Fatso, my little cabbage, magic mouse: 10 unusual terms of endearment from around the world

If your significant other called you a “fatso” or likened you to an insect, it probably would not go down too well. However, in some languages these words are actually terms of endearment.

While English terms: darling, sweetheart, lovely, gorgeous, babe etc all tend to be associated with sweetness and niceties, some words which are throwaway terms of affection in other countries translate to less than desirable English equivalents.

Direct Travel insurance has rounded up a selection of these which include the Spanish term “gordo” for a boy and “gorda” for a girl literally translates to “fatso” in English and is often used in Ecuador and other Latin American countries.

Other terms include translations which Brits might deem bizarre but they are actually huge compliments in the home countries where they are used. For example, in Japan, ‘tamago gata no kao’ translates to ‘an egg with eyes'.. Similarly, ‘mon petit chou’ which is used in France to say sweetheart directly translates to ‘my little cabbage’.

In the Netherlands, ‘mijn poepie’ translates to ‘my little poo’ and in Italian ‘microbino mio’ – which sounds romantic spoken in Italian – translates to ‘my little microbe’.