Jenna in Finland

Okay, so…uhh. I accidentally said something dirty to a guy the other day.

This will happen to you when you’re learning a new language. Actually, it’s gonna happen a lot.

People might think you’re a pervo, until you explain to them that you’re still learning the language and that you’re bound to make mistakes. You’ll likely get a pass for that, but rest assured people will be chuckling at your expense.

Normally, I just say “olen ulkomaalainen, ja teen virheitä. Joskus ovat hauskoja, olkaa hyvä.” – I’m a foreigner, and I make mistakes. Sometimes they’re funny, you’re welcome.

Take Me For a Ride, Big Boy!

It was my friend’s husband’s eno and I was trying to make a joke about how I wanted him to drive me somewhere the next time I came to visit their village in Pohjois-Pohjanmaa. I said “saanko kyydin sulta?” which means, “Can I get a ride from you?” That’s not dirty! But the problem is, I think I was mumbling as they thought I said “saanko kyytiä sulta?” which means “Can I get a RIDE from you?”, i.e., “are we gonna do some sexuals?” I’m blushing even thinking about it. I am a very sex-positive person, and I’m not prude nor anything like that but oh my gosh I would never flirt with a guy like that! I’m much more subtle.

I pride myself on being able to read facial expressions and social situations. Both the uncle and his nephew made a sort of “Uhhhhh???” face at each other and at me to express surprise that I said something impolite or unexpected but not in a good way. My friend giggled and then explained later my faux pas along with a very nice replacement phrase for me to use. Unfortunately I didn’t write it down and completely forgot it – but no one was hurt and I’m sure they laughed about it amongst themselves later.

I Wanted to Say Owl…

If you’re a native Finnish speaker, you can probably guess where I’m going with this.

When I was married, I made an active effort to spend time with my anoppi. Actually even now that I’m divorced, I try to see her a few times a year and text with her quite frequently. She’s a sweet lady and I like her a lot. It helps that we’re both cat ladies who love handicrafts and home renovation shows (yes, I am basically a retiree in a 30-something’s body).

One day I was on a mini-holiday in my ex-husband’s hometown, just getting coffee and whatever else we planned on doing that day in in Etelä-Savo. We were discussing something and at some point we were rattling off words that started with P in Finnish, I guess since I probably made some point about how there aren’t that many P and B words in Finnish.

I meant to say pöllö, but pillu came out. I forgot that it was pöllö, you guys. My anoppi’s face dropped, and my then-husband crunched both his eyebrows together in that ever-familiar grumpy expression so common in Finland (don’t get mad, y’all are a serious bunch sometimes).

So yeah, not my finest moments. These types of gaffs will happen again and in some ways I look forward to them. Why? Because it’s frickin’ funny and all part of language learning.

Anybody here ever said something naughty by accident in their new language?