Light my fire
I'm a Canadian in Finland and many Finns ask me for a light by saying "excuse me do you have fire?". The phrase in Finnish is anteeksi onko sinulla tulta? The word tulta translated into English means fire, and I'm sure many Finns abroad and in Finland have made this mistake. Many Brits in Finland also find this funny.
Sent by: Pia
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Ah! Its the same in Polish. When you ask for a light (as in lighting a cigarette) you ask "masz ogien?" which literally means do you have fire...
I forgot to tell this to a friend who was visiting me in the US. It resulted in an awkward situation when he went up to some guy in a bar and asked him for his "fire" XD
On my second visit to Spain (I now live here) I tried asking for a light for a cigarette - ¿Tienes un lechero? My companions smiled, grinned and started laughing heartly, I'd just asked if anyone had a milkman! The word I was looking for was un mechero, lighter. In fact the most common way to ask is ¿Tienes fuego?
And it's the same in Czech :)
"Máš / Máte oheň?" means Do you have a light? (oheň = fire)
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