An example of what I mean:
I, in China, told an English speaking Chinese friend I needed to stop off in the bathroom to “take a shit.”
He looked appalled and after I asked why he had that look, he asked what I was going to do with someone’s shit.
I had not laughed so hard in a while, and it totally makes sense.
I explained it was an expression for pooping, and he comes back with, “wouldn’t that be giving a shit?”
I then got to explain that to give a shit means you care and I realized how fucked some of our expressions are.
What misunderstandings made you laugh?
I was selling a TV to a guy who barely spoke English. The TV was $50. He said “I only have fifteen monies”. Idk why, but that was so hilarious to me that I let him have the TV for fifteen monies.
I can’t think of one off hand, but yours (E: and several of the replies) made me lol, thanks 😂
About 20 years ago I spent the year after high school in Europe. Went backpacking to Italy with friends, one of whom was absurdly handsome, not all that bright and quite forward.
Well, in Rome we met a group of pretty girls who spoke no English but with sign language and a phrase book we figured they were visiting Rome as part of their high school graduation fun. Got a number and promised to meet them in Naples.
Fast forward, we arrive in the evening in Naples with no plan or place to stay hoping to connect with these girls.
We find a payphone, handsome fella grabs it and starts dialing. And then we hear:
“Uhhhh. Ci? Is… Uhhh. Shit. Is your daughter there? Your daughter? Hot daughter? Phone? Fuck. IS YOUR DAUGHTER THERE? I’m the guy from Rome? FUCK!”
Not exactly a misunderstanding but… my dad (a professor here in the U.S.) had a close friend and colleague, a Spaniard, who would go off to an intensive language summer school thing every year to teach American college students whatever esoteric Spanish literature was his specialty and only spoke Spanish the entire time.
Whenever he got back, he would spontaneously start talking to us in Spanish, suddenly realized we didn’t speak Spanish, then restart again in English. It didn’t embarrass him or anything, but it amused me when he did it.
Oh man this happens to my mom all the time, in both languages too. She’ll speak English to people in mexico and Spanish to people in Canada. Cracks me up every time, but sucks when we’re trying to pass as locals in mexico.
I had a similar experience when I was learning English where I was trying to give something to my friend, eventually I realized I was just repeating a number (10) at her. Ten means “take this” in spanish.
I don’t have an anecdote, but I do have a good joke.
Late at night, a German coast guard radio operator gets a distress call. A British ship has capsized and is quickly taking on water.
“We’re sinking, we’re sinking!!” The panicked sailor yells over the radio.
Confused, the German operator takes a minute then responds “What are you… sinking about?”
I know I am completely ruining the joke, however that is not even remotely proper radio protocol - and yes I am German, how did you know?
