An enlightening moment
I needed to buy some light bulbs and went into a shop in Madrid saying: Necesito unas bulbas, thinking 'bulba' was Spanish for 'bulb'. As B's and V's sound the same in Spanish, the shop keeper thought I was asking for a 'vulva' which - being the same in English - is a private part of the female anatomy! You can imagine the look on her face. At the time I had no idea why till I went home to tell my Spanish wife! The Spanish word for bulb is una bombilla. I'll never forget that.
Sent by: John
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My husband and I bought a holiday home in Spain a couple of years ago and have since travelled backwards and forwards furnishing and decorating it. At the time I had been teaching myself Spanish for a year or two and was becoming quite accustomed to using my Spanish in DIY shops, furniture stores etc. We had spent ages looking for a bathroom mirror with an integral light and I was really pleased when we found one we liked in an electrical shop. I did really well, asking for the mirror in Spanish and talking to the shop assistant while she wrapped the mirror safely for us. We decided to get a couple of extra light bulbs for the light attached to the mirror. In my best Spanish, I asked the shop assistant for two lightbulbs. At least I thought I'd asked for two lightbulbs (bombillas). In fact I had asked her to give me two firemen (bomberos). After a snigger and an explanation from the shop assistant she presented me with two lightbulbs. Two firemen would probably have been more exciting.
As many villages in Spain do not have mains gas, we use bottles of gas, called bombona. These bottles are refilled or exchanged in service stations, so it's easy to top up the gas with your petrol. One says, ¿TendrÃa una bombona?, Can I change my gas bottle. The Spanish word for fireman is bombero. So confusing the two, I say to the petrol station cashie something along the lines of "My old fireman is dead and I need a new one please." He didn't laugh, and I don't know why because my friends thought it was hilarious. Darn them.
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