Funny Language Mistakes

Everyone has gone to a different country positive that they can speak the language and ended up failing or annoying the locals or in my case getting a drink name after them! Most of these are from German as I have worked hard at learning it and they aren’t just me.

Oktoberfest:

Sat at the beer table with my Australian travel buddies, one of the girls came across a young man. He came over to sit with the girl and she was really trying it on with him. She had gone and “chatted him up” in her German. He came and sat down. She wanted to order the beers. I told her how “Ein Beir bitte”.

I spoke to him in German, he didn’t speak a word of English. He was up for chatting with us and thought he was going to make friends. I asked if he had a girlfriend. He said he had a wife. At that point I burst out laughing and waited for the penny to drop with the girl. It took a couple of hours. Amazing German.

Despacito before it was popular

I was visiting a friend and we were in a bar. There was a group of girls from Spain. I knew a little Spanish. I am learning now for travelling. They were thrilled and we were doing karaoke. They got us to do Macarena which everyone knows. But then a new song came on which we had heard. This was before beibers one.

Despacito. Without Bieber bit this is a hard song. The girls were pissing themselves with us trying to keep up with the speed and the pronunciation. It is a little easier now but it is still complete gibberish in parts.

Sex on the beach

My friend and I were at a hostel which had a karaoke night. It was a small hostel and it was march so it wasn’t very busy but we had a really good time singing and drinking. As you know in the cities you try to speak German and they reply in English. I was tipsy and I wanted to show off. I wanted another cocktail so I thought it would be clever to translate the name to what I thought was correct.

Well I ordered a Sex on the beach in my words…. Geschlecktsverker auf die strand. It should have been Sex am strand. But my choice of words seemed to be so vulgar the bartender fell on the floor laughing. I was just like what it’s the drink. They were like yes but you asked for a fuck in the sand. So yes, I understood that was probably the wrong thing. They called the sex on the beach that for the whole time we were staying there. Hint order cocktails in English they don’t change.

My leg!!

Quick one, I was waitressing in Thüringen. The words in German for bee and leg are very similar. Bein and Biene. I was chased by a bee yelling Bein Bein Bein. I was yelling leg leg leg leg…. Much to everyone’s confusion and hilarity. Pronounce your Es.