# What English words are rude in other languages? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322 "2008-01-04T22:11:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/22 "2008-01-05T06:38:00Z")
> [@xnylder](#): > > Strictly speaking, it’s not an English word but… the Buick Lacrosse couldn’t be marketed as such in Quebec because it sounds like the verb crosser which can mean “to cheat” or se crosser which means “to masturbate”. “Lacrosse” is an English word, referring to the sport… which is also known in French as “crosse”, probably by analogy with a bishop’s stick. (English speakers really like to put the French articles in front of French words.) So yes, there is a potential for sneering and it probably would have been unwise to use this name in Quebec. But “Buick Lacrosse” is also in itself a hideously ugly name. > [@](#): > > I’d hesitate to use tabernacle in anything but a very clearly religious context, because in Quebeçois it’s a strong swear word. Hearing the name “Mormon Tabernacle Choir” makes me go :dubious:, for example. Why? To make “tabernacle” a swear word, you really have to pronounce it “tabarnak” so there really isn’t a high risk of confusion. It’s also all in the context. You can talk about the “calice” of a flower and I won’t blink an eye, it’s not as if those words were naughty by themselves. I don’t think twice about “Mormon Tabernacle Choir”. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/23 "2008-01-05T07:12:12Z")
[QUOTE=Hello Again] Yep. In Russian its the imperative for of “fuck.” As in, “yep tvayoo mot” = go fuck your mother. [/QUOTE] Usually pronounced more like “yobe” though, isn’t it? ---
**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:** [January 5, 2008, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/24 "2008-01-05T07:13:07Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] You have got to be nikking kidding me! How far did they get? Was there, like, stationery made up? Did you just whoosh me? [/QUOTE] Nope. No idea how far it got. “Neck Knee” sounds like “F\*ck Me,” leading to much hilarity in class. ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/25 "2008-01-05T07:30:00Z")
[QUOTE=aktep] Usually pronounced more like “yobe” though, isn’t it? [/QUOTE] Just ‘yob.’ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/26 "2008-01-05T08:27:03Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] In Israel “Coos” means cunt, so don’t ask for cous cous at a restaurant. [/QUOTE] Is that a whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![Themenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Themenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Themenin)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/27 "2008-01-05T10:20:39Z")
Bite/byte in French means dick (male tackle). The IT term, being a loanword/neologism is masculine, and the French word is feminine (from ‘bite d’amarrage’) but you usually need context to differentiate. So ‘megabytes’ and such used to get a few chuckles, and a “real” French word ‘octet’ is sometimes used instead, but interestingly, everybody got used to it, and you don’t even hear the secondary meaning anymore. There are also a couple of names that don’t travel too well - Connery (connerie) means something like ‘fuckup’ - “t’as encore fait une grosse connerie”, Maccabee (and McCabe) is a slang word for ‘dead body’. French speakers generally adopt the English stress patterns to avoid the ambiguity. [QUOTE=Alessan] Is that a whoosh? [/QUOTE] That would probably work for ‘pot’ though, right ? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/28 "2008-01-05T10:21:08Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] “Jim” if pronounced with a certain tone seems to refer to a vagina or female masturbation, can’t remember which. [/QUOTE] Well damn. When I lived there, people shouted my name at me everywhere I went - I just thought I was really popular. ☹ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/29 "2008-01-05T11:22:41Z")
“Pick” (spelled pikk) is a vulgar word for penis in Norwegian. Caught is almost identical to horny (kåt). And if you borrow the adjective ‘fit’ into Norwegian, as some do, and pluralize it, as one does in this language, you get the Norwegian equivalent of c_nt. There’s a clip somewhere of a sports reporter who not only does that, but, as one does sometimes when speaking, pauses and repeats the word: There are some really fit - - fit people out on the court today, or as is an equally, or possibly more accurate translation of what the average Norwegian hears: There are some really c_nt - - c\*nt people out on the court today ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/30 "2008-01-05T12:40:16Z")
[QUOTE=jlconsultants] To “root” for one’s home team in the hopes that they will win, can be terribly misconstrued if arriving at a cricket match and asking somebody “so, who are you rooting for?” as the word “rut”–pronounced root–means to shag, baby 🙂 jlconsultants [/QUOTE] Excuse me but the word “rut” is pronounced as it is spelt, not “root” as you seem to think. You might also think about deleting your email from messages as I believe this has already been reported as spam ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/31 "2008-01-05T13:36:46Z")
