Some soup soap
A friend came to visit us in Seville last year, and realising she had forgotten some soap, popped out to get some supplies. She came back a short while later, saying: 'That was a real failure' and explained. She had gone to the chemist for some soap, and on asking in Spanish, was met with a puzzled look. So she started miming washing in the shower, but still more puzzled looks. In the end she gave up and left. The problem was that in asking for sopa rather than Âá²¹²úó²Ô, she was actually asking for soup. The Spanish must be questioning our standards of hygiene to this day.
Sent by: Sven
Comments
How about pescado and pecado. I've asked someone if they have any sin, thinking I was referring to fish.
All is not as it seems .... false friends abound in foreign languages.
Also, it can be easy for a Spanish speaker to confuse ham and jam ... jam and tomato sandwich, anyone?
Even more confusing is the similarity between the Spanish word for soap, Âá²¹²úó²Ô, and the word for ham, Âá²¹³¾Ã³²Ô. I'm sure that has tripped up some tongues. Anyone for a soap sandwich?
Actually, soup and soap are bad enough in English. We were talking once with our Russian friend about what food to bring to a hike, and she said that because of her teeth problems she can only eat soap. It took us a couple of minutes to understand her, and we were actually about to ask how many bars does she eat a day.
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