this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
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[–] garbagebagel@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

I was talking to my hairdresser once and accidentally called my tonsils testicles so maybe uvula can be vulva now to make it all even

[–] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 55 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

Uvula? The german says Gaumenzäpfchen. It's a Zäpfchen and it's dangling from the Gaumen. Makes sense, no?

[–] IndiBrony@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Reminds me of the Flammenwerfer!

[–] Spezi@feddit.org 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

It’s literally a 1:1 translation of Flamethrower.

There are much better examples for long German words beeing short in English like

Toy = Spielzeug (Play Stuff)

Mall = Einkaufszentrum (Shopping Centre)

Sale = Schlussverkauf (End sale)

Matchbox = Streichholzschachtel (Swipe wood box)

Lighter = Feuerzeug (Fire Creator)

[–] Vincent@feddit.nl 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't think that was intended as an example of a long German word being short in English. Rather, it was an example of the meaning of a word being clear from the word itself.

[–] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

To me it was both. The descriptive nature of words on the one hand and the word length which often comes with it on the other.

Eichhörnchenschwanz is one more nice example (it also works with dialects: oachkatzlschwoaf - an oak cat's tail) :D

[–] Vincent@feddit.nl 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

🇳🇱 Eekhoorntjesstaart! (And vlammenwerper of course.)

[–] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 2 points 2 days ago

Google insists that I must have mistyped eekhoorntjestaart. Who am I to argue? 🤷‍♀️

[–] stroz@infosec.pub 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Didn't know I'd be thinking about a "palate suppository" when I woke up today, but here it is.

[–] Successful_Try543@feddit.org 24 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The word Zäpfchen itself is the diminutive of Zapfen, a stud, peg or pin. E.g. the fruits of needle trees are also called Zapfen, Tannen-, Fichten- or Kiefernzapfen. So Gaumenzäpfchen is a small stud dangling down from the palate.

[–] stroz@infosec.pub 12 points 2 days ago

This makes way more sense! (and also makes it obvious I currently do not speak German 😅)

[–] stevedice@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

So it's a girl house.

[–] papalonian@lemmy.world 32 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] Brahvim@lemmy.kde.social 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] papalonian@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

That was my first guess, but when I sounded out the words as spelled it didn't sound very... tongue-y. Maybe I'm not hearing it right.

Edit: you don't even use your tongue to make the K sound 🤔

[–] Brahvim@lemmy.kde.social 1 points 3 hours ago

you don't even use your tongue to make the K sound

I almost think I do!
...And the comic is more about the character being lispy.

[–] TRBoom@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You do use it. You need to press your tongue to the roof of your mouth to make a k sound.

This happens close to the back of your mouth where the molars are…

[–] papalonian@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Huh, fair enough.

I still don't associate the tongue with a K sound 😅 a lisp I feel would make more sense

[–] dragonfucker 10 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] passiveaggressivesonar@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I also am pavlov'd to remember this line every time, great minds think alike. Or the superior German proverb, two fools one thought

[–] SapientSloth@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago

Great minds think alike is only half the proverb. The other one is: , but fools rarely differ. Somewhat similar to the german one.

[–] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] wabafee@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Monster house reference I think.

[–] Senseless@feddit.org 20 points 2 days ago
[–] barkingspiders@infosec.pub 16 points 2 days ago (2 children)

IT SOUNDS LIKE A SEX THING

[–] EtherWhack@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Anything can be a sex thing (once) if you're brave enough

[–] Mozingo@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I think of this scene from Monster House every single time I hear the word uvula https://youtu.be/oM0SArkFxco

[–] Cenotaph@mander.xyz 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 3 points 2 days ago

It might be a family thing, or even dialectal from where I grew up, but its common name for me is "(the) clack".

Wiktionary suggests that the name "clack" is used for the tongue, but then there's this Black country (UK West Midlands, where I'm not from) dialect page: https://www.sedgleymanor.com/dictionaries/dialect.html that actually lists "clack" as being a name for the uvula, so it might well dialectal word used the north of England and the midlands.

[–] fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

That's called a "clacker" where I come from.

[Edit] That might be a really local dialect term that nobody else understands.

[–] letsgo@lemm.ee 4 points 2 days ago

Wasn't Uvula that comms officer on Star Trek?

[–] EmoDuck@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago

Delightful and relatable

Must've been confusing to the Romans