[QUOTE=xnylder] Don’t say the word “chin” twice in a row in Japan; there, it’s baby talk for penis (roughly equivalent to “wee wee”). Here in Quebec, it’s a typical phrase you use when clinking glasses together in a toast. So there’s a trilingual opportunity for misunderstanding. [/QUOTE] This gets used a lot for humorous effect in commercials around here. In any case, it makes “The Three Little Pigs” impossible to read for kids’ English classes. My friend Gary discovered that his name isn’t exactly rude in Japanese, but it can be rather embarrassing at times. 下痢 (_geri_)= diarrhea. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/32 "2008-01-05T13:44:55Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Well damn. When I lived there, people shouted my name at me everywhere I went - I just thought I was really popular. ☹ 😉 [/QUOTE] Well, I’m sure they had the correct tone for your name. 🙂 Never mind dirty-sounding English words. You have to be careful about the Thai words that sound close to naughty stuff. “Khawy” (sounds like the English “coy”) is the verb “to wait”; but “khuay” (“khoo-ai”) mans “dick.” Lots of other examples, too, of polite Thai words that sound like dirty words. A favorite pastime of Thais is to make you say the dirty Thai word while you think you’re saying the polite Thai word. I’ve seen entire offices crack up in tears because I inadvertenly said something nasty out of context. Yuk yuk. Oh, and “yet” is Thai for “fuck.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/33 "2008-01-05T14:17:12Z")
I heard a story about a Welshman named Clive Owen Jones who was detained by customs when he arrived in Mexico - they were upset by \*\*COJONES \*\*stamped on his suitcase. And “peter” means “to fart” in French. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/34 "2008-01-05T14:47:27Z")
[QUOTE=Neidhart] A travel guidebook I read warned people never to say the word “bus” (with a short _u_)in Hungary because it’s a serious obscenity in Magyar. [/QUOTE] ‘Bus’ in Norway means ‘tit’, as I recall, so a bus to the airport was an interesting notion. I had a friend who was sent to Scotland on a military detail years ago. The first barmaid he spoke to slapped him silly when he introduced himself: “Hi, I’m Randy.” ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/35 "2008-01-05T15:23:13Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar] I remember the Commodore Vic-20 was named something else in Germany because “vic” is a naughty word. [/QUOTE] The [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIC-20#The_VIC.27s_name.28s.29) says the originally intended name was Vixen which does in fact sound like the main colloguial German term for ‘to masturbate’. BTW I also recall an 80’s, very marginally naughty PC game named [_Vixen_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vixen_%28video_game%29), that was marked as _She Fox_ in Germany because of the similarity. The other statement in the Wikipedia article (the VIC-20 was also changed to VC-20 for the German market for that reason) I’d take leave to doubt. The German pronounciation of VIC is so dissimilar to that of _fick_ that not even adolescents would usually connect the words. I consider it more probable that VIC was eschewed for the German market because of its similarity to [Wick](http://www.wick.de/), a maker of OTC products against symptoms of the cold. ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/36 "2008-01-05T15:29:11Z")
Just wanted to say I’ve never seen such a simultaneously useful and amusing thread. Great posts, folks. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/37 "2008-01-05T15:32:59Z")
[QUOTE=Kizarvexius] If I understand correctly, having Bob or Libby Dole as president would’ve been a major source of mortifying situations when dealing with Iran, as “Dole” sounds like the Farsi world for penis. [/QUOTE] I was in Jr. High when the big influx of Iranians escaped over here. The boxer Gary Cooney was famous then and it cracked them up. Cooney is Farsi for asshole. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/38 "2008-01-05T16:13:43Z")
[QUOTE=xnylder] …the word “chin” twice in a row…in Quebec, [is] a typical phrase you use when clinking glasses together in a toast. [/QUOTE] That strikes me as odd for a francophonic region, because “cin cin” is an Italian toast (pronounced “chin chin”). ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/39 "2008-01-05T16:14:04Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] I was in Jr. High when the big influx of Iranians escaped over here. The boxer Gary Cooney was famous then and it cracked them up. Cooney is Farsi for asshole. [/QUOTE] I believe “mooni/mooney” is the same in Greek. No end of fun with all the Aboriginal Australian placenames: Mooney Ponds, Mooney Mooney, etc. And we have a big Greek population here. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/40 "2008-01-05T16:17:14Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Well, I’m sure they had the correct tone for your name. 🙂 Never mind dirty-sounding English words. You have to be careful about the Thai words that sound close to naughty stuff. “Khawy” (sounds like the English “coy”) is the verb “to wait”; but “khuay” (“khoo-ai”) mans “dick.” Lots of other examples, too, of polite Thai words that sound like dirty words. A favorite pastime of Thais is to make you say the dirty Thai word while you think you’re saying the polite Thai word. I’ve seen entire offices crack up in tears because I inadvertenly said something nasty out of context. Yuk yuk. Oh, and “yet” is Thai for “fuck.” [/QUOTE] Same with Cantonese, and the bad thing is it’s one of the most common phrasebook words: “Yes”. Said with the wrong intonation, and “hai” becomes “cunt”. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322/41 "2008-01-05T16:34:35Z")
[QUOTE=CookingWithGas] That strikes me as odd for a francophonic region, because “cin cin” is an Italian toast (pronounced “chin chin”). [/QUOTE] That’s so interesting! I’ve heard “chin-chin” said with toasts at anglophone, francophone, and mixed gatherings. It could be the influence of the Italian community in Montreal, but I think it’s just an onomatapoea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-english-words-are-rude-in-other-languages/432322.md?page=3)