What does "Stranger Things" mean? Translation and origin of the title
Universe · The title · Translation and origin
“Stranger Things” translates literally as “stranger things”: it is the end of an English expression, “stranger things have happened,” which you could render as “weirder things have been seen.” Here is what the title means, where it comes from, and why France kept it in English.
The essentials
- Literal translation: stranger things
- Full phrase: “… have happened”, meaning “we've seen weirder”
- Working title: Montauk, named after a town on Long Island
- Airing: title kept in English in almost every country
Contents
The translation, word for word and in spirit
In English, “strange” means odd, and “stranger” is its comparative: stranger. “Things” are things. “Stranger things,” then, are stranger things, weirder things. The title is deliberately incomplete: it calls for a follow-up every English speaker knows, “… have happened,” literally “stranger things have happened,” that is “weirder things have already been seen,” “it is not impossible.”
It is an expression people use to downplay a coincidence or an improbable event. Applied to a show where a child disappears into a parallel dimension, it takes an ironic tone: what you are about to see is strange, but after all, we have seen worse. The title announces the mix of the show, the horror and the wink.
And “stranger” in the sense of “foreigner”?The word “stranger” also means “unknown”, “foreigner”. The double meaning is no accident: the show is about a stranger who comes out of the woods, Eleven, and a world foreign to ours. But grammatically, in the title, it is the comparative “more strange” that is in play.
The logo, in red letters, on a T-shirt.
In the shopWomen's Hawkins High School 1986 T-shirt24,90 €See the product
Before the title: the “Montauk” project
When the Duffer Brothers pitch their project to networks in 2014, the show is called Montauk, and it is set in Montauk, at the tip of Long Island, near New York. The town is tied to an urban legend, the "Montauk Project," secret military experiments on children and time travel, said to have taken place at an Air Force base in the 70s and 80s.
Shooting on Long Island proves too costly and too constrained by the weather: production leaves for Georgia, and the fictional town of Hawkins, in Indiana, replaces Montauk. The title changes with it. The Duffers said they looked for a title that sounds like a Stephen King novel; the current title was kept after dozens of proposals, without everyone being convinced at first.
Why the title was not translated in France
In France, the show is broadcast under its original title, as in almost every country. Two reasons: the streamer imposes a single international title for its productions, and the expression has no French equivalent as short. “Strange things” loses the comparative, “We've seen stranger” loses the sobriety. In Quebec, where the law encourages translation, the show also stayed in English.
The logo, for its part, is the same everywhere: red letters that assemble in the opening credits, in a style inherited directly from 80s horror-novel covers. That is what makes the title, even in English, immediately readable as a vintage scare story.
| Language | Title used |
|---|---|
| French (France, Quebec) | original title kept |
| Spanish, Italian, German | original title kept |
| Japanese | ストレンジャー・シングス 未知の世界 ("the unknown world") |
| Russian | Очень странные дела ("very strange affairs") |
What the title says about the show
The title names neither a place, nor a character, nor a monster. It names a feeling: that of an ordinary world where something stranger has slipped in. That is faithful to the show's construction, which always starts from everyday life, a game of Dungeons & Dragons, a mall, a skating rink, before letting the abnormal in.
Each season, for that matter, carries an internal subtitle, never displayed: the writers talk about “2,” “3,” “4,” as movie sequels, with a number and not a “season.” It is also a way of saying that each season is a period movie, complete, with its own monster.
The figure for those who prefer strange things in three dimensions.
In the shopSet of 8 figures, the Hawkins party series B39,90 €See the product
Episode titles: “chapters,” as in a novel
The show's title comes with another convention: each episode is called “Chapter,” followed by a number and a title, like the chapters of a Stephen King novel, whose cover type inspired the opening credits. “Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers,” “Chapter Nine: The Piggyback,” the last chapter of 1987: the titles are announced in advance and serve as clues for fans.
They rhyme with each other. “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler,” in 1987, answers the first episode of 1983; the title of the last chapter inverts “The Upside Down,” the Season 1 finale. The title of the show is therefore ringed by titles that, themselves, tell the story: the show is called “strange things” and its chapters say which ones.
The title around the world, and what it became
The title has been translated in almost no country: it is written and said in English in France, in Spain, in Germany, in Italy, in Latin America. Only a few versions, including some in Asia, have transcribed it into their alphabet. That lack of translation made the red logo a universal sign, recognizable without reading English, and it is one of the reasons it has been so parodied.
The title also gave a date: November 6, the day of Will's disappearance, became “Stranger Things Day,” celebrated every year since 2018 with announcements, and chosen for the last season's premiere in 2025. A title that is not translated, a date that does not change: the show made its name a brand before it even finished its story.
How to say it, and how not to say it
The title is said in English, in two words, with the stress on the first syllable of “stranger” and a blown “th” on “things.” You often hear, in France, a French “strangère”; that is not a fault, but it is not how the show says it. The “ST” acronym is common on social media, and “ST5” designated the last season through its whole campaign.
What you must not say is “the strange things”: the literal translation exists, but it has never been used to name the show, and nobody would understand it. The title has become a proper name, like the name of a town. Hawkins, for that matter, was not translated either.
The title poster, as it appears in the opening credits.
In the shopHawkins forest poster19,90 €See the product
Frequently asked questions
What does the title mean in French?
Literally "stranger things." It is the end of a common phrase, "… have happened," "weirder things have happened."
Why is the show called that?
The creators wanted a title that sounds like an 80s horror novel. The project was first called Montauk, after the town where the story was supposed to take place.
How do you pronounce the title?
"Strain-djeur thingz," with an English "th." In France, you most often hear "strangeur sings."
Is the title translated in other countries?
Almost never. Japan adds a subtitle ("the unknown world") and Russia translates it as "very strange affairs," but almost every country keeps the English.
Why are the episodes called "Chapter"?
So that each season reads like a novel, in the spirit of the Stephen King books that inspired the title sequence. The titles rhyme with one another from season to season.
Is the title translated abroad?
Almost nowhere: it stays in English in Europe and in Latin America, and is only transcribed in a few alphabets. That is what made the logo a universal sign.