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WC in different languages | ||
Tags: Meaning of words | Multilingual | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| Sennin Senior Member Bulgaria Joined 5829 days ago 1457 posts - 1759 votes  5 sounds | Message 25 of 43 08 August 2011 at 10:26am | IP Logged |
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In Bulgarian you can say
тоалетна or кенеф depending on your mood and desired level of politeness :-). 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| lindseylbb Bilingual Triglot Groupie ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4727 days ago 92 posts - 126 votes Speaks: Mandarin*, Cantonese*, English Studies: Japanese, Korean | Message 26 of 43 20 October 2011 at 9:43am | IP Logged |
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In chinese it's 厕所ce4suo3 or 洗手间xi3shou3jian1. The first one has classical origin but the second is more polite, since it indicates "handwashing room" rather than "the place you go to pee"....And WC in English is well understood, I think, at least in cities.
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| Jo15 Triglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 4623 days ago 13 posts - 16 votes Speaks: English*, German, French | Message 27 of 43 10 November 2011 at 11:50am | IP Logged |
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US = Restroom /washroom
Philippines = Comfort Room or CR Britain = bathroom/washroom Canada = washroom/toilet France = sale de bain/toilette ( could be this in french speaking parts of canada too) Spain = servicios Mexico = servicios Japan = not sure China = not sure 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Everplayer Diglot Groupie China Joined 4844 days ago 69 posts - 85 votes Speaks: Mandarin*, English Studies: Japanese, German | Message 28 of 43 26 November 2011 at 5:37am | IP Logged |
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In Chinese, there are a few alternatives:
厕所(ce4 suo3)：most common, equivalent to "toilet" in English 公厕(gong1 ce4): short form of "public toilet" 洗手间(xi3 shou3 jian1)：a euphemism for toilet, equivalent to "wash room" in English 卫生间(wei4 sheng1 jian1): a euphemism for toilet, literally "sanitary room" 化妆间(hua4 zhuang1 jian1): a euphemism for women's room, literally "powder room" 盥洗室(guan4 xi3 shi4): more literary version of "wash room", writing only, and even many Chinese don't know how to pronounce the first character... and many colloquial names such as 茅房，茅厕，茅坑，便所，etc. which a foreigner probably needn't know. Edited by Everplayer on 26 November 2011 at 5:39am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Melisse Triglot Newbie Sweden Joined 4665 days ago 19 posts - 36 votes Speaks: English*, SwedishC1, French Studies: Dutch, Russian, Modern Hebrew | Message 29 of 43 26 November 2011 at 11:27am | IP Logged |
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In the US one can also use
'the ladies' room ' or 'the men's room'. And women can announce that they need to go to the restroom in a polite way by saying 'Excuse me, I need to go powder my nose'. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| WentworthsGal Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4683 days ago 191 posts - 246 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swedish, Spanish | Message 30 of 43 26 November 2011 at 11:41am | IP Logged |
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England - it's usually bathroom, toilet or loo. Lavatory is rather old fashioned so you don't often here that here. Due to American tv we mostly know what a washroom(?) or restroom is but it's very rarely if at all used here. Bathroom is used for a house only and toilet or loo is more specific. When you're out, you can also say you need to use the ladies / gents. Sign wise, you'd mostly find the words toilet(s), ladies and gents being used plus sometimes WC. I guess bathroom, ladies and gents would be most polite. If you're being really common (and maybe somewhat vulgar) you might say bog too.
On a side note, over here we often call toilet tissue "loo roll" so if someone says that they've run out of loo roll you now know exactly what they need :o) Edited by WentworthsGal on 26 November 2011 at 11:43am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| ember Triglot Groupie CyprusRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5198 days ago 63 posts - 101 votes Speaks: Russian*, English, German Studies: Spanish, French, Greek, Polish | Message 31 of 43 27 November 2011 at 11:15am | IP Logged |
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The proper Greek word for toilets is αποχωρητήριο (ah-poh-ho-ree-tee-rio), and you can
even see it written on signs, along with WC. But in Cyprus, I have never heard anyone say either WC or αποχωρητήριο, only τουαλέτα (too-ah-leh-tah). 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Carlucio Triglot Groupie BrazilRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4653 days ago 70 posts - 113 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishC1, Spanish Studies: Mandarin | Message 32 of 43 06 December 2011 at 7:49am | IP Logged |
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Banheiro
Banheiro público 1 person has voted this message useful |
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