A long time ago, the learner talked about Charlie in Japanese. “He is a good boy,” “He is smart,” and “He is kind…” I thought Charlie was her son, and I said to her, “Your son is nice!”
Then she said to me, “My son is an adult. Charlie is my dog!” 🤣🤣🤣
Almost every day, I have interacted with different language speakers. Misunderstandings are quite common. I have not had troubles, but I have often said wrong words and mispronounced words.
Over 20 years ago, I lived in Spain. One night, I went to buy churros and chocolate. Eating churros and chocolate is a Spanish tradition in the winter. To me, “churros” and “chorizo” sound similar. When I ordered, I said to the vendor, “Un chorizo con chocolate, por favor!”
The lady looked at me with a weird face but didn’t say anything. Native speakers can understand when you make a mistake…
「今まで経験した中で、一番笑える勘違いは何ですか？」っていう質問ですが、ずいぶん前のことかな。ある学習者さんが、日本語で「チャーリー」の話をしてくれました。「彼は良い子なの」、「彼は頭がいいの」「彼は優しくて……」って感じで。私は彼が彼女の息子だと思って、「素敵な息子さんですね！ 」って言いました。
そしたら、彼女が「私の息子は成人してるわ。チャーリーは私の犬よ！」って。犬につける名前として、「チャーリー」は人気だから… (笑)
ほぼ毎日、他言語を話す人達と接してるから、勘違い (誤解) とかは経験してる方かな。トラブルとかはないけど、間違った単語を言ったり、発音を間違えたりすることは、よくあるかも。
20年以上前、私はスペインに住んでて、ある晩、チュロスとチョコレートを買いに行きました。冬にチュロスとチョコレートを食べるのはスペインの伝統なんですが、私にとって、「チュロス」と「チョリソ」は発音が似てる。注文する際、私は店員さんに「チョリソ (スペインのソーセージ) とチョコレートを1つください 」と
店員さんが変な顔で見たけど、何も言わず。ネイティブスピーカーなら、間違えても理解するだろうから…
Image by Pixabay
10 responses to “What’s the funniest misunderstanding you’ve ever been part of?”
What a great read! The image of the shop assistant’s face when you ordered sausage with chocolate is priceless.
It takes real courage to put yourself out there and learn new languages. Missteps are just proof that we’re trying. Thanks for sharing this wonderful reminder to laugh at ourselves!
Thank you. I don’t want to try sausage with chocolate…and Charlie is a popular dog name (except for Japan). I didn’t know that… I learned.
What a delightful story! It perfectly captures the joy and humour that come with learning a new language. The “Charlie” misunderstanding made me smile, and the mix-up between churros and chorizo is absolutely priceless! 😊
What I admire most is your positive attitude. Instead of being embarrassed by these moments, you embrace them as part of the learning journey.
Like other bloggers said, we learn from mistakes. Language learning is a journey 😊
Absolutely! 😊 Every mistake is a stepping stone to improvement. Language learning is indeed a journey, and each conversation, correction, and new word helps us grow a little more. The important thing is to keep practicing, stay curious, and enjoy the process. Thank you for the lovely reminder! 🌸
国際派なのですね✨チュロス美味しいですよね
そう、チュロス美味しいですよね。冬になると思い出します。日本の冬だと、私は焼き芋。昔は石焼き芋の車がよく通りましたけど、最近は少なくなった感じがします…🍠
Great piece! Really enjoyed this one. I’d love for you to check out my latest work at storefrontsubway.com, if you’re interested! Always looking to get some feedback!
😂😂 Charlie being a dog was already such a plot twist… and then “chorizo with chocolate” completely finished me! 🤣 I can only imagine the vendor wondering what kind of recipe you were about to invent. What a wonderful misunderstanding to look back on. 😄
Hi, sorry for my late reply. Yes, hilarious, right? This is one of many!🤣🤣🤣