# Names of sexual positions in other languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317 "2005-11-10T00:29:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/21 "2005-11-10T21:03:15Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > 😕 There’s a joke about a Chinese Restaurant owner waking up his wife in the middle of the night. He whispers in her ear, “You know, I could go for a 69 right now.” Her reply is what you see here 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/22 "2005-11-10T23:25:29Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I don’t know what the “cowgirl” is, but assuming that it’s when the woman is above, it’s called “l’amazone” in french. I think I’m going to have to start using this term. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/23 "2005-11-10T23:52:02Z")
Not really on-topic, but my mates and I used to waste time at work thinking up new nationality names for sexual practices (along the lines of the existing French, Greek, Spanish, etc). Stuff like… AUSTRALIAN: Woman at home knitting, bloke at the pub asking his mates about ‘this clitoris thing’, and then forgetting about it and watching the cricket. ISRAELI: Enjoying it, but not letting on. Spend the whole time abusing one another for not doing it right. NEW ZEALAND: Sheep, of course. JAPANESE: Husband comes two minutes early, and is put on desk duties for a month, as well as taking a pay cut. ENGLISH: I didn’t come, but still, mustn’t grumble… A bit childish, really… ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/24 "2005-11-11T09:28:24Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > You will not believe this, but being Spanish my mother’s tongue I have no idea what most sexual positions are called in Spanish. Weird. I blame the nuns in my school. > > The only ones that I know are “misionario” and “en cuatro patas” (on all four legs). I should start doing some research. Or maybe not. I’m amusing myself by imagining a position called “en cuatro patos.” I’m not sure what it would really be like, but if **Hal** can like sheep … pato = duck ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/25 "2005-11-11T11:20:51Z")
Not a sexual position, but in Japanese, “Coming” is “Going”. So, sometimes I don’t know whether I’m coming or going! ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/26 "2005-11-11T13:01:45Z")
In Spanish to come is to “be here.” ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/27 "2005-11-11T14:43:57Z")
In the Sex Ed class the teacher says, “All right, class, I want you to go home and come back tommorow with as many positions as you can think of for making sex.” The next day she says to Little Johnny in the back, “Well, John, how many positions did you come up with?” Johnny says, “Seventy-three.” The teacher says, “Oh, my goodness…uh…very good, John, very good…” She calls on Becky in the front and says, “All right, Becky, how about you?” Becky says, “Gee, teacher, I only came up with one…where the guy just lays on top of the girl.” Johnny yells, “Seventy-four.” ---
**Author:** ![AndyT13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@AndyT13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyT13)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/28 "2005-11-11T15:02:39Z")
I have a friend from Helsinki finland who told me some years back that amongst her friends when they talked about sex (including poistions) they always used English because the finnish words had such negative connotations. Maybe she was pulling my leg (no not the third one at least not at that moment) but it seemed plausible enough. Cheers! Andy [www.andyt13.com](http://www.andyt13.com) ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/29 "2005-11-11T15:27:06Z")
**Hampshire.** I have no idea why I laughed so hard at that. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/30 "2005-11-11T15:38:58Z")
My sister once told me that when she was in England, a spanish guy was hitting on her. He told her that he could make her “arrive.” ---
**Author:** ![Zog\_10](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c57346/32.png) [@Zog\_10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zog_10)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/31 "2005-11-11T16:48:52Z")
> [@Hokkaido Brit](#): > > Not a sexual position, but in Japanese, “Coming” is “Going”. > > So, sometimes I don’t know whether I’m coming or going! I don’t believe this is at all based in reality, but I was re-reading [Shogun](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0440178002/103-1107411-0609455?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance) and they keep talking about the moment when one reaches “The Clouds and the Rain”. Also, the wealth of terms for the male genitals in that book are funny (at least to me). Pagoda of Pleasure is the one that I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![DirtyHippy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtyhippy/32/107_2.png) [@DirtyHippy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirtyHippy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/32 "2005-11-11T16:51:24Z")
> [@True Blue Jack](#): > > All of which reminds me that the latest _Cosmopolitan_ had a cover-read story about the latest and greatest variation, called the **77**. > > After some maneuvering the couple look like the number, apparently. > > * * * > > True Blue Jack I always heard that 77 was better because you got 8 more. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/33 "2005-11-11T17:47:07Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > 😕 Basically, someone asks his Chinese gf for 69. Her reply, “You want beef with brocoli??”. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/34 "2005-11-11T19:13:46Z")
> [@Hokkaido Brit](#): > > So, sometimes I don’t know whether I’m coming or going! Is it yellow or white? sorry. Anyway, I’m just curious. In my first year of Jr. HS spanish, we were so excited when we realized we had learned enough words to string together the phrase _Tu madre das cabesa bien_. Is this an expression that would be used by a Spanish-speaking person? Is the expression “giving head” common to other languages? ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/35 "2005-11-11T19:14:45Z")
> [@AndyT13](#): > > I have a friend from Helsinki finland who told me some years back that amongst her friends when they talked about sex (including poistions) they always used English because the finnish words had such negative connotations. Maybe she was pulling my leg (no not the third one at least not at that moment) but it seemed plausible enough. Hmm. Must be her circle of friends. I’ve heard all of the positions mentioned here referred to in the Finnish terms. We’re not really that imaginative, though: doggy style is “takaapäin”, i.e. “from behind”, the missionary position is “lähetyssaarnaaja” and woman-on-top is exactly that, “nainen päällä”. There’s probably more imaginative names floating around somewhere, but they’re usually something that some writer for Cosmo magazine thinks up to spice up their usual monthly “How to please your man” article. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/36 "2005-11-11T19:40:14Z")
so what is german for doggie style? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/37 "2005-11-11T20:04:13Z")
What do the French call a menage a trois? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/38 "2005-11-11T20:15:33Z")
Or French kissing, or French letters, for that matter? And what do they call French postcards? ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/39 "2005-11-11T22:20:11Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > In Spanish to come is to “be here.” So, Shakira’s song “Estoy Aqui” is about…? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317/40 "2005-11-11T22:22:52Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Or French kissing, or French letters, for that matter? And what do they call French postcards? “French kissing” is something like “faire de la pelle” (‘do some shovelling’) as I recall. French letter, ironically, is “capote Anglaise” - “English hood”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-of-sexual-positions-in-other-languages/330317.md?page=3)