Are you really full?

I was 19 years old when I went to France for the first time to visit my cousins. Upon my arrival they prepared a delicious feast to welcome me. We all ate a lot. At a certain point I just couldn't eat another morsel and so I proclaimed, "Je suis pleine."

I was disconcerted when I saw the shocked looks around the table. I soon learned that, in slang, "Je suis pleine" means "I am expecting a baby." 

Some expressions definitely lose - or add! - something in translation.

June Graff

Editor's Note: I had exactly the same experience shortly after I arrived in Italy and announced to my friends over lunch one day, "Io sono piena."