Languages without the letter U can't call it a U turn.

141 points · 52 comments · view on lemmy.world

52 Comments

jeena@jemmy.jeena.net · 48 pts · 2y (22 replies)

In Germany we have the letter U but we call it by the real name "Kehrtwende"

jxk@sh.itjust.works · 15 pts · 2y

Just for context, the word Kehrtwende is not used often. Instead, the verb "wenden" is used the sense of "making a U-turn"

herrwoland@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 2y

Is that the real name for the letter U? damn

TheBat@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y (1 reply)
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ndsvw@feddit.de · 2 pts · 2y
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someguy3@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 2y (5 replies)

What does that translate to?

jeena@jemmy.jeena.net · 34 pts · 2y (3 replies)

kehrt -> return
wende -> turn

FloppyDix@lemm.ee · 6 pts · 2y (2 replies)

A re-turn?

intensely_human@lemm.ee · 11 pts · 2y (1 reply)

re turn turn

Kirbo@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y
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Archer@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 2y

Knowing the Germans, probably "extra long and bent letter I"

OhTheMoose@lemm.ee · -3 pts · 2y (11 replies)

Why is kehrtwende the real name? Doesn't it basically just mean "turn around"?

jeena@jemmy.jeena.net · 23 pts · 2y (10 replies)

Yes it does, why make it more complicated?

OhTheMoose@lemm.ee · 3 pts · 2y (7 replies)

"U-turn" isn't more complicated, it's describing the motion literally: making a U-shaped turn

GargleBlaster@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 2y (6 replies)

Isn't it more like a n-shaped turn?

Ddhuud@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y (1 reply)

It could also be seen as the intersection of 2 sets. But you can't call it an intersection, the name is taken.

dandroid@dandroid.app · 7 pts · 2y

∩-turn

breathless_RACEHORSE@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Not if you're coming from the other direction.

anakin78z@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y

Doesn't matter, the driver is always the frame of reference

wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

If you want to have to specify lowercase, sure.

poweruser@lemmy.sdf.org · 1 pts · 2y

Thank you for breaking my brain

Anticorp@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 2y (1 reply)

I see you're not very familiar with German culture.

jeena@jemmy.jeena.net · 1 pts · 2y

We Germans are all about efficiency.

CerealKiller01@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 2y (2 replies)

In Hebrew, it's a horseshoe turn.

someguy3@lemmy.ca · 19 pts · 2y (1 reply)

...

In countries without horses...

justhach@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2y

A U-turn

dystop@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 2y (2 replies)

The Romans must have called it a V-turn

lobut@lemmy.ca · 17 pts · 2y

A five turn?

Hazdaz@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y

How is this not the top comment??

infamousbelgian@waste-of.space · 28 pts · 2y (7 replies)

We call it a 180.

As in 180 degrees turn.

monobot@lemmy.ml · 13 pts · 2y (1 reply)

We call it something like 'half circle turn'.

Mubelotix@jlai.lu · 5 pts · 2y

In France we call it a half turn

gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y (4 replies)

Which language is that in?

infamousbelgian@waste-of.space · 5 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Dutch. But the variant we speak in Flanders (Vlaams).

Anticorp@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 2y

Stupid, sexy, Flanders.

Bolleeer@programming.dev · 3 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Yeah, infamousbelgian, which language is that in? /s

Edits: How the hell do I mention a user in Lemmy?

infamousbelgian@waste-of.space · 3 pts · 2y

We actually have 3 official languages in our (small) country. Dutch (Flemish), French (Walloon) and German :)

dandroid@dandroid.app · 19 pts · 2y

You should see the the folks in Beijing make a 欲-turn.

AmosBurton@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 2y (2 replies)
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gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Who is we?

Barns@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y

The Jews!

bouh@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 2y (2 replies)

In French it's called a pin turn.

MrPoopyButthole@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y (1 reply)

I imagine that would be a hairpin which takes the shape of a U. In routing there is a hairpin NAT which redirects traffic exiting back into the local network.

BingoBangoBongo@midwest.social · 2 pts · 2y

In rally races in the US its also called a hairpin.

TheWonderfool@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 2y (5 replies)

Even though the letter U is definitely existing in the vocabulary, in Italian it is called "elbow turn" (curva a gomito)!

Hazdaz@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Italian.... “elbow turn”

I'd be willing to bet that when they say elbow they mean the pasta.

TheWonderfool@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y

Thank you for making me discover elbow pasta! It deepens my conviction that everything in Italy is somehow related to pasta...

Gork@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y (1 reply)

How do they not get it confused with elbow pasta?

TheWonderfool@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y

Confusingly enough, in Italy I believe it is not quite a thing "elbow pasta". Personally I have never heard anyone refer to any kind of pasta as "gomiti", though Google showed me that they indeed exist. I have always heard the ones that looks like elbows in other names.

wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 2y

Letters aren't part of vocabulary though?

learningduck@programming.dev · 6 pts · 2y (1 reply)

My language doesn't has U, but we call it U turn anyway, even though we have a similar letter in our own language.

wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2y

Now that's odd.

naux_gnaw@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y

In Chinese doing an u-turn can be called 掉头 or 调头, literal translation would be lose head (or front) or change head (front). For whatever reason apparently both can be used.

mvirts@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y

But the symbol still makes sense

over_clox@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y

You don't need an alphabet to design what may as well be modern day hieroglyphics.

suspecm@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y

The name U turn itself is dumb anyways (alongside shit like T-shirt, I kid you not I tought my english teacher was trolling us because I refused to believe at 12 that people in any part of the world use a '-' in a regular word they use everyday).

halvar@lemm.ee · 1 pts · 2y
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