My German is pretty good (I have doctors appointments in German). I don’t know every word in the language, especially words that I’ve never learned in German class or have never had reason to learn, but can hold my own.
Usually.
However, not always.
Especially when not really paying attention.
I was at a dinner party Saturday evening and had just finished a conversation with one friend, when a word another friend said caught my attention and I attempted to join it.
As I understood it (after missing the first bit of the conversation), one of my friends was riding a Vespa (scooter) when something went up her sleeve and she panicked. She took care of it and was glad that she wasn’t allergic to it because her father is allergic to Vespas.
You can only imagine how puzzled I was.
So, I asked a question.
“Your dad is allergic to Vespas?”
You can only imagine how puzzled the people involved in the conversation were.
A few seconds later someone realized the word missing from my German vocabulary and I was told that a “Wasp” in English is a “Wespe” (pronounced quite similarly to the word “Vespa”) in German.
Every day is a learning experience.
Posted by: J
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