An example of what I mean:

I, in China, told an English speaking Chinese friend I needed to stop off in the bathroom to “take a shit.”

He looked appalled and after I asked why he had that look, he asked what I was going to do with someone’s shit.

I had not laughed so hard in a while, and it totally makes sense.

I explained it was an expression for pooping, and he comes back with, “wouldn’t that be giving a shit?”

I then got to explain that to give a shit means you care and I realized how fucked some of our expressions are.

What misunderstandings made you laugh?

  • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    6 days ago

    I’ve made this mistake and apparently others have as well: the words for lips (kuchibiru) and nipple (chikubi) got mixed up in my head leading to some awkwardness in Japanese.

      • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        6 days ago

        My brain isn’t consciously thinking about the constituent parts of words as I’m saying them. I definitely don’t think “milk neck” when I think nipple, either.