The 7 innocent English words you definitely don't want to say in other countries (2025)

If you give someone a ‘gift’, or offer your loved one a ‘kiss’, you’ll likely be met with a warm smile in the UK.

But if you took the ferry overseas, or hopped on a quick flight, you might find your words aren’t received with the same enthusiasm.

There are actually plenty of words in the English language you might want to avoid saying abroad, lest they land you in an awkward situation.

It turns out that many everyday English words and phrases mean something else entirely in a different language.

‘Words frequently lose their meaning when translated or acquire completely different meanings in another language, sometimes in hilarious ways,’ the experts at language learning website, Preply, say.

Don’t want to put your foot in it? Take notes…

Gift

When we give someone a ‘gift’, whether it be a bottle of wine or a homemade cake, it’s a word that is met with gratitude and positivity.

But be warned if you’re in Germany, because giving a ‘gift’ won’t go down too well.

Here, a gift actually refers to ‘poison’. It also translates directly to toxin and venom – not something you want to be giving to others.

Mist

We get a lot of ‘mist’ in England, with more than our fair share of gloomy days.

But the whimsical image of dewy grass and moisture in the air won’t translate into German.

The word mist in Germany actually refers to ‘dung’, ‘manure’ or to rubbish in general. Although if you hate misty weather, maybe its apt.

Kiss

The term ‘kiss’ as we know it refers to anything from a peck on the lips to a full blown snog.

It can be as romantic or passionate as you wish it to be, deriving from old English variants which mean ‘to touch lips’.

But when in Sweden, it means something much less pleasant. Our English ‘kiss’ sounds very much like ‘kissa’, pronounced ‘kiss-uh’, which translates to wee or urine.

If you want to give someone an actual kiss in Swedish, it would be called a ‘puss’. Mind out of the gutter, please.

Preservative

Here, if we talk about ‘preservatives’, we’re usually debating how nutritious our food is.

But this isn’t what it refers to if you’re in the country of love, France. The word ‘préservatif’ here actually means ‘condom’.

Excuse our French!

Pay Day

In English, we typically celebrate ‘pay day’ when the month is almost over and our hard-earned cash arrives in our bank account.

While a little bit of a stretch, there’s a chance your pronunciation of pay day could be confused with the Portuguese verb ‘peidei’.

This means ‘I fart’ which you don’t want to be declaring to anyone.

Cookie

While actually an American term, us Brits widely use the word ‘cookie’ to refer to our biscuits.

But if you’re offering out these sweet treats in Hungary you might get some very concerned looks.

It actually sounds like the Hungarian word ‘kuki’ which means ‘small penis’, or a funny word for penis.

You don’t want to be dunking that in your cuppa.

Salsa

‘Salsa’, the delicious dip we devour by dunking our tortilla chips into it.

But if you happen to be in Korea – we suggest you don’t go asking anyone for it.

Why? The word is alarmingly similar to the pronunciation of the Korean term ‘seolsa’ which means ‘diarrhoea’. You have been warned.

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