When Redditor TheNewOneIsWorse asked: "Non-native English speakers of reddit, what are some English language expressions that are commonly used in your country in the way we will use foreign phrases like 'c'est la vie' or 'hasta la vista?'" they probably didn't anticipate the responses they received. Information like this reminds us that we live in an ever more connected world.
"...and Angela Merkel even casually used it..."
The word "sh*tstorm" has entered common German parlance, and Angela Merkel even casually used it during a press conference recently.
"We use the word 'random' a lot."
Swede here.
We use the word "random" a lot. My guess is that it came from the type of humour that was popular around 10 years ago for which there was no suitable word in our language. Nowadays it's used for all sorts of random events.
"People in Poland..."
People in Poland use English phrases a lot during conversations. "What the f*ck" is a standard at this point. "Easy peasy", "by the way", "whatever", "no problem" etc.
"I'm Egyptian..."
I'm Egyptian, in my generation (I'm 26) it wasn't full phrases, but more like just words, for instance: Sorry, Okay, the number zero, and of course the classic F**k You.
The younger generation and part of my generation as well speaks a lot more English in their daily lives mainly thanks to technology such as texting and WhatsApp and so on where most of us type in Franco-Arab instead of Arabic, which naturally leads to us just using more English words when texting which eventually bleeds into our daily lives.
"In Japanese..."
In Japanese, we say "don't mind" (ドンマイ) when someone messes something up, is clumsy, etc.
We also use "all right" (オーライ）to guide people backing up their cars.
"In France..."
In France sometimes you get people saying "Mais whaaaat ?".
We say "Week end" instead of "Fin de semaine" but they say it in Quebec tho.
"Oh my god" is used sometimes.
"Awkward..."
Awkward, sale, shopping, commercials, binge watching, chill, relax, cool, whatever, anyway, thanks, nice, f*ck, casual, business, date/dating [Dutch]
"Words like..."
In German we modify a lot of English words so we can use them. It is called "Denglish".
Words like Nice, Ok, F*ck, Nope, Hi, Hey, etc. are used a lot and we also have these Denglish sayings. (They are used to make fun of people who are not good in English)
For example: "My English is not the yellow from the egg but it goes."
it goes -> es geht -> it's not too bad
That's all I can think of right now.
"In Russia..."
In Russia they say "super pooper" when they mean something really cool. I've tried telling people that this is not what they think it means but no one particularly listens because it rhymes (say with a russian accent). Always makes me laugh.
"I'm Filipino..."
I'm Filipino and we use the Word/s "Nosebleed". But not in a literal sense. We use it as a phrase when someone is speaking a foreign language and we're having a hard time keeping up or understanding the accent.
"My French teacher..."
GiphyMy French teacher for two years, a native French speaker, used to say "Pero why" whenever someone did or said something stupid. Since then, I've adopted the phrase.
"In India..."
In India (at least in big cities), we have literally brought English into our daily languages. Hindi speaking is just 50% english words as the youth has no idea how to say that one specific word in original language anymore. We call it Hinglish.
"Pretty much..."
Pretty much every Quebecois will say "that's it that's all" even if they speak no other English. I have yet to determine why this is but I hope to someday find out.
"In Iceland..."
In Iceland we use a whole lot of english words and phrases. "Oh my god", "f*ck" and "f*cking" (or "ómægod", "fokk" og "fokking") are probably the most common. Teenagers use more, naturally. Words from hip hop are common (homie, bitch, etc.).
Sometimes these terms are translated into the language, even in roundabout ways. A recent one I heard is "jarm", for english "meme". "Jarm" is the name of the sound of a sheep ("bleat" I guess is the english term). "Me" [mɛ:] is the icelandic equivalent of "baa". Icelandic toddlers call sheep "me me". And thus "meme" became "jarm".
"What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever heard teacher say in class?"
And Anyone With Such Closed Minded Views Shouldn't Be Teaching...
