Embarazado

Embarazado is the state of embarrassment experienced by a person who causes a humourous situation, usually unintentionally, through the incorrect use of a language other than their native tongue. The term is typically applied in relation to English speakers, but the same principle can apply in relation to the use of any language.

Related Topics:
Embarrassment - Humour - Language - English

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The term comes from a notorious false friend for English-speaking students of Spanish: attempting to say "I'm embarrassed" by saying "Estoy embarazado," which means "I'm pregnant" in Spanish. This would tend to be embarrassing when said by a man (as the seahorse is the only animal where the male of the species is capable of being pregnant). Another error would be to say "Soy embarazado" which means something like "I am the embodiment of pregnancy". Embarazado can also arise from using the phrase "tengo (tener) vergüenza" (meaning "I have shame") or the more correct phrases "me da vergüenza" or "estoy avergonzado" (idiomatically meaning "I am embarrassed," "I am ashamed," or "I am bashful"),

Related Topics:
False friend - Spanish - Seahorse - Male - Pregnant

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Of course, the opposite of embarazado may also occur, where someone with little experience of English could embarrass herself by using a false friend when speaking with a native English-speaker. For example, a Swede could mistakenly believe that the English equivalent to the Swedish word "kock" (which means "cook" in English) is "cock". This could lead to a very embarrasing situation if the Swede said something like "I like your cock" when attempting to express appreciation for the chef's cooking.

Related Topics:
Swedish - Cook

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This could also happen if a person is unaware that the same word may have several different meanings. A person who like steak rare, might order a "bloody steak", because the Swedish equivalent of "rare steak" is "blodig stek" ("blodig" meaning "bloody"). Of course, this would be well understood in many steakhouses in the United States.

Related Topics:
Steak - Rare - Steakhouse - United States

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~