Miscellaneous: Awkward

Awkward

By ChickenBallsPlease - 07/12/2025 06:00 - United Kingdom - King's Lynn

Today, I was eating at a Chinese restaurant, when I stopped the waitress to tell her that even though I am of Chinese heritage, I can't understand a word of Chinese. After an awkward silence, she told me she was actually speaking English. FML

I agree, your life sucks 43 593

You deserved it 16 668

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Same thing different taste

Well travelled

By Anonymous - 10/02/2025 03:00 - United States

Today, I was at a restaurant and confidently ordered in what I thought was fluent French. The waiter stared at me for a second, then responded in perfect English, "Dude, this is an Italian restaurant." FML

I agree, your life sucks 88

You deserved it 753

Sir…

By Anonymous - 05/05/2025 20:00 - Australia

Today, I was at a restaurant with some friends, trying to be cultured by ordering in French. I confidently said to the waiter, “Je voudrais le poulet, s'il vous plaît.” The waiter stared at me and said, “Sir, this is a Chinese restaurant.” FML

I agree, your life sucks 63

You deserved it 843

By Anonymous - 07/07/2014 01:27 - United States - Gournay-sur-marne

Today, I went to see the school counselor to schedule my classes for school. She asked me if I knew how to speak English. My parents are Chinese and I don't even know how to speak Chinese. I've lived in America my whole life. Plus, I even spoke to her in English to ask about classes. FML

I agree, your life sucks 50 026

You deserved it 3 889

Quel abruti

By Anonymous - 28/03/2023 06:00

Today, I was on a date in a fancy restaurant. I tried to show off my skills by ordering our meal in French, since some of the dishes had french-sounding names. The waiter replied in fluent French and I have no idea what he said. FML

I agree, your life sucks 149

You deserved it 1 249

Communication Breakdown

By rosie - 08/03/2021 13:59

Today, I was unable to communicate with a customer who only spoke French. As a result, my boss called me a "monolingual idiot." I speak Spanish, German, and Japanese. FML

I agree, your life sucks 1 143

You deserved it 73

Admit it

By lordoftheweird - 03/11/2023 19:02 - Canada

Today, I went to a drive through with my housemate. She got our order wrong and angrily yelled at the teenager who handed us our food, making her cry. My housemate can't fully speak English because of a learning disability, and she refuses to admit it. FML

I agree, your life sucks 446

You deserved it 105

By Asian - 07/02/2016 19:03 - United States - Clover

Today, I was asked to prove that I was Chinese by translating the phrase, "Ching chong ming chang ho". I'm not even Chinese. FML

I agree, your life sucks 22 961

You deserved it 1 870

By Danielle22291 - 29/04/2017 17:27 - United States - Indianapolis

Today, as a waitress at Denny's, I had a 25 top table. Only 3 of them spoke English. FML

I agree, your life sucks 4 909

You deserved it 480

By Anonymous - 19/09/2016 17:29 - Hong Kong - Central District

Today, at a tutoring center, one of the tutors looked at my worksheet and laughed. She then showed all the other tutors my mistakes and they laughed along with her. The best part? They all speak Chinese and they think I can't understand them. I'm Chinese. FML

I agree, your life sucks 12 866

You deserved it 872

By cls_x - 24/02/2013 07:53 - United States - Riverview

Today, I was holding the door open for a friend. She told me to wait a second because she had to finish a text. Nearly a minute passed before I asked why she wouldn't come inside to finish typing. We were at a Chinese restaurant. She thought the "No MSG" sign meant you couldn't text inside. FML

I agree, your life sucks 37 450

You deserved it 4 032

Welshite 39

Tuesday 28 January 2014 19:09

Apparently you can't understand English either. Did you have to use a translator for this FML?

SmokeyBear420 19

Tuesday 28 January 2014 19:08

lol bad accent?

Comments

BlockOfRedStone 25

Tuesday 28 January 2014 20:53

Damn, more like FHL. Having a thick accent sucks - you have to deal with this kind of stuff your whole life.

RedPillSucks 31

Tuesday 28 January 2014 21:16

I've actually watched two chinese people having a hard time understanding each other because of their accented english. They couldn't speak to each other in Chinese, cause one spoke Mandarin and the other spoke Cantonese, so they tried to communicate in english. Badly.

gracehi 31

Tuesday 28 January 2014 21:31

That's sounds even more awkward than this FML.

Suaria 38

Tuesday 17 November 2015 7:39

At least someone mentions the different dialects of Chinese.

Quiet_one 22

Tuesday 28 January 2014 21:34

That's embarrassing, but understandable. Accents are hard! I even have trouble understanding other native English speakers sometimes. For a while after I moved to Georgia I struggled so much with Southern accents that I'm pretty sure my first boss here thought I was slow. It happens.

badluckalex 23

Tuesday 28 January 2014 21:37

she must have had a thick accent. lol

pnutzmckracken 3

Tuesday 28 January 2014 22:19

This is a case when I want to hear a response by the op, were you just completely baffled by what she was saying or just unobservant? Either way you still looked a bit silly. It seems like you forgot how to English.