"Had the Head of the Department in college claim in class that anyone who actually needs accommodations for mental health issues should not be in college to begin with."
"This was while we were discussing 'Death of a Salesman' and the discussion had veered over to unhealthy pressure and social standards for success."- RavensQueen502
Wait what?!
"My very well-respected Biology teacher in college spent almost an entire lecture telling us that Jamie Lee Curtis was a hermaphrodite."
"It seemed oddly personal to him."- Urbane_Cowboy
Sad On So Many Levels
"Not heard but my freshmen year high school teacher once pulled a bottle of Jack out of his desk and took a shot during class."
"He was dying so towards the end I think he just stopped caring."- Mangothefello
Can't Take The Heat, Then Stay Out Of The Classroom...
"High school science teacher told my class that a kilometre was longer than a mile."
"Refused to budge when refuted and kicked out several students for doing so."- SupersonicDebris13
"5th grade teacher: 'Mount Whitney in California is the tallest mountain in the world'."
"5th grade me blurts out: 'No it isn't, Mount Everest is."
"Whitney is not even the tallest mountain in the USA, which is Mount McKinley in Alaska'."
"I got in trouble for 'contradicting the teacher'."- gtmattz
get out GIFGiphyIt's Not Just Students Who Are Bullies...
"I had a teacher ridicule a fat kid about his lunch choices in front of the whole class."
"He ran out crying as she was making fat guy blimp gestures and telling him he was going to be huge as an adult."- SnooOwls5859
Some Dramatic License It Seems...
"I had a literature teacher who told the class that he didn't believe in dinosaurs, because the universe is only a couple thousand years old."
"The bones were put there by Satan."
"Thank f*ck he wasn't a science or history teacher."- AllBadAnswers
of montreal dancing GIF by Polyvinyl RecordsGiphyEveryone Deserves Nice Acomodations...
"My English teacher told us that he genuinely believes that the Rothchilds own a hotel for aliens in the Bermuda triangle."- TroyLear77
Well, Then...
"We had this kid in our 6th-grade class."
"Very dark skinned kid from Africa."
"His name was Tajak."
"Every now and then when we'd line up to go to another class or lunch and the lights would go out some of his friends would go 'where Tajak at?'"
"Anyway one day we had a sub and we we're lining up for lunch, the lights went out and there went the 'where Tajak at?' and the SUBSTITUTE TEACHER who was also black went 'Boy you darker than night'."
"6th grade was f*cking wild."- 11221mikew
Sad Premonitions
"Psych teacher in high school told us that 1 in 10 of the people were friends with in high school would be dead within 5 years of graduating."
"At the time I thought it was hyperbole, but it turns out he was being conservative."
"3 of the people in my high school friend group were dead by the time I was 22."- Reddit
Do They Really Need A Reason?
"'Now girls, don't you let them boys touch your breasts'."
"'It'll give you cancer'."- jondru
Maybe Should Have Checked With The Geography Teacher?
"A teacher in Elementary school claimed during history class that the Colosseum was in Greece, as an Italian kid I was very confused, this was in Mexico."- Spascucci
So Much For Instilling Hope...
"Didn't hear this personally, but read in a book about a guy who recalled his teacher skipping chapters in a textbook and saying 'You will not need to know this when you are down in the mines'."- futanari_kaisa
The mark of a good teacher is that students will take everything they hear from them with them for the rest of their lives.
Though, the less-than-wonderful teachers may also say things their students will never forget.
Redditor RedditPenguin02 wanted to make a list of the best inquiries to make when starting a relationship, so they asked:
"What is a good question to ask before you start dating someone?"
From what I've learned in my past, always ask... "Are you into Buffy the Vampire Slayer? The TV show."
If it's a no, then it's a dealbreaker.
I Do
Shocked Schitts Creek GIF by CBCGiphy"Are you married?"
wrenchmonkey135
"I would ask that. If they said no, the next question was 'Would your wife agree?'"
