We've been here a little over three months, and our Spanish is improving. However, we still mess up all the time! Here are some of the mistakes we've made.
We can mess up even something as simple as saying "Good morning".
"Buenos dios!" -- Good God!
"Buenos diez!" -- Good ten!
It's supposed to be "Buenos dias!"
Bert is always face-palming himself for saying good morning in the afternoon and vice versa.
I tried to pay Q15 for a bun that cost 50 centavos. That's like paying $2.45 instead of $0.09! She was saying cincuenta (50) which I interpreted as quince (15). Luckily for me, the young lady selling them was honest enough to refuse my inadvertent generosity.
Bert made his Spanish class laugh with this mistake.
Bert: Tengo hombre. (I have a man.)
He meant to say: Tengo hambre. (I'm hungry.)
I'm always forgetting which of these words is which...
libre - free
libro - book
libra - pound
So at the market, I catch myself saying, "Can I have a book of bananas, please?"
And here's my best mistake!
Waiter: ¿Cuál es tu nombre? (What is your name?)
Me: ¿Mi nombre? No tengo un nombre. Estoy de vacaciones. (My name? I don't have a name. I'm on vacation.)
I thought he was asking for my number, like my phone number. Nombre in French means 'number' but in Spanish means 'name'. I was confusing my foreign languages. He must have thought I was nuts!
Here is a video about a few other mistakes that thankfully we haven't made... yet!
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