I’m on week six now of private Mandarin Chinese lessons. Everyone says the best way to learn is just to jump in and make a fool of yourself, which I have been doing to excess. I thought I’d share some of my faux pas that were “Lost in Translation”.
- What I meant to say: Hey guys!
What I actually said: Hello to my little sister. - What I meant to say: Excuse me miss.
What I actually said: Excuse me prostitute. - What I meant to say: I’m the big dog.
What I actually said: I’m a worthless piece of dirt. - What I meant to say: I like Bruce Lee.
What I actually said: I want to eat Bruce Lee. - What I meant to say: You are nice.
What I actually said: I want you. - What I meant to say: This is my nose.
What I actually said: Shut up bitch.
My teacher was not very happy when I told her “This is my nose.”
Nothing like a good belly-laugh to start the day 🙂 🙂 🙂
Your tutor probably thinks teaching you is a riot!
In Hungarian
What I meant to say was “I’m tired.”
What I actually said was, “I’m men’s briefs.”
Nice.
Also trying to tell people I don’t speak Hungarian was actually me telling the Hungarian people, “YOU don’t speak Hungarian.” Months went by before anyone corrected that one. I kept wondering what the coy smiles I was getting were about!