#60667 - Favorite foreign language words

[Emiliana]

I enjoyed this question.

My favorite Swahili word is pole [poh-leh], which means "sorry" -- but it's "I'm sorry that happened to you," not, "I'm sorry I did that to you." It mean anything from, "I'm sorry you dropped that spoon you were holding" to "I'm sorry your dad just died," depending on the circumstances, but it's a very useful word. It drives me crazy when American English speakers say "It's not your fault" when I use "sorry" in that way. I know it's not my fault, but please let me express sympathy!

(Incidentally, polepole means "slowly." I've tried to figure out if there's an etymological relationship there, but Swahili etymology isn't all that well-documented.)

[Unit of Energy]

my favorite word in French is pomme de terre, it means potato, although the direct translation is apple of the earth. I am rather fond of using it as an insult.

[thebigcheese]

It drives me crazy when American English speakers say "It's not your fault" when I use "sorry" in that way. I know it's not my fault, but please let me express sympathy!

Oh my goodness, my husband does that all the time! I've never actually heard anyone else say that, but I'm glad he's not the only one.

Anyway...

Pomme de terre is an excellent choice. I also enjoy one of the French terms of endearment: mon petit chou = my little cabbage.

[Marduk]

Slightly related:

This actually happened: Chevy was very disappointed in the sales of one of their cars that was being marketed fairly heavily for the Central and South American markets, including Mexico. The problem? They were marketing, to predominantly Spanish-speaking individuals, a car named the Chevy Nova.

In Spanish? No va means "doesn't go."

[Craig Jessop]

^That's hilarious.

[vorpal blade]

I know someone who wrote a whole book on such international blunders.

Apparently cars used to (maybe they still do, I don't know) have a little sign saying "Body by Fisher" that you saw as you opened the door. The way that got translated into Spanish meant "corpse by Fisher," which was a little unnerving as you got into the car.

[mic0]

On the flipside, some companies do a really good job translating their product's names. In China Coca-Cole is "Kekou kele" which translates to something like... "very delicious happiness."

[Tao]

Oh, the dabbling, the dabbling!

In German, by way of Frank Herbert: Spannungsbogen - lit. "Tension arc" often translated as 'suspense'. in Dune "The self-imposed delay between when one begins to desire something and when one attempts to achieve or acquire it."
In Japanese: Itadakimasu (いただきます)- lit."Humbly I receive" Usually said before each meal.
In Greek: Alethia (ἀ–λήθεια)- lit."not forgotten" translated 'Truth'. Root word for the name Alisha and Alice, Heidegger went nuts over it.
In Spanish: El Obispo - lit."the obese one" Not really, but I keep telling my bishop that...

[bobtheenchantedone]

In Japanese: Itadakimasu (いただきます)- lit."Humbly I receive" Usually said before each meal.

And this is why we often say "Eat the doggy's mess!" before eating.

[vorpal blade]

I find the phrase "ti voglio bene" interesting in Italian, because it is used to mean "I like you," but also quite literally means "I want you." Somehow as a missionary telling someone that you liked him or her never seemed appropriate.

[Emiliana]

I also enjoy one of the French terms of endearment: mon petit chou = my little cabbage.

My dad used to call me that all the time when I was little! For some reason I really hated it.

[Imogen]

i love the french word "pamplemousse" which means grapefruit

[Yarjka]

i love the french word "pamplemousse" which means grapefruit

It's also an awesome musical duo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIr8-f2OWhs

[TheAnswerIs42]

When I took Latin in high school, a friend of mine and I were obsessed with the word "uva". It means grape. But we just liked how it sounded, and would shout it to each other as a greeting. "UUUU-WAAA!"

Teenagers are odd sometimes.

We also enjoyed turning Latin into ebonics. Verbum ad tu matrem!

[thebigcheese]

My sister did that with "parce que" in French. It means because. But she would always say "PARCE QUUUUUUEEEEEE!" and drag it out forever.

[Dead Cat]

I asked the Board how to say "my dog can jump this high" in German because I remember my 10th grade History teacher saying it was the only German phrase he knew so he could do the Hitler salute while saying it. For those not link-happy, it is "Mein Hund kann so hoch springen."

[Tao]

heh, and I've discovered a new-found appreciation for Hungarian.

Szia!

Hail! Szia!

Et tu, Szia?

heh. hungarian's fun.

[Werf_Must]

I like the phrase qdd ('add) iddunya in Arabic. It is like "as big as the world" but really it is more like super-duper. It is fun to add to sentences ^.^

[Whistler]

We also enjoyed turning Latin into ebonics. Verbum ad tu matrem!

Quid altius, canis?

[Emiliana]

Another of my favorite words is Kabaka, which means king in the language of the Baganda tribe. It's an insanely fun word to say. KABAKA! We got a German Shepherd puppy a few months ago and really wanted to name him Kabaka. Then we discovered that some of the tribes around here serious grievances against the Kabaka of the Baganda, so they didn't like the name. And the Baganda themselves didn't care for it, either, seeing it as an insult to their king. So it would be like naming your dog King George during the American revolution -- offensive whether you like the guy or not. So now the puppy is named Kivuli (or Kivu for short), which means "shadow" in Swahili and is still a pretty good name. A friend recently told me that "kibuli," which sounds almost identical, is the Swahili word disobedience or stubbornness. We're hoping he doesn't live up to that name.