Lost in translation...
What funny misunderstandings have you had with people from forrinland?

2 examples:

First, when I was visiting my girlfriend's family in Romania, I was drinking with her dad and we were going through the different languages we can say "cheers" in. Santé, Norok, Prost, and so on. Eventually I said "oh, skol!" and had basically just told him I had a hard on (incidentally an interestingly awkward situation to be in, since I had no idea why he had just exploded with laughter).

Oh, and the German 'Prost' also means stupid.

Second, when my Austrian mother moved to London, she was helping someone out cooking for a party. She asked: "Do you want me to rape the cheese?", pointing and smiling at a block of the stuff in her arnie-like accent.

Of course, she'd used her schooltime french, where 'rapper' means to grate.

I'm sure other people have had similar incidents, tell me more!
( morrybyte made a subtle namechange at, Mon 21 Jun 2010, 12:25, 3 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

French exchange student
after staying a few days came to my mother and asked for a shit. "I'm sorry?", replied my mother. "I 'ave a shit, on my bed. It is dirty. I need another one."

He meant sheet. Ho ho ho.
(Smale is stuffed, Mon 21 Jun 2010, 14:38, Reply)

Austria three years ago
I convinced someone who had been annoying me that the correct phrase when asking for food was "Der Fuhrer war von Oesterreich" or "Hitler was an Austrian".
( Hdjejjwsjdjjf LOOK, Mon 21 Jun 2010, 18:53, Reply)

The pronounciation of "Donner" in Sa means "to hit someone in the face" (in a bad way)

( Crap Little Monkey Deathstar, so good they built it twice, Thu 24 Jun 2010, 10:53, Reply)