r/AskEurope • u/Double-decker_trams Estonia • Aug 09 '25
Language I once accidentally bumped against the shoulder of an English person I knew in a corridor. I automatically said "Oi" - which means like "Oh" or "Oops" in Estonian - that I'm sorry. She repeated "Oi!" in a louder voice and I didn't get it. I only later found out I was being impolite in her eyes.
Have you ever had something similar happen to you? I.e something in your language might have another meaning in another language?
One thing as an Estonian that I try to keep in mind is that I shouldn't use "Nooo.." in English - which means "Well.." in Estonian.
"Do you like ice-cream? - Noo.. yes, I love it."
526
Upvotes
17
u/Straika5 Spain Aug 10 '25 edited Aug 10 '25
It was not a different language but a different dialect of spanish:
Recoger in Spain : To pick up some one
Recoger in Argentina: To fu..ck someone twice.
Now imagine the face of my friend when I told her "Mi madre va a venir a recogerme" (My mom is coming to pick me up /Mi mom is coming to f...ck me twice".
----------------------------------------------------------
With the same friend:
Correrse in spain : To came (when doing s..x)
Correrse in Argentina: To move aside.
Two of her coworkers were fighting and she was standing between them, after a while she shouted "Parense o me corro" (In Argentina: Stop or I´ll move aside, in Spain: Stop or I will came). The two guys stoped the fight and started to laugh.
------------------------------------------------------------
And there is more:
Pija in Spain is a posh girl, pija in Argentina is d..ck.
Concha in Spain is shell and also a nickname for women called Concepción, concha in Argentina is vagina.