English to USA Translations

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  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
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    If you have an import store locally, buy the UK Mars Bar and a US Mars Bar and compare them. (Same with Skittles too. They look the same, but the sugar tastes are completely different.)

    Crumpets are still different from English Muffins. We use Muffin for both forms of muffin, which can be kind of confusing.
  • debzeeU2
    debzeeU2 Posts: 99 Member
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    my boyfriend is from Ireland- he calls me chicken or bird. which is like girlfriend for the states.

    sour candy- fizzy.

    gummy bears- he calls them jellys- anything that falls into the gummy catergory (bears, worms, etc) he calls them jellies.

    Back Garden instead of Backyard
    I have tons but since being with him- I catch myself placing the "u" in certain words when I type, and saying eejit a lot lol
  • Jade17694
    Jade17694 Posts: 584 Member
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    You say lie low, we say floaty/air mattress/inflatable. That one got me confused for a second while on vacation with Brits and Aussies :happy:


    hahaha lilo not lie low hahahahaha Sounds the same I'll give you that but this made me laugh!!! xx

    Glad you laughed at this too Emma otherwise i may have felt guilty for bursting out laughing :laugh:
  • BlueInkDot
    BlueInkDot Posts: 702 Member
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    This is so great. Basically everything UK based sounds a gazillion times better than our US words. I love it. :D

    Hey I have a question. Is there a difference in what school levels are called? I heard that it was different. Sorry if this has already been addressed.

    In the US it goes: preschool (starting at age 5ish), then kindergarden (age 6ish), then elementary school (grade 1 through 6, about ages 7-13), then middle school or junior high (grade 7 and 8, about ages 14 through 15), then high school (grades 9 through 12, about ages 15 through 19) then we graduate high school and either go to college/university (but you have to pay for it), or go straight to work instead.

    So what are the parallels to these stages of school over in the UK? Same? Different?
  • debzeeU2
    debzeeU2 Posts: 99 Member
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    If you have an import store locally, buy the UK Mars Bar and a US Mars Bar and compare them. (Same with Skittles too. They look the same, but the sugar tastes are completely different.)

    Crumpets are still different from English Muffins. We use Muffin for both forms of muffin, which can be kind of confusing.

    Chocolate taste better over in UK & Ireland anyway. The ice cream tastes better too- especially Baileys ice cream! yum!
    My favorite candy would be Milkyway bar and Galaxy bar.
  • Mexie1
    Mexie1 Posts: 48 Member
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    Basil is pronounced baz-ill in the UK not bays-ill.
    US 'bangs' are called a fringe in the UK.

    School (at least where I live) goes:
    0-4/5 - nursery or pre-school
    4/5-7 - infant school
    or 4/5-9 - middle school (old - don't know if there are many around now)
    7-11 - junior school - do SATS (not the same as the US version) at some point, I'm not sure what age
    11-16 - secondary school or high school (many go up to 18, some private schools go from 3-18) - do GCSEs at the end
    16-18 - college or sixth form - do AS levels in the first year and A levels in the second year
    18-21 (generally) - university - 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year - get a degree
    We don't use freshman, junior, senior
    We don't have 'grad school', people just do masters and PhDs at universities

    Public school in the UK means private school. We also call them private schools and fee-paying schools. Non-private schools are called state schools and also comprehensives, academies etc.
  • Jade17694
    Jade17694 Posts: 584 Member
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    Also love the difference in pronunciation of some things over here. Yoghurt sounds like boggart. You say *kitten* the way we say pasta and we say *kitten* the way you say pasta.

    This would depend on the region you're in. I'm from "up North" and here we'd say *kitten* and pasta the same...not sure how you Americans say them so not sure if its the same or different :-D


    *kitten* has a short a sound and pasta like the o in lobster.

    Depends where in the UK your accent is from, in the South, it tends to pick up an additional R, said "barstud". In the North, it's said more like "basstud"

    *raises hand* im guilty of pronouncing it with the extra 'r' :ohwell:
  • zoeelizabeths
    zoeelizabeths Posts: 93 Member
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    UK Roundabout = US Rotary

    I've only heard them called roundabouts in the US. Rotary is a club (Rotary International).
    They are called rotaries in some places. This is the problem with "US" meanings since we are a rather large country and the regional differences can be very marked.

    I'm from the western US (Oregon) and have always heard it called/call them roundabouts.
  • Diary_Queen
    Diary_Queen Posts: 1,314 Member
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    I was staying with an American friend and couldn't work the tap in the bathroom.

    "Hey your tap's stuck!"
    "My what?"
    "Your tap, you know the thing over the sink the water comes out of."
    "Oh, faucet!"

    So I forced it and the damn thing came off in my hand.

    In my region of Texas, we wouldn't call this part of the sink either.... we typically refer to it as a spigot.. though we pronounce it incorrectly and call it a 'spick-it'. More often than not, we would just say "Hey, your sink is broken" or something along those lines. When referring to things, we talk about it as a whole versus the parts. That could mean that the spigot is broken, the handles/knobs are broken, the basin is broken or the pedestal if it's that sort of sink.... I hear a lot of people speak in these generalized terms.

