No, this is not going to be a post about the time I got spit on for speaking English with a friend (I turned around and called the guy a bastard in French, a fact which French friends find hilarious, but I digress).
This is about something much more subtle - the over/under fiasco.
Over:
dessus
Under:
dessous
 |
| My reaction too. |
See the problem yet? It's more than the words sounding basically identical - that certainly isn't uncommon in any language. The problem is that this set of words has
exactly opposite meanings, which means that it's not possible to deduce the meaning by context like it is with other similar-sounding words.
I'm pretty convinced that it's all an elaborate plot to confuse foreigners.
Now, on the other side of the coin, I have some favorite expressions as well.
Tomber dans les pommes - to fall on your apples, or to faint
Ca me casse les pieds! - That breaks my feet! or, That's annoying!
I'm going to start using those last few in English.
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