The foreign phrases you keep using on holiday – but really shouldn't

Telegraph

15 hours ago

Some British tourists have a propensity to eschew attempts at the local language in favour of simply speaking English more loudly, with frantic hand gestures to match. So it seems churlish to mock those who at least make an effort to parler français on their holidays. But we're doing it nonetheless.
Here, four of our overseas experts reveal the most common linguistic cock-ups made by tourists trying to speak the lingo in France, Spain, Germany and Italy.
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France
Spain
Germany
Italy
France
Sacré bleu!
If you'd normally cry 'gadzooks' in English, then certainly express surprise or annoyance with a sacré bleu. The French will be charmed by your apparent arrival from the 19th century (when, incidentally, they said 'bleu' to avoid blaspheming by saying 'dieu'). Much the same goes for zut alors, which is rarely heard these days by anyone under the age of 97, and then only ironically.
Ooh-la-la
For English speakers, this denotes a reaction to French flirtiness, generally involving ostrich feathers, winks and relatively few clothes. For the French, it's oh-la-la (knock off one 'o'), and rarely a good sign, indeed, almost invariably negative. If you hear 'oh-la-la' from the mouth of, say, a mechanic or a surgeon as they survey your car or heart monitor, tough times lie ahead.
Je ne sais quoi
Used by English speakers to suggest an undefinably appealing quality, 'there's a certain je-ne-sais-quoi about that fellow', but especially to imply that the speaker is more cultivated than you. In French, by contrast, it generally just means 'whatever', and indicates no particular sophistication, since all French people, of course, speak French.
Je suis chaud
This could mean that one is warm, because of the sun or indoor heating, (chaud meaning warm or hot). But it doesn't. It means 'I am horny'. To indicate non-horny hotness, you need to use avoir, as in j'ai chaud.
Je suis plein
Tempting to say at the end of a meal when refusing seconds, since plein means 'full', it seems to mean 'I'm full.' In truth, it means 'I'm pregnant,' but in the crudest possible way, used almost exclusively for animals. J'ai assez mangé, merci ('I've eaten enough, thank you') works much better.
Garçon!
Despite what you've heard, this is no way to address a waiter, unless you enjoy being summoned as 'Boy!' or 'Girl!' Try Monsieur for a waiter and Mademoiselle for a waitress, whatever her age.
Embarrassment will also be avoided by knowing that:
Preservatif means 'condom'. Asking for food without preservatives will confound. Say sans conservateurs.
Slip refers to underpants ('un slip'), not to a tumble on an icy pavement (glissade).
Liquide – as in payer en liquide means paying in cash rather than by card, cheque – or water.
Les waters refer to the WC, not to the spas, as in Vichy. It's the French mangling of 'water closet'. They just hack off the second word – as they do with le smoking, a 'smoking jacket'.
Un car is a bus; voiture is a car. Chips are crisps; frites are chips and important can mean 'important' but also 'big'. (Une foule importante usually means a big crowd, not one comprising ambassadors.) Parfum means 'perfume' but also 'flavour' as in 'what flavour would you like?' asked by the ice-cream man. (Quel parfum voulez-vous?).
Assister means to attend or be present at something, not to help; blessé is wounded, not blessed; actuellement means currently or now, not actually; passer un examen means to take an exam, not to pass it; affaires are business, not illicit relationships; rester is to stay or remain, not rest.
Anthony Peregrine
Spain
Any attempt to speak Spanish is usually well received, and people are not out to make fun of you. No one will be molestado (bothered). But there are certain words you might slip up with now and again, particularly if you're a bit nervous.
Here are just a few things to watch out for:
As well as churros, you might see people eating a bigger, thicker version of the batter strips for breakfast. These are usually called porras, but I have often heard people ask for porros instead, which means cannabis joints.
Pollo, meaning chicken, is all too easy to mix up with polla – a slang word for penis.
While we're on the subject, pene is the standard word for penis, not to be confused with peine, which is a comb.
Want another cushion? Need to get something out of a drawer? Don't confuse cojines and cajones with cojones (testicles).
Feeling embarrassed? Then you are vergonzado/a rather than embarazada (pregnant).
Got a cold? You are constipado/a. If you are actually constipated, tell the pharmacist you are estreñido/a.
Want to check if there are preservatives in your food? Stick to aditivos, otherwise you might be asking for condoms – preservativos.
Feeling hot in that blazing sun? Remember to say tengo calor, rather than estoy caliente (horny).
Excited about your holiday? You are ilusionado/a and not excitado/a (sexually aroused).
If all this is making you afraid to even open your mouth, just quietly chant ' sopa is soup, jabón is soap, jamón is ham, mermelada is jam' to calm yourself down.
Annie Bennett
Germany
Achtung!
Thanks to Second World War movies, English speakers think Germans yell this all day. In fact, Germans save it for warning signs and those rare moments when their toddler tries to climb a chandelier.
Chef
Nope, not someone in a tall white hat whipping up a risotto, but boss in German. Hence asking your 'chef' to cook dinner is an excellent way to switch jobs.
Gift
Another false friend, gift means poison in German, ie almost the opposite meaning to English. If a German offers you a 'gift', it's best to smile politely and back slowly away.
Schwül
This means muggy, humid weather. But mess up that tricky 'ü' sound and you might accidentally say schwul, which means homosexual.
Stein
At Oktoberfest, it's a beer mug but everywhere else, it's a rock. Order a stein in Berlin or elsewhere outside Bavaria, and you're likely to get a confused stare and perhaps a handful of pebbles.
Fräulein
It might sound charming in old black and white movies, but in 2025, calling a woman Fräulein is like asking if her dowry includes goats. Just use Frau if you don't want to be wearing your drink.
Vorsprung durch Technik
A phrase made famous by a decades-old Audi advert that has somehow lasted until today. It means something like 'advancement through technology' – and absolutely nobody says it, unless in relation to said ad.
Wanderlust
Despite being adopted by global Instagrammers with a 'yoga pants and mountain' aesthetic, it's actually considered quite old-fashioned by Germans, who prefer to say something like Reisefieber ('travelling fever').
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
True, you were unlikely to use this one anyway, but it was a real word that meant 'beef labelling supervision duties delegation law.' It was retired in 2013, presumably due to an abundance of mouth injuries.
Italy
Italians are generally much more forgiving than the French (or at least the Parisians) towards any straniero who makes an attempt to speak their native tongue. But there are a few common errors that can be relied on to amuse or annoy them:
Relentlessly ciao -ing everyone from small children to the carabiniere that has just stopped you for speeding (with adult strangers, always use buongiorno or buonasera.
Believing that Italians actually say Mamma Mia!
Assuming that Italian is just Spanish with a Super Mario accent – a habit of some American visitors in particular.
Even worse, assuming it's enough to stick an 'o' on the end of an English word, like a friend of mine who once asked a grocer for 'milko'.
Talking of milko, asking for a latte in a bar and expecting a caffe latte – whereas what you will actually get, unless the barista is used to odd foreign ways, is a glass of milk.
Taking prosecco to mean sparkling wine in general. Prosecco is a single variety from a specific region and other (sometimes better) Italian bubblies are available – ask instead for un vino frizzante.
Pronouncing grazie as 'GRAAT-see' instead of 'GRAAT-see-ay'.
Pronouncing Capri like it's a car with furry dice (the island is 'CAP-ree', not 'cap-REE').
Not being able to pronounce double consonants, so buon anno ('happy new year') comes across as buon ano ('good anus').
Lee Marshall