    I haven't made it through all the pages yet, but what about things like

    Tin Foil? and Washrags? Gosh we talk funny!
  • zachsmum77
    zachsmum77 Posts: 11 Member
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    bump so I can read later :)
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    Ha, we say "spick-it" for spigot in SC, too. But I would only call something a spigot if it was outside... weird. For instance, I connect my garden hose to a spigot to water my vegetable and herb garden.
  • jackpotclown
    jackpotclown Posts: 3,291 Member
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    One thing the english say that I like is smashing and brilliant.....I know brilliant means the same and smashing seems to only apply to english, but still....brings a smile \m/
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    This is so great. Basically everything UK based sounds a gazillion times better than our US words. I love it. :D

    Hey I have a question. Is there a difference in what school levels are called? I heard that it was different. Sorry if this has already been addressed.

    In the US it goes: preschool (starting at age 5ish), then kindergarden (age 6ish), then elementary school (grade 1 through 6, about ages 7-13), then middle school or junior high (grade 7 and 8, about ages 14 through 15), then high school (grades 9 through 12, about ages 15 through 19) then we graduate high school and either go to college/university (but you have to pay for it), or go straight to work instead.

    So what are the parallels to these stages of school over in the UK? Same? Different?
    You're about a year off. If you graduate high school at 19, you were probably held back somewhere. Pre-k starts at 4, not 5.
  • LauraSmyth28
    LauraSmyth28 Posts: 399 Member
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    This is so great. Basically everything UK based sounds a gazillion times better than our US words. I love it. :D

    Hey I have a question. Is there a difference in what school levels are called? I heard that it was different. Sorry if this has already been addressed.

    In the US it goes: preschool (starting at age 5ish), then kindergarden (age 6ish), then elementary school (grade 1 through 6, about ages 7-13), then middle school or junior high (grade 7 and 8, about ages 14 through 15), then high school (grades 9 through 12, about ages 15 through 19) then we graduate high school and either go to college/university (but you have to pay for it), or go straight to work instead.

    So what are the parallels to these stages of school over in the UK? Same? Different?

    Different in Ireland anyway. We have playschool for kids under 4 (they start as young as 2), primary school from 4/5 for 8 years, then secondary school for 5 years or 6 years if you choose to do the optional 'tranistion' year. So a lot of Irish kids finish school and go to college at 17. I was finished at 16 as I have a late June birthday.
  • Kebby83
    Kebby83 Posts: 232 Member
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    Breakfast = Breakfast
    Lunch = Diner
    Diner = Tea
    n/a = Supper

    I'm English (near Manchester, actually Accrington to the English folks here.) and have lived in the US for 12 yrs.

    If your English in America and what a little fun, go the the market and ask for basil the English way, they won't have a clue what you mean.

    Me and my ex-wife (American) were once was at the supermarket, at the butchers counter and asked for 1lb of honey roast ham, the guy looked at me funny, so again I asked for 1lb of honey roast ham, he still did not understand what I was asking for. After repeating myself quite a number of time I looked at wife, she then says exactly the same thing with her American accent and the guy gets it instantly.
    I turned to my wife and said "You just translated English into English".

    I am English living in America too (Originally from Cheltenham)! Been here for ten years. They do the SAME thing to me!!! My husband/friends are always translating for me!!! At work I'm always having a problem because I take care of the elderly and they have absolutely no idea what this foreigner is saying to them - worse than younger generations around here (Pittsburgh).
  • WickedGarden
    WickedGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    Wellies=rubber boots
    carriage=shopping cart
    slippy=slippery (I find it hilarious to say 'slippy' so now I say it.)

    I have lots of friends from across the pond, and they gave me this website: http://septicscompanion.com/
  • HeatherHoskins
    HeatherHoskins Posts: 157 Member
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    An American friend of mine was going to Ireland for the first time. He's a smoker so I said to him on the phone:
    "oh, there's a new law there now so you can't stamp out *kitten* on the street or it's a £200 fine"

    His reply was "WHAT!?!....."


    This is so funny it makes my stomach hurt. hahahaha
  • jonbobfrog
    jonbobfrog Posts: 294
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    "loo" and "loo paper" !
  • Smiler106
    Smiler106 Posts: 124 Member
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    Hahaha this thread is funny! Ok my favourites are the differences in insults.

    For example.... wanker & douche!

    I was working with a couple of Americans and they had gone out & somebody called one of them a wanker, they asked me what it means.. Wank = *kitten*.... so a wanker is somebody who masturbates. They laughed and told me it was a stupid insult!! This coming from a nation who uses douche for an insult!! Err hellooo... douche means shower! Lol!
  • sammi402
    sammi402 Posts: 232 Member
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    English people eat a lot of "puddings" that are not actually pudding.

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