# Hesitant in Four Languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 26, 2002, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005 "2002-12-26T19:01:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Goo\_Fee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Doctor\_Goo\_Fee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Goo_Fee)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/21 "2002-12-27T04:16:51Z")
When I lived in the Netherlands for a while the dutch phrase i used most was “Ik spreek geen nederlands.” When hearing this dutch folks would look at me funny and respond with a fast spouting of dutch that i couldn’t follow. I was telling them, “I can’t speak dutch.” but i had said it so many times that my pronunciation and inflection were near perfect-- and no one believed that i really couldn’t speak the language. Eventually, as i learned more of the language I switched to saying, “I speak very little dutch.” but the darn netherlanders didn’t believe that much either. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/22 "2002-12-27T04:38:18Z")
In 1977, I entered a full-immersions Spanish course - I only lasted 2 weeks, but enough to croak out “_Vaya Con La Fuerza_”, which of course loosely translates to “May The Force Be With You.” Yes, I had just seen Star Wars… And my little sister’s favorite Spanish “saying” is “_Como Esta Frijole?_” which according to her means “How you bean?” (it’s better if you say it out loud…) ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/23 "2002-12-27T04:55:17Z")
A few years ago, a friend and I used to often say “El queso es viejo y enmohecido.” (Literally, “The cheese is old and moldy,” and is it more correct to say \<\<¿El queso está viejo y enmohecido?\>\> The English version came from some movie, IIRC, although I don’t remember which.) I also learned how to say “I don’t speak Chinese” in Chinese (I never had a clue how to write it, however). Unlike **Doctor Goo Fee** , I never learned how to say it very well, so people always believed me when I said it. ---
**Author:** ![AntaresJB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@AntaresJB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AntaresJB)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/24 "2002-12-27T06:08:06Z")
Thoroughout our years of high school Spanish classes, my best friend at the time and I would randomly come up with “Today’s Useful Spanish.” Which was always thoroughly bizarre as well as totally NOT useful. The one I recall most clearly is “Mi cubretetera es mala pagada.” - My tea cozy is underpaid. I never took French a day in my life, but since entering my junior year as a college voice major, I now have to sing it. Oh joy. My favorite line is from a Satie song I learned this past semester – “Je croyais que les noisetier donnaient des noisette, Dapheneo!” (I don’t have the music with me, some spelling may be off.) Basically it means “But I thought hazelnut trees gave hazelnuts, Daphne!” Fun fun. I hate singing French. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/25 "2002-12-27T08:07:39Z")
Hmmm… well for myself I used to be able to order food and give directions in Spanish, now all I really remember is Hola. ¿Como estas? Muy bien, gracias. Antonio Banderas es muy guapo. In German all I really know is Guten nacht and Guten tag. Along with Dankeshe and something that I have no clue exactly what it means nor how to spell even in the slightest. In Gaelic I know Pog mo thoin, Cead mile failte, Slainte and I can’t spell it but it sounds something like ishka baha which translates literally as Water of Life aka Whiskey. I also know only a little French remembered from elementary, basically Bonjour, Au revoir, Nest pa?, and Parles vous Anglais si vous ple. I really want to learn more in ALL these languages though. I also know a few words in Japanese, Chinese and Dutch, but even less than in the ones mentioned. [sub]Please forgive any atrocious spelling. I’m bad for that in most languages, though I am decent in English.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/26 "2002-12-27T08:21:02Z")
I spend a fair amount of time in Tokyo, so I’ve picked up a number of useful Japanese phrases that you might want to add to your collection. Hands down, the most useful word is _domo_, which is usually used as a casual “thanks” (as in _domo origato_, literally “thank-you very much” from **Mr. Roboto** by Styx). It is often used as a casual greeting, or a mumbled apology. Almost as widely used is _sumimasen_, “excuse me.” Be prepared to use it in the very crowded streets and trains of Tokyo. It’s a request to get by, an apology for bumping into someone **and** a way to attract the attention of a server in a restaurant. One I fall back on frequently is _wakarimasen_, “I don’t understand.” Pretty self-explanatory. For the more advanced, there’s _atama ga itai desu_, “my head hurts.” Anyone who’s found themselves in a bar in Tokyo after 12:30 AM[sup]\*[/sup] knows this one well. 😃 [sup]\*[/sup]The trains stop running at 12:30, and don’t start again until 5:00 AM. Luckily, many bars stay open until dawn… ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/27 "2002-12-27T08:48:41Z")
Nous lavons les filles de francaises. We are washing the French Girls. ---
