When I was in Taiwan I tried to learn a few words of Mandarin Chinese. I did okay, by the end I had about 4-5 expressions that I was able to throw into everyday situations.
One of the first things I wanted to learn was the way to say "Excuse Me" if I wanted to, say, get a waiter/waitresses attention in a restaurant. One waitress told me that the relevant expression was pronounced "Boo Hau Ees". So I happily went along, Boo Hau Eesing my way through Taipei. My pronunciation must have been okay as I was always getting the staff's attention. I was quite pleased with myself.
Upon my return to Melbourne, I discovered that "Boo Hau Ees" DOES mean "Excuse Me". But rather than the "Can I please have your attention?" excuse me, it was more the "Sorry I just burped/farted" variant.
I looked back and remembered me, waving my arms at numerous restaurant staff, confidently saying "Boo Hau Ees" as I waved.
I can only imagine what they must have been thinking.
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