Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
50 Times Non-Native English Speakers Tried To Say Something And It Came Out In Funny And Sweet ‘Translations’
Interview With Author
A TikToker shared a funny story of a non-native English speaker creating some beautiful, unintentional poetry when trying to discuss moths and it spawned a frenzy of similar stories, phrases, and wonderful expressions. We reached out to Chris Rory, who created the original TikTok, to hear more about his experience and see some other examples. So get comfortable, pick up a notebook, and get ready to write down some excellent expressions that you should include in your everyday vocabulary. Be sure to upvote your favorites and check out Chris’ TikTok account here.
More info: TikTok
Image credits: chris.rory
This post may include affiliate links.
RELATED:
Bored Panda reached out to Chris Rory, who created the original TikTok, to ask some more questions. First, we wanted to know if he had any other examples of “accidental poetry that he liked. ”Gosh, it’s hard to think of the beautiful ones, a lot of it is just in the phrasing, adding an extra word here or there that adds emphasis to a sentence that wouldn’t normally be there, but here are some ones I can think of: “Rather is better than better is rather!”
An Italian friend trying to explain something like “It’s better than nothing!” I enjoy that our phrase for remembering how to tighten screws (righty tighty - lefty loosey) has a Spanish equivalent “The Right oppresses, the Left liberates” which I think is wonderful.”
#6
Skyla King 2 years ago
My Italian friend always says, “the pieces are eating each other!” Whenever we play chess. It’s hilarious and adorable.
He was also kind enough to share examples he had heard from friends and acquaintances. “A Norwegian colleague once asked me what the English word for “the first piss of the day” was, which alerted me to the idea that we might not have one, but also, that other people do. My Polish mother-in-law often tells jokes but picks the wrong word for the punch line. “A man walks into the doctor totally naked but wrapped in cling film. The doctor says ‘I can clearly see your balls.’”
#7
#8
“I used to live in Japan and I found out while living in Japan that for quite a while, instead of saying ‘housewife’ I had been saying ‘prostitute.’ Turns out I had been mispronouncing either shufu or shoufu,” he added, a good reminder to all of us attempting a new language. Make sure to check if there are similar-sounding words. After all, ship, duck, and stitch are all one letter away from curses.
Chris gave some other examples from Japan.” A Japanese friend once got her hair cut and I tried to tell her it was beautiful and it didn’t get the reaction I expected. I later found out I had told her it looked scary or ugly. The Japanese word ‘chin’ means ‘penis’ so when I taught children things like ‘ears, eyes, chin” they were rolling in laughter and I had no idea why.”
#15
“I guess language is flexible and is supposed to be expressive. Poetry is a way of pushing language by playing with syntax and pairing words in novel ways to create feeling and imagery. When people learn a language they do this naturally because they don’t yet know all of the ‘rules’ of the language, so they break them - the same way poetry does,” he added, when we asked about his thoughts on why these phrases sometimes seem so beautiful.
#16
#18
Phoenix(or nix)they/them 2 years ago
The Japanese direct translation of hedgehog is "needle mouse". I don't remember the actual word though.
“I’m not a linguist and I only know scraps of other languages, not enough to speak, but I did use to live communally with about 15-20 people, many of which were non-native speakers, it made for some excellent late-night conversations.” You can find Chris’ TikTok here where he posts funny sketches and talks about his life experience. He also has an Instagram page, which you can find here as well as a studio photography page, which you can find here.
#20
reiko_liesegang@yahoo.de 2 years ago
It is a word to word translation of the german Word „Staubsauger“
#21
Luke Branwen 2 years ago
Okay but that phrase is so raw that I had to pause and ponder it for a moment
#23
PolymathNecromancer 2 years ago
One of my Grandmas had a birthday cake fire when she turned 90.... it was awesome
#27
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 2 years ago
Reminds me of my brother at an American wedding. He forgot the name for "best man" and called him "spare groom".
