Don't forget your toothbrush
While studying in Germany, I needed a toothbrush, so I looked the word up in the dictionary and found ´Ü²¹³ó²Ô²úü°ù²õ³Ù±ð. However, by the time I got downstairs to ask my host family where I could buy one, I had mixed up a few letters in my mind, stating that I needed ³§²¹³ó²Ô±ð²ú°ùü²õ³Ù±ð. With a puzzled look, my hostess asked me to repeat my statement and I confidently repeated it several times whilst pointing at my mouth. This caused her to turn several shades of red. I subsequently discovered that Sahne means 'cream' in German and µþ°ùü²õ³Ù±ð means 'breasts'!
Sent by: Kevin
Comments
With the supermarkets, you do not need to know any language at all! Just go and pick any brush you like! I live here in Germany without knowing how to call a toothbrush in German.
Don't worry I have done a similar thing. I took a year out in Germany and was looking after someone over there and asked where her ±á²¹²¹°ù²ú°ùü²õ³Ù±ð was. Obviously I meant ±á²¹²¹°ù²úü°ù²õ³Ù±ð, hair brush, not 'hairy breasts'! As you can imagine it led to a few laughs!
Many years ago, on a school trip to Austria, we had to take it in turns to ask for the food at our table to be replenished. Not knowing the German for bread (Brot), I was conned by my 'friends' into asking the waitress for Brust, bitte, breast, please!
³§²¹³ó²Ô±ð²ú°ùü²õ³Ù±ð is a word men would use when talking about women. It means the woman has really nice breasts.
It is not just the British who get it wrong when in Germany! Nothing to do with breasts or cream, but I do remember an anecdote about a German exchange student in Britain, whilst waiting for her full English breakfast to appear, became impatient and asked "When do I become a sausage?" - Bekommen in German means to get, receive etc.)
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