A foreigner mistakingly thought his wife was being insulted all because of a misunderstanding.
Reddit user riboflavonic shared a post via a Korea subreddit. He explained that he was filling up his car at a gas station in South Korea when a man suddenly approached him.
The foreigner wrote that the Korean man pointed to the car. It sounded like the Korean man said something about the foreigner’s wife.
Yet, it was all a misunderstanding due to the language barrier. Riboflavonic explained that the Korean man was selling car wipers. The Korean word for “wiper” is actually 와이퍼 (waipeo), which is basically the same word with a Korean accent. Yet, it can sound a lot like the Korean pronunciation of the English word “wife.”
A split second later I realized he actually said ‘wiper’ and was selling wipers
— riboflavonic
I was filling up at a gas station, and a man suddenly approached me, pointing to my car and saying something about my wife…
byu/riboflavonic inkorea
So, riboflavonic asked netizens if they had other funny moments resulting from language barriers. This resulted in many humorous stories.
Anyone else have some funny ‘language barrier moments’?
— riboflavonic
One netizen remembered visiting a pharmacy where an older gentleman asked them where they were from. The netizen told the pharmacist that he was Egyptian. He didn’t understand that the pharmacist replied with the name of Egyptian soccer player Mo Salah since he was not a fan.
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Another netizen retold her Japanese friend’s encounter with a handsome Korean man whom she asked for directions. The Japanese friend thought he was racist in his response. Yet, this was just a misunderstanding due to his dialect. He had actually told her to go straight!
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One of the most bizarre stories was when a netizen at a Korean Christian college interacted with a man. They thought he asked them if they wanted “c*ck.” He was asking if they wanted soda (Coke)!
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Misunderstandings are an unavoidable part of life, especially if there is a language barrier.
