When I vegetate in one country for more than a few weeks, I try to speak some of the native tongue, whether it’s a simple “yes” or “no” or even a basic sentence. As expected, I have made some grave mistakes in pronunciation, which has dramatically altered the meaning of the sentence.

On one occasion, instead of saying, “I would like to meet your son,” I said in Kiswahili
"Nimefurahia kununua mtoto yako," which really means, “I would like to buy your son.”
The guy actually asked me, “how much?”

On another occasion, after buying a bunch of Kilimanjaro beers after a long hot day, the shopkeeper asked when I would return her beer bottles. I said, “Nitarudisha chupa chako kesho,” which was meant to say, “I would return your bottles tomorrow,” but I mistakenly said, “I will return your underwear tomorrow.” All the villagers surrounding me broke out into laughter, and they teased me for weeks.

Any other funny stories?

Donovan

"Safari as a Way of Life. To explore the unknown and familiar, distant and near, and to record in detail with eyes of a child, any beauty, horror, irony, traces of utopia or hell." Dan Eldon

Even between English speaking, it can be strange -
In Australia, we say -
A bucket of ice cream is one of those little tubs normally around 3 inches in diameter.!!

"Durex" is the name of a sticky-tape that has been around for so long that many people see it as a generic word.
.
If you ask "where's the john" several guys in a crowd will say "here".

Rice Bubbles is the Kelloggs brand name for what, in other countries, is called "Rice Krispies".

greg

Have campervan, will travel.