"If they laughed, they were telling the truth. If they got indignant and pissed off that I thought they were lying…they were married."
"Worked every time."
Squibit314
We Lived!
"Do you clap when the plane lands?"
dont_u_know
"I swear people used to do this all the time when I was a kid (early 2000’s), and I don’t think I’ve heard anyone do it in 5+ years. I guess 9/11 really made people afraid of flying for about 10 years and then most folks decided they didn’t need to applaud when the plane landed safely?"
jmims98
Family Planning
"Do you want kids in the future? If one person wants kids and the other wants to stay child-free, then they are not compatible. And it is better to try dating someone else."
GoodAlicia
"It confuses me whenever some couples who disagree on this end up in a conundrum because one expected the other to change their mind. This is something I bring up early cause I see no future with someone who wants kids when I do not."
GoodAlicia
"You should always put childfree on your dating profile. It's not a small thing. Either you agree on it or not. If I had to date, I would put childfree on my profile too."
GoodAlicia
Carb it on...
"Do you like bread? That is the extent of my flirting skills."
HumpieDouglas
"Being German, bread is like a frickin' cultural phenomenon here, we have around 300 kinds of bread, there's a bread museum, every time I go on vacation I'm like yeah it's nice here but the bread ain't it yall, never as good as home lol. So yeah, valid question and the only answer to this is an enthusiastic yes."
Nayeliq1
Room Temperature
Frosty The Snowman Winter GIF by filmeditorGiphy"What temperature do you set the thermostat to throughout the year?"
OneFingerIn
"Haha this one always gets me as someone who needs low temps - you can always put on more clothes, I can't peel my skin off to get cooler."
djdante
The thermostat is a dealbreaker for me.
It's gonna be 60. Love it or move on.
Discovery
Blown Away Wow GIF by AminéGiphy"When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
"Opens a window to how they think."
youcantkillanidea
"If that was really early on in the dating I’d think it was a bit of a head-f**k question. I’d probably find that question a red flag, tone dependent, although I agree with the sentiment."
LivestockMarc
Personal Time
"Aside from major differences about finances, kids, politics, or religion, a big one is; What are your hobbies? If they don’t really have any, you may be the next hobby, which isn’t going to work unless you’ve got that kind of time. If the hobbies are time-consuming ones generally done with a SO."
"But you have no interest in them, that could be an issue as well. If only one of you likes camping, wanted to spend vacation lounging instead of exploring, didn’t like sports, etc either that partner is annoyed or the other feels like they don’t get to enjoy what they love."
Githard
Past Issues
"Ask them about their exes. If they think every single one of them is an a**hole... they are likely the real a**hole."
CantTakeMeSeriously
"I have mixed feelings about that - I've been in three previous relationships and all three were emotionally abusive towards me (one wasn't nearly as bad as the other two, though) in various ways. I know this is a common sentiment and it always makes me afraid that people won't believe me or something.
"I mean, I realize in your comment you said 'likely' and not '100% sure' and there's plenty of room for nuance."
phiore
Values
"I would try to take care of any dealbreakers. If I find out that she has different political values than I do, it's not going to work out in the long run, so I wouldn't bother. Same thing with other factors (religion, financial values, etc.). I would also ask how much cuddling she likes to engage in, as I prefer a lot."
SkullKrusher9000
Essentials
Tell Me More To Do List GIF by Disney ChannelGiphy"When I was dating my three essential questions were always kids, sex, and money. If you're not on the same wavelength for any of those three things, just don't even try."
KhaosElement
TRUTH PLEASE!!
"So, how much personal debt do you have?"
"Source: the guy who dated a woman with huge debts and was asked to pay for everything and then some".
"After that, I'd go with, 'Have you ever been diagnosed with borderline, narcissistic, or histrionic personality disorders?"
extracensorypower
The questions are basic.
Just ask for the truth.
Do you have any good Qs to add to the queue? Let us know in the comments below.
