Funny contradictory words....

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Hey Guys,

I am curious to know if any of you know some multi lingual words-phrases wherein the pronunciation or meaning of those words or phrases mean one thing in one language and something absurd or contradictory in other language(s)...

I know a few myself from...

1. The word "susu" in Malay means Milk but in Hindi (and many other asian languages) means "Urine".

2. The phrase "She is a Cow" has oppsoite emotions attached to it. In western culture its female name calling. But in Hindi it means the girl \ lady is very clam and composed.

3. The word "Quean" sounds like "Queen" in English but has opposite meanings... the former means a disreputable woman!

4. We all know what "Stool" can mean... "I delivered stools this morning" can have absurd meaning to it ...

5. "Goo" in english means viscous or something sentimental or coy whereas in all the indian languages it means animal droppings.

6. In Marathi, "Gundu" means "cute" and in Tamil (another indian language) it means "butt".

7. "Hug" in English means "embrace" but in many south asian languages it means "to poop".

8. Sarcasm can change meanings of the words over time...

1> In old times "dingdoulers" meant "fine attire" but in certain parts of Canada and UK it means "bad dressing style".

2> same goes for "Avatar" which means reincarnation but in Marathi (one of the indian languages) it means "funny dressing style."

3> We know what "Gay" meant and means....

Can u dare to say "When I saw rainbow I was Gay" now?

4> "Cougar" was actually a cat but it means a middle age sexy lady these days.

I hope u guys add ur valuable knowledge to this... Very Happy

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There are a host of such differences within the different dialects of English. One which leaps immediately to mind is fag, which in most English-speaking countries means a cigarette, but which means a homosexual in American English.

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@Setanta,

Mansion in English; apartment in Japanese.

Chair in English; la chair in France is flesh, sensual temptation.

Pet in English; in French le pet is fart.

Trance in English; in Spanish le trance is danger, critical moment.

Ritz in English; in German scratch.

BBB

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@BumbleBeeBoogie,

a booger in America is snot.

In Britain, it's something different...

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

NOVA, in Merkan its a car, In Portuegues and Spanish it means "Doent go"

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I once attended a service at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal. The service
was -- of course -- in French. I knew enough scripture and enough French
to more or less follow the reading of the gospel. At one point I heard in
my head "I saw Satan falling like an eclair from heaven."

Eclair is French for lightening.

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Ça s'explique, donc . . . vous l'avez bien éclairé . . .

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@George,

Yum, Satan.

(Interesting thread! Haven't thought of any yet, just beginners' mistakes in ASL.) ("Coffee" and "masturbate" are problematically similar...)

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@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

Yum, Satan.

(Interesting thread! Haven't thought of any yet, just beginners' mistakes in
ASL.) ("Coffee" and "masturbate" are problematically similar...)

<snort>
Literally, snort. I read that as I was drinking coffee.

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@Setanta,

Setanta wrote:

Ça s'explique, donc . . . vous l'avez bien éclairé . . .

Having to go to Google language tools really takes the fun from a pun.

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@George,

Ah well . . . i was trying to quickly think of a way to put more reflexive verbs in my response, but just went with that. Them French boys get a lot of mileage out of reflexive verbs . . .

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I was sitting on a hill in Cork, overlooking a cricket field, and was in the company of some Australian hikers. I asked them about the game, and at one point one of them told me that the person throwing the ball was the "baller." So it old them that "to ball" had a sexual meaning in the U.S. He replied that it has the same meaning in Australia, but that he had not said that . . .

"I said baller--b-o-w-l-e-r--baller."

I said: "Right . . . have you been to Blarney Castle yet?"

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Few more from me....

1. Ass in Hindi (pronunciated as "Aas") means "Hope"

2. "Pool" in English is "accumulation of things esp. water" but in Indian languages it means "Bridge".

3. The word "Tea" has a very interesting history behind it.

When British invaded china, they dicovered the leaves of "Cha" tree which the chinese would boil in water and drink as a beverage. When these british officers were welcomed at chinese houses, the house men would order his wife to prepare tea by saying "Cha Tee" in Chinese where Cha actually meant "Tea" and Tee means "to prepare".

But the british picked up only "Tee" and used it as the synonym for Cha i.e. Tea.

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@vinsan,

cleave

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@vinsan,

In danish we have very unfortunate words and pharses.

I fart = in motion
Slut = the end

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@laughoutlood,

I was thinking of the same thing. Moot is another word that can have two directly opposite meanings - both in English.

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@roger,

ciao

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym

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In Hawaiian mauka means 'inland, away from the sea.' You see it in newspaper stories all the time, even when the rest of the story is written in English. In Latvian mauka means 'whore.'

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@Merry Andrew,

There are two words in German which look and sound very much like two words in English. The German words are wo and wehr. Very smiliar to 'who' and 'where' in English, no? But wo means 'where' and wehr means 'who'.

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@Merry Andrew,

wie?

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Funny contradictory words....

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