I was studying abroad in Madrid, Spain and discovered something about Spanish in the most embarrassing way! A Spanish friend of mine asked me whether I liked his friend, Miguel—“¿Te gusta Miguel?” I responded with—“¡Si, claro!” because yes, of course, I liked Miguel just fine. He was nice, not to mention, a great dancer. But then after a little too much attention from Miguel, I realized that gustar meant “to like—in a romantic way.” What I meant to say was “Me cae bien,” which means that I like him as a friend. I’ll never make that mistake again! When I found out, I expressed how embarazada I was. Little did I realize that I was telling them that I was very pregnant!
Sometimes you learn Spanish the hard way! Please share your embarrassing Spanish learning blunders with us! Add a comment below.
5 comments:
I was studying in Bilbao, Spain while in high school for the month. I kept getting asked by my host "Senora": "estas constipado?" I was mortified that she was asking about my bowel habits. It turns out that I was sniffling a lot and "constipado" refers to "stuffed up" ...in the nasal way. I was very relieved to learn that my Senora wasn't a weirdo!
Be careful about mixing up your words, especially when drinking tequila. I accidentally said to the burly bartender "Dos tequilas, mi amor" When I really meant "mi amigo." Oops!!
Once a Mexican friend of my sister's came to visit us and he spoke no English. When we went to visit our grandmother, she gave him a glass bottle to carry home and explained in baby talk to him that if he dropped the bottle, it would break! She thought because he couldn't speak English he didn't know that if you dropped a glass bottle it would break!
After my then-fiancee told me a story about her mother's bravery in the face of past challenges, I said that I thought she was "muy bravo"! Oops! I had said she was an angry, strident, stormy person! I meant "valiente"!
After undergoing an extensive surgery, my doctors and nurses hovered over me, waiting for the anesthesia to dissipate. They asked me what my name was, and when I didn’t answer, they asked if I could hear them. The cobwebs of the anesthesia were so thick that despite being able to hear them, I couldn’t muster a response. I was okay, I just couldn’t let them know! Their concern intensified somewhat as they asked me again to state my name, and again, I couldn’t respond from my dream-like state! Finally, one of the nurses jokingly asked, “¿Como te llamas?” I had only taken one Spanish class, but I somehow managed to squeak, “Me llamo Carolina.” And just like that, the tense room erupted in laughter.
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