29 February 2008

What the British Really Mean




Received this forwarded email from a friend and wanted to share it with you guys because it's so true.

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It is well known that the British do not always say what they really mean. So, with the growing international nature of business, the definitions below may help people from other nations understand their British counterparts better.


♦ I hear what you say
What They Mean: I disagree and do not wish to discuss it any further

♦ With the greatest respect
What They Mean: I think you are a fool

♦ Not bad
What They Mean: Good or very good

♦ Quite good
What They Mean: A bit disappointing

♦ Perhaps you would like to think about…./it would be nice if….
What They Mean: This is an order. Do it or be prepared to justify yourself

♦ Oh, by the way/Incidentally
What They Mean: This is the primary purpose of our discussion

♦ Very interesting
What They Mean: I don’t agree/I don’t believe you

♦ Could we consider the options
What They Mean: I don’t like your idea

♦ I’ll bear it in mind
What They Mean: I will do nothing about it

♦ Perhaps you could give that some more thought
What They Mean: It is a bad idea. Don’t do it

♦ I’m sure it is my fault
What They Mean: It is your fault

♦ That is an original point of view/brave option to consider
What They Mean: You must be crazy

♦ You must come for dinner sometime
What They Mean: Not an invitation, just being polite

♦ Not entirely helpful
What They Mean: Completely useless

Thanks Christina.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

GREAT :-)

kljs said...

really like that?

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Anonymous said...

I would have to agree they are very polite over there. Its harder for someone to be mad at you when your so darn nice.

Bookwormz said...

sarcastic in a diplomatic and polite way. yeah, it's sometimes hard for me to guess what their true messages were. But even I did the same thing when talking to the parents in my school. must pandai coverup lah, if not they'll sue u!

Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha.This is funny I think.If anybody is not aware of them then it is a problem.

skidg8 said...

aha...
bole la sy guna masa mengajar nanti...:)

Anonymous said...

I don't get the idea why they just say things like that...? Is that a style or that is the right way to express those thoughts???

Anonymous said...

Hmm.... Keya....
I think the british tried to make those negative word in a nice way and started to use the dialogs.. and later that became the way of telling the negative things in the way.
Not a bad thing.. what u say?

Dilip Mutum said...

Thanks for your comments guys. Kevin, Rani, Keya I totally agree. However, it can make life much easier once you understand how people think and act they way they do here.

Marta said...

After 6 years in UK I can say only one thing: SOOO TRUTH!

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