Same sounds – different meanings

• When you laugh in English you are also saying “mother” (ha-ha) in Japanese. The English “Hi!” or “High” means “yes” (hai) in Japanese; the colloquial “yeah” comes out as “no” (iye). Other English  sounds which have different meanings in Japanese include “auto”, which sounds like “father” (otoh), and “Ohio” is “Good morning” (ohayo).
• The fine old Irish family name “O’Hara” spoken in Japanese means “honorable stomach” (o-hara).
• The Spanish expression ¡Eso  sí que es! (“That´s exactly it!” or “That´s just right!”) can be pronounced exactly by anybody who speaks English if the simply spells aloud the word “socks” quicky as an exclamation: s-o-c-k-s!