Flummoxed in la pharmacie
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Having just moved to France, we ordered a double bed, but it was impossible to get the base (sommier) up the stairs. Describing our problems to a neighbour, I said, "Ce n'était pas possible de faire monter le sommelier (wine waiter)..."
When I was twenty and living in France I went into a French butcher's for turkey drumsticks, momentarily forgetting the word for turkey and saying to the butcher "avez-vous des cuisses ?" (have you got thighs?)...
My very MANY faux pas while learning French include saying to my French penfriend (after she accidentally banged her head getting out of the car), "ça ne va pas la tête ?" (are you mad??!!!) rather than, "ça va? Tu ne t'es pas fait mal à la tête ? (are you ok? Did you hurt your head?)
My Mum was very proud at knowing vol-au-vents are called "bouchées à la reine" (Queen's mouthfuls) in French and so bravely asked for some in a charcuterie, only to be be asked "garnies ou vides?" (filled or empty) which was beyond her so she retreated in a caffuffle.
My hubbie asked for (reading from the menu) "orange ou citron presse" (orange OR lemon), not understanding why the waitress kept repeating "orange ou citron ?" back to him as he thought he was ordering an orange AND lemon ("orange et citron presse")
A friend, while in France, ordered "un croque-mort" (undertaker) instead of a "croque monsieur" (toasted ham and cheese sandwich)
More than sixty years ago on a schoolboy exchange, eating 'en famille' when asked if I would like another helping I replied "Non merci, je suis pleine". 'Plein(e)' translates as full usually, except when it refers to your stomach, so I'd actually said "I'm pregnant". Everyone howled!
Remember, you learn by your mistakes - I still remember that one.
Ed note: Find more on plein here and here.
I went to have a blood test a few months after moving to France and was asked "Êtes-vous à jeun ?" (Have you eaten in the last 12 hours, literally, Are you on an empty stomach?), to which I enthusiastically replied, "En fait mon prénom est Jane pas Jeanne - je suis anglaise etc etc.". I only realised after leaving the place having given the lady half my life story when I relived the conversation with my (French) husband...oops! No wonder she smiled!
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© MMIX
I heard a joke about English-French translations on the radio and I would like to share: someone try to translate made in Turkey into French and ends up with fait en dinde!
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