Today, I found out that the loving nickname my Chinese mother has been calling me my entire life essentially translates to "little retard". FML
Collection
Halloween
A failed costume, stolen candy and a very real scare: Halloween, the one night when fear is allowed.
Today, I realized what my mom has been calling me for 20 years. She always calls me her "little fehler." With her being from Germany, I always thought it was a cute little nickname. Apparently, she's been calling me her "little mistake." FML
Today, I found out that the nickname my friend has been calling me in Japanese for the past year is the word for "Idiot". FML
Today, I discovered that my name literally means "burden". This wouldn't be so bad if both my mother and father knew this when they named me. FML
Today, I figured out my girlfriend's mother has various nicknames for me. My girlfriend and her family are from Poland and speak on the phone in their native tongue, but they don’t know I’ve been learning the language either. I heard her call me “idiot”, “loser”, “moron” and various other “nicknames” multiple times. FML
Today, I learned that the cute pet name my boyfriend has been calling me for the past month is actually an acronym for "pain in the a**". FML
Today, I finally found out that the tattoo on my lower back means "slut" in Chinese, instead of "good fortune" as I always thought it did. FML
Today, I accidentally called my boss "Mom." Now she is jokingly telling everyone that I'm the long-lost daughter she gave up for adoption, because she knew I'd be a failure. FML
Today, my mother who learned English as an adult sent an email to my boss, thanking them for hiring me even though I'm "retarded." I’m a law school graduate who was diagnosed with a minor learning disability in kindergarten, but she still calls me "retarded" when speaking English. FML
Today, my dad opened a Chinese fortune cookie that read, "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes." Now he won't stop calling me Experience. FML
Today, I discovered that my cool, unique first name translates to "unwanted" in Hindi. Both my parents studied abroad in India for five years. FML
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Top comments
thomcmoore 23
Mother knows best?
DocBastard 40
Better than "Big Retard", I suppose.
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Comments (124)
dragxnfly 4
Lol, I know dat feel. Also, to all those unaware Mandarins, zhu zhu is not one of those good nicknames. Lul
sleepykrissy696 1
Well my mom calls my brother a poop-dog and me a bitch in korean. Different connotations in different languages?
Kiwimaid 9
OP, this is really common in non Western cultures. Or even some Western ones. For example calling a child a 'Silly sausage'. It is a term of affection, not intended to be actually offensive. Its hard being bi cultural, especially in these cases. :)
pingpong123 1
I think it most likely translate to more like "little silly". Chinese is a subtle language and a lot of same words in different context would mean compliments, cuteness instead of insulting. What you posted just shows you don't understand the language or the culture, which is a pity since it's part of your family
kawaiichick 9
OP is more than likely ABC.
peekaboo_chey6 3
It's okay my mom called me chi chi and my whole Spanish speaking family neglected to tell her it means boobies. They just went along with it.
swagxoxoxoxo 3
LOL BRB #DYING
PurelyCanadian 18
At least it's not "big"?
wisedragon 3
better than a guy whose real name is "pak ki u". it means "stand and help others" in his mother language.
Miss_Chevious 37
So your mother has been calling you Yǒudiǎn zhìhòu for your whole life and you just figured what it means...do you really blame her for what she nicknamed you?
hihi1 1
It's actually very common and affectionate for parents to call children such names, because there are folk tales about demons who will take the children away if they are beloved by the parents. So it's normal for parents to call kids "shit heads","dog's sons" so that the demons can't find them. Be happy your mum loves you enough to call you little retard!