Here's a short and silly list of some of the dumb things I've said in German:
In general conversation
What I meant to say: I'm impressed!
What I said: I'm impressive!
At work when speaking to customers
What I meant to say: Serve yourself!
What I said: Behave yourself!
What I meant to say: It's spicy.
What I said: It's bland. (Fortunately, that mistake was rectified before purchase.)
What I meant to say: One can sit at the window (gestures to window seating).
What I said: One can sit in the window (gestures to window seating). I then imagined those poor customers trapped in the glass like a bug in amber. Oopsie!
Any of you out there in ex-pat land have any verbal gaffs that you'd like to contribute?
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In Chinese, there are two different words used to describe a short person and something that is short in length, and they are not interchangeable.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of an incident where a person was meaning to say: He is a short person.
In actuality, he or she had said: He is short in length. (Think of measuring the length of the person using a 30cm long ruler...)
If I understood correctly, then the Chinese language makes an interesting distinction between 'short'(height) and 'short'(length). I could well see many non-native speakers messing that one up!
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