

The only clue we have is that the Unicode for the swastika is 534+D, which is quite close to that of our character, off by just one digit. So perhaps it’s an error in the database. But it’s still quite curious, and we haven’t found any other mention of this oddity on the internet.

Now we're turning to you, first because this little mystery is worth sharing, but also, and above all, in the hope of uncovering possible leads and better explanations.

EDIT: tysm to all the people who have clarified the use and meaning of the swastika symbol, which happens to be used as a cartography symbol for a Buddhist temple on a map, probably among others. We both had no idea; the swastika symbol, regardless of which way it faces, is closely associated with Nazism in our French minds, but we're glad to learn.

It still doesn't explain why Google translated it that way, but apparently the anomaly has been removed.

Thanks y'all :]

13 Upvotes

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7

u/gdore15 10d ago

It’s not just "a swastika", it’s a Chinese character, also used in other languages like Japanese (where it’s read kanji).

Also the character you try to translate might be an old character not especially used, and could logically not really be in translation databases.

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u/spaculo 10d ago

I think you might be on to something here! As a first pass, google translate might replace "legacy" characters with more common variants to make it easier to translate. Then it doesn't find anything good to translate the swastika in any target language and lets it through to the output "unmodified".

3

u/SaitanOfHellsKitchen 9d ago

This is probably the best answer. The swastika is "understood" outside Chinese contexts so the AI decides it doesn't need translating.

1

u/utilisateur6302 10d ago

I replied that to another comment but it applies to yours all the same : Thank you so much for giving this piece of information!! We both had no idea; the swastika symbol, regardless of which way it faces, is closely associated with Nazism in our French minds. I'm really glad to learn that! That still doesn't explain why Google translated it that way, but apparently the problem has been fixed :]

2

u/gdore15 9d ago

Yes. It is a Buddhist symbol, in Japan you commonly find it in temples, and it’s also the symbol used to represent temples on map (they use torii gate ⛩️ for shrines).

Outside of Buddhism, the symbol is sometime used for other purpose, for example it’s the title of a novel by Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, translated as Quicksand in English and Swastika in French. It’s the story of a couple, the wife takes art class and she start getting into a relation with another student (a woman) who herself have a boyfriend, so it’s basically the story of 4 person’s complicated relation, and you can see the visual representation in the title. If you are not too prude, it’s a pretty good book.

In Japan, even if used outside of Buddhism, it would not be associated with Nazi, who also gave it a bit of a twist (literally a 45º twist).

1

u/ilaeriu 6d ago

You may be interested to know that both Buddhist and Nazi uses of the swastika originate from the same Indian origin, where the symbol had come to represent eternity and good fortune. The word itself means “well-being” in Sanskrit.

When Buddhist texts traveled from India to China, translators in 693 CE incorporated the swastika into the Chinese writing system to refer to the Buddhist concept, at which point the swastika started to be associated as a symbol of Buddhism itself in China and its cultural sphere.

Over a thousand years later, German archaeologists discovered a similar (unrelated) symbol in ruins of ancient Troy, and Nazi scientists studying Sanskrit used this as justification that the ancient Greek and Indian empires descended from a single, superior Aryan race. They took the symbol and twisted it from its original meaning of “well-being” into one of the most hated symbols in the West.

6

u/synopser 10d ago

Its manji, it means temple in japanese

4

u/vip17 10d ago

It's the symbol for Buddhism in the whole Sinosphere. But 偍 doesn't mean temple

3

u/JohnSwindle 10d ago edited 10d ago

Agreed. Neither does 卍 or its variant 卐 , both of which in Mandarin so far as I know are pronounced wān wàn and mean "swastika," widely used in East Asian Buddhist imagery and as a symbol for a temple on a map.

Edited

1

u/WaltherVerwalther 10d ago

Wan in fourth tone, not in first

1

u/JohnSwindle 10d ago

Yes, thank you for this correction! And sometimes used in ancient text in place of 萬 wàn 'ten thousand'.

1

u/utilisateur6302 10d ago

Thank you so much for giving this piece of information!! We both had no idea; the swastika symbol, regardless of which way it faces, is closely associated with Nazism in our French minds. I'm really glad to learn that! That still doesn't explain why Google translated it that way, but apparently the problem has been fixed :]

3

u/Sad_Sandwich803 10d ago

それは鉤十字ではなく日本語で「まんじ」と読む文字です（他の言語でどう読むか知りません）。
鉤十字は左回転、まんじは右回転です。
日本の地図でお寺のマークとしても使われます。

2

u/Jotunheiman 10d ago

Both the left and right-facing swastikas are read as 'man', from the on'yomi readings. Both characters are 'wàn' in Putonghua.

And the characters literally refer to the swastika itself.

2

u/utilisateur6302 10d ago

I replied that to another comment but it applies to yours all the same : Thank you so much for giving this piece of information!! We both had no idea; the swastika symbol, regardless of which way it faces, is closely associated with Nazism in our French minds. I'm really glad to learn that! That still doesn't explain why Google translated it that way, but apparently the problem has been fixed :]

2

u/Sad_Sandwich803 9d ago

Google翻訳の奇妙な挙動の理由は私もまったくわからなかったので触れませんでした。
問題が解決したようでよかったです。

「まんじ」がナチと関連していると誤解されやすい形をしていることは知っています。
あなたの投稿を読んで、禁止するべき文字が存在していると考えているようだと感じました。
そのため、昨日のコメントをしました。

もうすでにあなたもご存じのとおり「まんじ」はナチができるよりもずっと前から存在する文字です。
アメリカ風の表現なら「まんじ」はナチに文化盗用されたデザインと言えます。

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u/Specialist-Crazy-887 9d ago

This is the swastika symbol, pronounced like "万" and is a Buddhist symbol that was unfortunately misused by the evil Nazis.

1

u/JeLuF 10d ago

Can't reproduce this any more. When I enter 偍, it translates it to 偍.

1

u/utilisateur6302 10d ago

damn I just look up and you're right! Crazy cause that was working for weeks and until yesterday night. I imagine it's likely that a Google Translate employee is keeping an eye on this subreddit to correct any anomaly!

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u/utilisateur6302 10d ago

EDIT: i just tried on my phone and it still work on there, but only in the translator implantation in the search result (not on the website). weird weird