**Author:** ![Cougarfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Cougarfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cougarfang)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/28 "2002-12-27T08:57:22Z")
Well, sometimes I feel like I’m not fluent at all in Chinese… [sub]Especially after a Chinese test :rolleyes:[/sub] But I don’t think that counts. I can puzzle out tiny patches of lots of languages that are similar to English or that (American) English borrowed words from (e.g. Spanish, French, Latin…) but I’m hesitant in those languages like the average Joe-from-the-street is hesitant: Hola, bonjour, vive la (insert random thing here), cognito ergo sum, etc. Oh, and thanks to my SO, I know a very, very small amount of Japanese: ichi, chibi, kawaii, typical “fannish”. Aside from that… A fellow Tolkien freak (not-quite-geek) and I often get people to go away by launching into a (hesitant) discussion of Quenya. Nai i eleni caluva tielyanna! ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/29 "2002-12-27T12:07:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doctor Goo Fee \* > \*\*When I lived in the Netherlands for a while the dutch phrase i used most was “Ik spreek geen nederlands.” > > When hearing this dutch folks would look at me funny and respond with a fast spouting of dutch that i couldn’t follow. > > I was telling them, “I can’t speak dutch.” but i had said it so many times that my pronunciation and inflection were near perfect-- and no one believed that i really couldn’t speak the language. > > Eventually, as i learned more of the language I switched to saying, “I speak very little dutch.” but the darn netherlanders didn’t believe that much either. \*\* Heh, too funny. And true! Speaking Dutch to a Dutchman gives him the impression that you’re fluent, even if it IS that one sentence, “ik spreek geen Nederlands”. We’re just not used to foreign people speaking Dutch. ANY Dutch. Do yourself a favour, and tell them “I don’t speak Dutch”. Your Netherlander of choice will instantly switch to English. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/30 "2002-12-27T12:59:38Z")
I used to be able to say “where is the train station?” and “How much is the vase” in Mandarin Chinese. I can say “Do you like golf?” _“Gorofu suki desu ka?”_ in Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/31 "2002-12-27T13:08:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AntaresJB \* > \*\*Thoroughout our years of high school Spanish classes, my best friend at the time and I would randomly come up with “Today’s Useful Spanish.” Which was always thoroughly bizarre as well as totally NOT useful. The one I recall most clearly is “Mi cubretetera es mala pagada.” - My tea cozy is underpaid. > > I never took French a day in my life, but since entering my junior year as a college voice major, I now have to sing it. Oh joy. My favorite line is from a Satie song I learned this past semester – “Je croyais que les noisetier donnaient des noisette, Dapheneo!” (I don’t have the music with me, some spelling may be off.) Basically it means “But I thought hazelnut trees gave hazelnuts, Daphne!” Fun fun. I hate singing French. 😛 \*\* Great example, **Antares**! \By the way, I love Satie. You know he was the first person to compose background music? He called it “furniture music”; biographies I’ve read describe the introduction of “furniture music” as a strange event. Attendees didn’t know how to _ignore_ the music and have a conversation… Kinda cool. I only know this stuff because I took a class called “Understanding Music and Culture” in 2000. Someone on the SDMB suggested that I use Satie as my subject for a paper on a composer.\ ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/32 "2002-12-27T13:24:38Z")
I should have remembered that it was the inimitable **Ukelele Ike** (whom I affectionately call Guitare Petite avec Quatre Ficelles du Hawaii Ike) who [suggested Satie](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37723). Monsieur Ike, I never thanked you properly! I am a Satie fan for life. Merci Beaucoup, mon ami. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/33 "2002-12-27T15:58:10Z")
I knew this really crazy guy who translated ridiculous English idioms into Hebrew. His Israeli Hebrew teacher kept telling him that it didn’t make sense, but us students all thought it hilarious. Who’s your daddy? - Mi ha’abba shelach? I’m on fire! - Ani b’esh! Yo momma! - Ha’ima shelach! Etc., etc. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/34 "2002-12-27T16:22:34Z")
I swear to god, the following sentence really was in my elementary Spanish text: _Ya no quiero comer mas cui._ “I really don’t want to eat any more guinea pig.” ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/35 "2002-12-29T19:28:03Z")
Why am I unable to spell Uke’s name correctly? That should be Ukulele Ike. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/36 "2002-12-29T20:43:04Z")
“Ike li kama” = “Shit happens” in Tokipona. 🙂 And I know just enough French to get in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Magic8ball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Miss\_Magic8ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Magic8ball)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/37 "2002-12-29T20:47:47Z")
I’m fluent in french AND english… Dimini Proosha— give me please in ukranian…(my gramma taught me that…) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/38 "2002-12-29T21:00:57Z")
Spanish: Mi pantalones es enfuego. Translation: My pants are on fire. ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/39 "2002-12-29T21:40:30Z")
Croatian: (phonetically) EEEE-mash My-Mon-Skoo Fot-zu Translation: You are a monkey-face Indonestian: (phonetically) Kaaaarmoo Baaaarmooska Mon-yet Translation: You are a monkey-face Portugese: Voce est vice fude gordo bastardo. Translation: You are a goat F\*&#$ing fat bastard. I used to know how to say the monkey-face line in Spanish, German, and French, but have forgotten them. ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005/40 "2002-12-30T19:08:27Z")
Hi **Swiddles** baby! I love the Portugese! I’m dyin’ ovah heah! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hesitant-in-four-languages/145005.md?page=3)