A TikToker shared a funny story of a non-native English speaker creating some beautiful, unintentional poetry when trying to discuss moths and it spawned a frenzy of similar stories, phrases, and wonderful expressions. We reached out to Chris Rory, who created the original TikTok, to hear more about his experience and see some other examples.
So get comfortable, pick up a notebook, and get ready to write down some excellent expressions that you should include in your everyday vocabulary. Be sure to upvote your favorites and check out Chris’ TikTok account here.
More info: TikTok
Did you ever speak to someone whose first language is not English and their rough translation ends up sort of poetic.
Like, just them saying it wrong is great.
I lived with a girl who was from the Czech Republic, and we had a moth infestation in our food cupboards. I was trying to talk to her about what to do about it. And she didn’t didn’t know the word moth. So I was off to a rocky start. I was like, “the moths, you know, the moths, they’re like, horrible butterflies. These guys are in the cupboards”
And she’s like, “ah, yes, the cupboard birds.”
I don’t even know if that’s a translation thing. Love it, holding on to that one.
Image credits: chris.rory
