I don't swear much, and on the occasion of sudden pain or shock-like hitting a toe, it's probably "shit." I might have, on very rare occasions, said "fuck" before, and that's stronger for me 😅
I find hearing swear words in your mother tongue or languages that you're exposed to as a child will have more impact. I never swear in Cantonese because they are very, very vulgar, and if I hear them, they will trigger aversion in me. On the contrary, I don't feel much when I hear a swear word in German now; sometimes, I am unsure if it's very vulgar or only a little bad. When my son learned some German swear words from others and used them at home, my husband would have a big reaction and forbade him to say it, but for me, I'm like, ok, is it that bad? Haha, so I let my husband decide and teach.
I believe swear words are only effective on the recipient if they have had enough experience with those words to trigger feelings or reactions.
Yeah swearwords are fascinating. The reason why "buffalo" is a swearword in Persian is mostly because of how it attacks those who threaten it (The drivers who who are described as "buffalos", drive the same way). Sorry i couldn't translate well, it's not a puppy, it's related to a dog (It's a highly nasty swearword in Persian).
As a non-native Spanish speaker living in Argentina, I often get into trouble by repeating “descriptive” phrases I’ve picked up from friends like “Qué carajo me decís?” (“What the hell did you just say to me?”). It’s fine to use at home, but before I realized it was a curse, I accidentally said it in my kid’s classroom!
I'm not the type to swear a lot, but i know some swear words in Persian (When i'm watching a movie or a series privately, i mostly use "What the fuck (just happened)???" and when i make a mistake i use "shit/Sheiße" a lot. Some swear words in Persian include cow, calf, buffalo, and puppy (My dad occasionally uses one of these to describe a driver's driving style😂). When i was in Moscow during my childhood, one day when my mom and i were in a bus, i heard someone say "گه نخور (Goh nakhor)", which means "Stop saying your blabbers". Then i asked my mom what that phrase meant. She just told me "Try not to use this phrase as much as possible". Years later, i realized that this swear word is a semi-strong one (If a Persian, no matter male or female, tells you this, think twice before saying sth lest it might anger that person). There's a synonym for this swear word: "Ghod Ghod kardan (pronounce the "Gh" like "ق" in Arabic). Ghod ghod is the sound of a hen makes.
The versatility of Russian when it comes to swear words is astounding!
It truly is!
I don't swear much, and on the occasion of sudden pain or shock-like hitting a toe, it's probably "shit." I might have, on very rare occasions, said "fuck" before, and that's stronger for me 😅
I find hearing swear words in your mother tongue or languages that you're exposed to as a child will have more impact. I never swear in Cantonese because they are very, very vulgar, and if I hear them, they will trigger aversion in me. On the contrary, I don't feel much when I hear a swear word in German now; sometimes, I am unsure if it's very vulgar or only a little bad. When my son learned some German swear words from others and used them at home, my husband would have a big reaction and forbade him to say it, but for me, I'm like, ok, is it that bad? Haha, so I let my husband decide and teach.
I believe swear words are only effective on the recipient if they have had enough experience with those words to trigger feelings or reactions.
Yes, I agree. I have the same reaction to Russian swearwords as you to Cantonese (unless it's a person I know really well or if it's a mild expletive)
Yeah swearwords are fascinating. The reason why "buffalo" is a swearword in Persian is mostly because of how it attacks those who threaten it (The drivers who who are described as "buffalos", drive the same way). Sorry i couldn't translate well, it's not a puppy, it's related to a dog (It's a highly nasty swearword in Persian).
That makes sense. "Dog" is a really nasty insult in Arabic too.
I didn't know. Thanks for mentioning this.
I swear a lot. Usually in English. Occasionally in Spanish-they have some doozies. Highly useful when you don't want someone to understand.
As a non-native Spanish speaker living in Argentina, I often get into trouble by repeating “descriptive” phrases I’ve picked up from friends like “Qué carajo me decís?” (“What the hell did you just say to me?”). It’s fine to use at home, but before I realized it was a curse, I accidentally said it in my kid’s classroom!
That's funny :)
I’m so sorry about your grandmother.
Thank you, Laura 💜
Tan'ka, this is so funny! I mean, the way you write about it. I also thought of babushka when you wrote it...
I'm not the type to swear a lot, but i know some swear words in Persian (When i'm watching a movie or a series privately, i mostly use "What the fuck (just happened)???" and when i make a mistake i use "shit/Sheiße" a lot. Some swear words in Persian include cow, calf, buffalo, and puppy (My dad occasionally uses one of these to describe a driver's driving style😂). When i was in Moscow during my childhood, one day when my mom and i were in a bus, i heard someone say "گه نخور (Goh nakhor)", which means "Stop saying your blabbers". Then i asked my mom what that phrase meant. She just told me "Try not to use this phrase as much as possible". Years later, i realized that this swear word is a semi-strong one (If a Persian, no matter male or female, tells you this, think twice before saying sth lest it might anger that person). There's a synonym for this swear word: "Ghod Ghod kardan (pronounce the "Gh" like "ق" in Arabic). Ghod ghod is the sound of a hen makes.
I'm fascinated by swearwords, and wow I'm so impressed that in Persian some swear words involve buffalo and puppies!
Wow. It's so fascinating that you reserve English for when you're *really* upset :) !!