This came about as a result of my learning
German for one year in
high school. 9 years later I picked up a
German tourist who was
hitchhiking on a
highway in
Israel. I
racked my brains to think of something to say, and all I could remember were the words for "
airplane" and "
potato", plus a few common connecting words, so I said to him "Nein, das ist nicht mein
Flugzeug, das ist mein
Kartoffel" - "
No, that is not my airplane, that is my potato". And he said, with a straight face: "Nein, das ist dein Auto".
I thought about the usefulness of that sentence. What is the point of it, you may ask? Well, consider the following scene: You are in Munich. You have just placed your potato on the road, and are resting. Suddenly, a policeman grabs your hand, and says (in German): "Please come with me sir, your airplane is double-parked." What are you going to do? Everybody knows it is illegal to double-park airplanes in Germany. So, you see, either learn that sentence, or carry your potato with you at all times. The choice is clear.
Not everyone travels to Germany for their holidays, so here it is in various other languages.
P.S. My knowledge of languages is limited. I wrote what I know. I may have made several mistakes. If you do notice one/many such mistake/s, please /msg me. Thanks.
P.P.S I have highlighted the words for "airplane" and "potato" to make it easier to find your way around the sentences.
- Arabic :
La, hatha mish tayarati, hatha batatati
- Croatian :
Ne, to nije moj avion, to je moj krumpir (pronounciation guide: j=y)
- Danish :
Nej, det er ikke mit fly, det er min kartoffel (pronounciation: Nai, deh air eck-uh meet flee, deh air meen kah-toff-uhl)
- Dutch :
Nee, dat is niet mijn vliegtuig, dat is mijn aardappel
- English :
Your wife has lovely nipples, can I touch them
- Esperanto :
Ne, tio ne estas mia aviadilo, tio estas mia terpomo (c/o troyac_84)
- Finnish :
Ei, se ei ole minun lentokone, se on minun peruna
(c/o stupot)
Ei, se ei ole minun lentokoneeni, vaan minun perunani (c/o vuo)
- French :
Non, ce n’est pas mon avion, c’est ma pomme de terre
- German :
Nein, das ist nicht mein Flugzeug, das ist meine Kartoffel
(Austrian slang): Na, des is ned mei Flugzeig, des is mei Erdapfl (c/o ebtschi)
- Hebrew :
Lo, ze lo hamatos sheli, ze tapuach ha’adama sheli
- Hindi : Nahi, yeh mera vimaan nahi hai, yeh mera aalo hai (c/o aVheretic)
- Hungarian : nem, ez nem az én repülöm, ez az én krumplim (translated by Hungarian Danger, c/o ebtschi)
- Irish :
Níl sé sin m'eitleán, níl ann ach mo phráta
- Italian :
No, non è il mio aereo, è la mia patata
- Japanese :
Iie, are wa watashi no hikokidewanaku, watashi no jagaimo desu
- Latin :
non ista mea machina caelestis est, ista mea patata est
Lasair says: "The ancient Romans had no word for 'airplane', but 'machina caelestis' fits the bill pretty well."
- Maltese :
Le, dak mhux l-ajruplan tiegh, dik hya patata (pronounciation: Le dak moosh layruplan tie, dik hya patata)
- Mandarin : Na bu shi wo de feiji, shi wo de yangyu
- Norwegian :
Nei, det er ikke flyet mitt , det er poteten min
- Portugese :
Não, não é meu avião, é minha batata
- Russian :
Nyet, eto ne moi samelyot, eta maya kartoshka
- Spanish :
No, no es mi avión, es mi papa (note: pápa, not papá, which means father)
Ichiro2k3 says: In Continental Spanish "papa" would be a strange choice for "potato," "patata" being the preferred word therein
- Swedish :
Nej, det är inte mitt flygplan, det är min potatis
- Telugu (South India) :
Idi na vimanamu kadu, idi na bangaladumpa
- Turkish :
Chimdi benim uchak deil, benim patetesim
- Urdu :
Ye mera jahaz nahi hei, ye mera alo he
P.P.P.S. bangaladumpa is the best word for anything in any language ever.
Thanks to all those who made suggetions and corrections