Once again, take a look at the following eight words from eight different languages, and see if you can work out whether the alleged foreign words are real, or whether I've just made them up...
Iceland...
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| I don't have a photo of a hedgehog rat (because they don't exist), so here's a photo of a hedgehog dog instead. Editor's note: "Charles, hedgehog dogs don't exist either." Charles: "Well clearly they must, otherwise how would I get the photo?" |
1) Hedgehog = Spiky rat
In Iceland they apparently don't have a very high opinion of hedgehogs, because the Icelandic word for hedgehog is 'skitugrotta' which literally translates as spiky rat! I can obviously see where the spiky comes from, but in my opinion hedgehogs are far too nice to be compared with rats.
True or false?
China...
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| Contact lenses. If you look closely, you can also find some invisible glasses hidden in the photo. |
2) Contact lenses = Invisible glasses
I love foreign words which translate into English as a very literal description, and the Chinese word for contact lenses is one such example, because the Chinese word for contact lenses literally translates as 'invisible glasses'!
True or false?
Sweden...
3) Print out = Print out
This next translation is very straightforward, but it demonstrates how modern day words, especially technology related words, are often very similar in every language.
In Swedish, the word for print out is 'printa ut'! You basically just say 'print out' with a Swedish accent and that's it!
True or false?
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| DJ Monster. Very popular in Holland apparently. |
Holland...
4) Sample = monster
If you're a international DJ and your Dutch colleague asks if you want to check out his monster, then don't be alarmed. That's because the Dutch word for sample is monster, so he was probably just asking if you want to listen to his latest DJ sample.
True or false?
Germany...
5) Clumsy = movement dyslexic
The German language likes its long words, and that's certainly true of this next example. Bewegungslegastheniker is the German word for clumsy, but the literal translation rather interestingly means 'movement dyslexic'.
Be careful when you're typing it out! Or to put it another way, don't be bewegungslegastheniker!
True or false?
Indonesia...
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| An Indonesian squirrel enjoying some edible wood. |
6) Nuts = Edible wood
In Indonesian, the word for nuts literally translates as 'edible wood'. I'm pretty sure none of the nuts I've ever eaten have been made of wood, but it's an interesting translation nonetheless, and I can sort of see what the person who invented the Indonesian language is getting at.
True or false?
Italy...
7) Toes = Foot fingers
The Italian expression for toes is 'dito del piede' which literaly translates as 'fingers of the foot' which is a really cool way to describe toes!
True or false?
Japan...
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| I don't have a photo for ... that long-winded translation (obviously, because it's a concept, not an object), but shiba inus are Japanese, so here's a photo of a cute shiba inu dog instead. Editor's note: "Charles, 'inu' is the Japanese word for dog, so you don't need to say shiba inu dog. You can just say 'shiba inu', otherwise you're repeating yourself." Charles: "Thanks, that's another cool foreign word I've learned today!" |
8) An unwanted favour = Long-winded translation
Undoubtedly the most long-winded translation in this quiz is the English translation for the Japanese expression 'arigata meiwaku' which doesn't have a simple English equivalent. Instead, 'arigata meiwaku' means...
"When someone does you an alleged favour which you didn't want them to do, and you tried to stop them from doing this alleged favour, but they ignored your resistance and did it anyway, causing you a lot of trouble in the process, and to make matters worse, due to social convention you are now expected to express gratitude for this unwanted 'favour' which caused you unnecessary problems!"
But is that really what 'arigata meiwaku' means, or did I just make it up?
Unequivocally and unquestionably accurate in a way that conforms to objective reality or patently and demonstrably inaccurate in a way that diverges from the empirical evidence?
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Scroll down the page to find out which of the foreign words were real, and which were made-up by my deviously deceptive mind...
Answers:
All of the words were real with the exception of the hedgehog and nuts.
Hedgehogs will be pleased to learn that Icelandic people don't refer to them as spiky rats. Nuts won't have any opinion on what Indonesian people refer to them (as nuts aren't sentient beings), but irrespective of nuts' ambivalence, Indonesian people don't refer to nuts as edible wood.
You can find more cool foreign words (with a few made up words thrown into the mix) in my previous blog post:
Cool foreign words (part 1)
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