# Any English words obscene in other languages? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664 "2010-06-18T12:48:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/1 "2010-06-18T12:48:26Z")
Are there any common English words which in other languages are obscene or “off color”? I know it works the other way; years ago in eastern europe (I forget which country) I saw a pastry called “Shitt”. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/2 "2010-06-18T13:02:32Z")
Anecdote: I work at the Renaissance Faire, and of course one of the things we exclaim all the time is “Huzzah!” Well, one of my friends was leading around a group of students, and he noticed that one of the Asian girls - a fairly recent immigrant, from what he could tell, would blush and giggle every time he or anyone else would shout it. He managed to get her to acknowlege that “Huzzah” meant something different in her language (Korean, it turned out), but she wouldn’t say… He then checked with one of his outside-of-Faire buddies who is also Korean, and his buddy said that “Huzzah” sounds very similar to a vulgar term that translates roughly to “Let’s get it on!” or “Let’s do it!” I believe that the Korean term sounded more like hut-tzah, but very close. **HazelNut Coffee** or anyone else who speaks Korean, can you confirm this? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/3 "2010-06-18T13:04:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Are there any common English words which in other languages are obscene or “off color”? I know it works the other way; years ago in eastern europe (I forget which country) I saw a pastry called “Shitt” An even more common example is the European drink _Pschitt_ that I saw back in 1970. I;'ve read about it (and people’s reaction to it) on the internet many times. I don’t know the answer to your question, although i know I’ve heard of many common words 9usually slang) in english that mean body parts in other languages. I can’t recall any right now, though. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/4 "2010-06-18T13:07:56Z")
Bite (pronounced as “bit”) = dick in French. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/5 "2010-06-18T13:12:40Z")
I believe the common English word “cool” sounds quite like the French word for “ass”. Is that right? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/6 "2010-06-18T13:18:02Z")
Henry V, Act III, Scene IV consists of a lengthy exchange in French between Princess Katherine of France and her maid, Alice. Katherine is to marry King Henry, and she asks her maid to teach her English words. Much of the scene is taken up with English words that sound similar to French profanities. “Foot” sounds much like the French “foutre”, and “gown” sounds much like the French… well, never mind. Very funny bit if well played. Emma Thompson and Geraldine McEwan did a nice job in Brannaugh’s 1989 movie. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/7 "2010-06-18T13:27:01Z")
The well known movie star (that I’ve just made up) by the name of Julie Lomo sounds awfully like “fuck your mother” in Cantonese. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/8 "2010-06-18T13:42:38Z")
Maybe not all that obscene, but the english word “kiss” means “pee” in swedish. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/9 "2010-06-18T13:43:13Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I believe the common English word “cool” sounds quite like the French word for “ass”. Is that right? Not at all. “Cul” is pronounced as [ky], using a vowel sound totally unheard of in English. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/10 "2010-06-18T13:47:15Z")
Other way around, but American tourists giggle like mad on the Autobahn because all sorts of highway words have “fahrt” in them in German. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/11 "2010-06-18T13:49:49Z")
Hug; means shit in Punjabi Lull; both a name and a slang term for penis in Punjabi. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/12 "2010-06-18T13:53:29Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > “Foot” sounds much like the French “foutre” No big deal, we use the very word _foot_ to mean ‘football’ (i.e., soccer). ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/13 "2010-06-18T13:58:53Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Other way around, but American tourists giggle like mad on the Autobahn because all sorts of highway words have “fahrt” in them in German. I used to work with a woman whose maiden name was “Lautfahrt”. “Laut”, of course, is German for “loud”. I sometimes wondered if she would have gotten married just to change her name. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/14 "2010-06-18T14:06:22Z")
I think I read that “puff” is a slang for a brothel in German, and that there was some snickering when Puff’s tissue was marketed there. (Maybe that’s an urban legend, though.) Here’s a link to a “wacky marketing mistakes” article that mentions it: [http://marketinghackz.com/10-product-and-campaign-blunders-to-learn-from/](http://marketinghackz.com/10-product-and-campaign-blunders-to-learn-from/) ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/15 "2010-06-18T14:09:09Z")
I’m told that “Take it easy” sounds like Arabic for “fuck me in the ass”. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/16 "2010-06-18T14:43:12Z")
Amazingly, the innocuous name “Zachary” means “penis” in the west African language Fulfulde. I’ve known a few Zachary’s who ended up in Fulfulde speaking areas and they have had to come up with pseudonyms. Indeed, because Fulfulde conjugates verbs with “i” or “a,” many common names have extra meaning. Timmy means “finished.” Maya means “in the process of dying”. Andi means “to know” and also “breasts.” Bailey sounds to them like “has become angry” It can be pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/17 "2010-06-18T14:44:01Z")
The Korean word for penis sounds like “Chachi”…which gives the show “Joanie Loves Chachi” a whole new meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/18 "2010-06-18T14:45:36Z")
> [@TerpBE](#): > > The Korean word for penis sounds like “Chachi”…which gives the show “Joanie Loves Chachi” a whole new meaning. Huzzah! ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/19 "2010-06-18T14:46:37Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Lull; both a name and a slang term for penis in Punjabi. In Dutch, “lul” (pronounced as “lull”) means dick. Also “kut” (pronounced as “cut”) means cunt. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664/20 "2010-06-18T15:00:45Z")
Time for that Austrian road trip you’ve been putting off: [Fugging - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucking,_Austria) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-english-words-obscene-in-other-languages/543664.md?page=2)