#30
Becca Kuehn 2 years ago
I've had trouble remembering the word colander, so I called it the 'hole bowl'. 🕳 🥣 ☺️
#46
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 2 years ago
Literally, they translate in Spanish as "Molars of Judgment" (Muelas del Juicio)
#48
Shehzadi Amal 2 years ago
When my Pakistani friend was first learning English he would say "I have believe in you!" in place of *I believe in you*. I have never used the latter again. 😂 ❤️
#58
#66
Fatal Immortality 2 years ago
I've heard both "manhole pancake" and "bumpy pancake" for waffle
#70
#71
Matthew Currie 2 years ago
Long ago my wife had a Japanese room mate in college, who called the shower "the little rain room." The term still gets used occasionally.
#73
Mary Peace 2 years ago
Have you ever been to a classical music concert and seen the kettle drum?!
#75
#81
#83
#98
LillieMean 2 years ago
As a Finn, I didn't know the correct English word, so I said a claw that prevents laundry from flying away.
#100
#102
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Terran 2 years ago
The first thing everyone should know about learning foreign languages is that no matter how good you know a language, if you don't speak it a lot, you won't remember words. So creatively describing stuff in your own words is a very usefull skill to keep the conversation going. These stories here aren't just funny anecdotes, but are testaments to human creativity and our unbreakable will to successfully communicate with each other.
LokisLilButterknife 2 years ago
One of the ways people are officially tested for different levels of language proficiency (European Board of language proficiency which starts from level A1- complete beginner to C2 (complete native speaker fluency) is just how creatively non-native speakers can use clever anecdotes or descriptions if they don’t know a specific term. One of the questions you are sometimes asked for c1 or c2 fluency is to teach someone how to tie teach a child how to tie their shoes which is actually a lot harder than you think.
Load More Replies...
Apatheist Account2 2 years ago
Because we Brits are so good at foreign words...I once tried to ask my French teaching assistant if I could call her "tu" by saying "puis-je tu toyer", but it came out as "tu tuer", which meant "can I kill you"?
ЛеснойКороль(ForestKingHe/Him) 2 years ago
when i was still learning english i once said “i want to utilize your toilet” and have never lived it down amongst my friends
Mila Preradović 2 years ago
Take some comfort in knowing that a friend of mine once described red, horn-shaped peppers as "horny peppers"😁🌶🌶🌶
Load More Replies...
Terran 2 years ago
The first thing everyone should know about learning foreign languages is that no matter how good you know a language, if you don't speak it a lot, you won't remember words. So creatively describing stuff in your own words is a very usefull skill to keep the conversation going. These stories here aren't just funny anecdotes, but are testaments to human creativity and our unbreakable will to successfully communicate with each other.
LokisLilButterknife 2 years ago
One of the ways people are officially tested for different levels of language proficiency (European Board of language proficiency which starts from level A1- complete beginner to C2 (complete native speaker fluency) is just how creatively non-native speakers can use clever anecdotes or descriptions if they don’t know a specific term. One of the questions you are sometimes asked for c1 or c2 fluency is to teach someone how to tie teach a child how to tie their shoes which is actually a lot harder than you think.
Load More Replies... Apatheist Account2 2 years ago
Because we Brits are so good at foreign words...I once tried to ask my French teaching assistant if I could call her "tu" by saying "puis-je tu toyer", but it came out as "tu tuer", which meant "can I kill you"?
ЛеснойКороль(ForestKingHe/Him) 2 years ago
when i was still learning english i once said “i want to utilize your toilet” and have never lived it down amongst my friends
Mila Preradović 2 years ago
Take some comfort in knowing that a friend of mine once described red, horn-shaped peppers as "horny peppers"😁🌶🌶🌶
Load More Replies... You May Like “Die In A Minute”: 125 Times Autocorrect Made A Mess From A Normal Text 50 Funny Posts That Show Humanity Shares One Collective Brain Cell 50 Hilarious Posts From This Account Dedicated To Sharing “Men’s Humor” (New Pics)
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Greta Jaruševičiūtė
Greta Jaruševičiūtė
Related on Bored Panda
