Continuing the topic of vocabulary, you will encounter many funny and sad situations if you use the wrong vocabulary when chatting. Sometimes you don't even realize these mistakes yourself unless someone helps you correct them!
Have you ever used this word instead of “medicine” in Vietnamese?
For example:
I need to buy drug for my brother.
If a native speaker hears this sentence, they will understand that "drug" means addictive substances such as cocaine, marijuana, etc. Meanwhile, what you mean is simply medicine! This mistake can have serious consequences, native speakers may misunderstand you. So from now on, if you want to talk about medicine, use the word "medicine".
Fatal mistakes due to incorrect English vocabulary
We often translate the word "sexy" as seductive, sensual and understand this word in a bad sense. Not only that, this word is also specifically labeled for girls and almost no one says boys are "sexy". Completely wrong! This word is not bad at all but is a flattering compliment and can be used with both genders. “He is so sexy” – “She is so sexy”, both are acceptable and can be used as equivalent to the word “hot”.
You often use this word generally to refer to height but forget how to use it exactly. If you want to ask how tall someone is, ask "How tall are you?" then this question is wrong. You only have 2 correct ways to use it in this case:
How tall are you?
What is your height?
Because of the root "er", many people mistakenly think this word is "housewife" - someone who cooks rice. But in English, this word means "rice cooker". That's why many people when communicating with foreigners have fallen into the following funny situations:
What is your job?
I am a cooker.
Harmful confusion due to incorrect English vocabulary
Obviously you can't be a rice cooker, right? If you want to say you are a housewife, use the words "housewife", "housekeeper".
There is no problem with this word, but the mistake we often make is in the preposition that follows it. Surely many times you wonder whether to say "introduce to you" or "introduce about"... The most correct way to use is "introduce you to".
For example:
I'd like to introduce you to my project.
After correcting these harmful errors, I hope you will no longer laugh or cry because of your use of words!