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petra_r
Community Member

When you are trying to be cute and answer client in their own language

So this happened today... Client (Norwegian) asked me about something and then said "Thank you" in German so I thought it would be cute to say "You're welcome" in her language... So I googled it - as you do.

 

when you try.jpg

12 REPLIES 12
e_luneborg
Community Member

You're not even saying that your praying. What you are really saying is: Oh I'm praying. 

Next time try: "Bare hyggelig" or "værsågod".

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@Eve L wrote:

You're not even saying that your praying. What you are really saying is: Oh I'm praying. 

Next time try: "Bare hyggelig" or "værsågod".


 Next time I shall refrain from trying to be clever and respond in a language both of the participants in the conversation understand 😄

 

Just do the really clever thing is not to use google translate but search the frase direcly.

 

værsågod is one of my favorite Norwegian frases. It took me ages to figure out how to spell it because it is so different. My kid uses it all the time so it is quite easy even for toddlers: Wascheguuuuuu


@Jennifer R wrote:

Just do the really clever thing is not to use google translate but search the frase direcly.


 Look at the link.... That is what is exactly what I did.  From German to Norwegian however.

Just the page I found was bad. Chances are Google Translate itself would have done a better job...

 


@Jennifer R wrote:

Just do the really clever thing is not to use google translate but search the frase direcly.

 

værsågod is one of my favorite Norwegian frases. It took me ages to figure out how to spell it because it is so different. My kid uses it all the time so it is quite easy even for toddlers: Wascheguuuuuu


 Haha! Never thought about that it's spelled so different from what it sounds like. 🙂

________________________
Freelancing is a gamble - To win you need skill, luck and a strategy


@Eve L wrote:


 Haha! Never thought about that it's spelled so different from what it sounds like. 🙂


 Apparently, the Polish city of Łódź is pronounced something like "wootch".

 

Really guys, why make your characters look like Roman letters when they have no connection? Smiley Wink


@Richard W wrote:



 Haha! Never thought about that it's spelled so different from what it sounds like. 🙂


 Apparently, the Polish city of Łódź is pronounced something like "wootch".


 I never thought I'd have reason to dig this piece of German musical history (cough cough) out .....

 


@Petra R wrote:

@Richard W wrote:



 Haha! Never thought about that it's spelled so different from what it sounds like. 🙂


 Apparently, the Polish city of Łódź is pronounced something like "wootch".


 I never thought I'd have reason to dig this piece of German musical history (cough cough) out .....

I enjoyed that. Thanks. She's got a great voice.

 

But I'm embarrassed to say that, apart from the title, the only word I understood was Mist.

t_zuiderwijk
Community Member

Sort of related: I was at the airport two days ago and on the plane the prettiest girl came and sat next to me.
She was French and I speak some so I decided to chat with her in French. This is where my mistake came in. I tried telling her she was the best for which the word is 'meilleur' but I confused that with 'mauvais' which means bad so I ended up calling the girl bad instead.
Luckily enough for me she realised what happened and we laughed it off
t_zuiderwijk
Community Member

 

When I send a proposal to a foreign client I sometimes begin it with"Hello" in their language. Once I received an invitation from Israel and was tempted to begin it with "Shalom aleichem". In the end I didn't. And just as well, as it turned out the client was a Palestinian in the West Bank! The invitation led to a big job. He was a great client, and I doubt he would have held the inappropriate greeting against me. But I'm still glad I didn't use it.

Arabic Hello is quite similar (assslaamu aleikum, there's no agreed orthography). With Arab-speaking clients I open in English with "Peace be upon you," which is what the words mean.

 

A non-UW client and I were exploring a fit via Skype and he used a picture of his very furry dog's face as his avatar. I joked and told him he needed a shave; he replied that he can't, he's a Sikh.

 

Got the job anyway.

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