When I was learning French at the beginning , talking to a french guy I told him " I can be your "maîtresse" and meant by that " I can teach him English" ,be his teacher", but this word in french has 2 meanings * I didn't know it at that time*: 1- teacher ,professor 2- mistress, lover That was a chance for him to embarrass me most probably ;) by telling me "do you know what 'maîtresse' means? "and explaining it thereafter.

Hi Not long ago... I said "a baby shower" was a short shower not wasting too much water... I didn't know it is a celebration for a new born... Now I know.

I have made lots when using babylon as an online translation service whilst replying to a few Italian language partners.

When I first started learning spanish, I made 2 mistakes, and I've seen several americans make the same ones: 1. I said I was Pregnant (embarazado) instead of embarrassed (avergonzado). 2. I used "exitado" (sexually aroused) when I should have used "emocionado" (excited / thrilled).

I was at a christian meeting in Spain and was talking to a spanish girl who worked at a hotel. I asked her if she was a maid at the hotel (hotel worker). She went very quiet and excused herself. It appears I had asked 'Are you a virgin? ' - I had confused the word maid with maiden in spanish.