{"id":4439,"date":"2014-10-21T09:00:30","date_gmt":"2014-10-21T13:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=4439"},"modified":"2014-10-10T19:42:53","modified_gmt":"2014-10-10T23:42:53","slug":"toilet-talk-english-vocabulary-about-using-the-bathroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/toilet-talk-english-vocabulary-about-using-the-bathroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Toilet talk: English vocabulary about (using) the bathroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bathroom<\/a><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s post is all about words and expressions that you aren\u2019t likely to learn in a class; today we are going to talk about going to the bathroom! The vocabulary introduced today are words and expressions you will definitely hear native speakers use, and these are also words and expressions you may need to use sometime too.\u00a0 So let\u2019s get down to it, today is all about toilet talk<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Here are some common expressions that English-speakers use to ask where the toilet is located.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is the bathroom<\/em>?\u201d<\/strong>
\n \u201cCan you tell me where the restroom<\/em> is?<\/strong>
\n \u201cWhere is the lavatory<\/em>?\u201d<\/strong>
\n \u201cWhich way is the washroom<\/em>?\u201d<\/strong>
\n \u201cI need to use the toilet<\/em>, where can I find it?<\/strong>
\n \u201cWhere is the loo<\/em>?\u201d<\/strong> (British English)
\n \u201cCan you point me to the WC<\/em>?\u201d <\/strong>(British English)<\/p>\n

In English the bathroom can also be called: \u201cthe men\u2019s room<\/strong>\u201d (for men), \u201cthe women\u2019s room<\/strong>\u201d (for women), and sometimes people also say \u201cthe little boy\u2019s room<\/strong>\u201d (for men) and \u201cthe little girls\u2019 room<\/strong>\u201d (for women). For example:<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you tell me where the little girl\u2019s room<\/em> is?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

All of the above expressions are neutral in nature (not too formal or informal) and appropriate to use in public at anytime to ask where the bathroom is located.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>

Image “toilet” by dirtyboxface on Flickr.com.<\/p><\/div>\n

The toilet, which is found in the bathroom, also has many names in English.\u00a0 Here is a list of some of these names. How these words are used is in (parentheses).<\/p>\n

toilet<\/strong> (neutral)
\ncommode<\/strong> (formal)
\npotty<\/strong> (childish)
\nthe pot<\/strong> (informal)
\nthe throne<\/strong> (informal)
\nthe chamber pot<\/strong> (old fashion)<\/p>\n

Now, it is time to look at some vocabulary to talk about what happens in the bathroom, on the toilet. Below are two lists of words for our two bodily functions (pee and poop). I\u2019ve listed these words generally in order from the most polite\/formal words (at the top) to the least polite\/informal words (at the bottom). I have indicated next to each word whether it is a noun or verb, its formality, or other important information. How the word is used is important information to know, so please take note. There are some examples for how these words can be used below.<\/p>\n

pee<\/strong><\/em>
\nurine<\/strong> (n) \/ to<\/strong> urinate<\/strong> (v) – (formal)
\nnumber 1<\/strong> (n) -(neutral\/polite)
\ntinkle<\/strong> (n) \u2013 (polite\/old fashion)
\n(to) pee<\/strong> (n & v) – (neutral, most common term)
\npee-pee<\/strong> (n) – (childish)
\nwee-wee<\/strong> (n) – (childish)
\n(to) piss<\/strong> (n & v) – (informal)
\n(to) wizz<\/strong> (n & v) – (very informal)
\nto take a leak<\/strong> (v phrase) –\u00a0 (very informal)<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to pee<\/strong>, where is the bathroom?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m going to take a leak<\/strong>, I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d
\n\u201cMy son peed<\/strong> on himself and I need to change his clothes.\u201d
\nMom: \u201cDo you have to go number 1<\/strong> or number 2<\/em>?\u201d Child: \u201cNumber 1.<\/strong>\u201d
\n\u201cSomeone pissed<\/strong> all over the sidewalk. Gross!\u201d
\n\u201cI went pee-pee<\/strong> in the potty.\u201d
\n\u201cThe nurse checked to see if there was urine<\/strong> in the bed.\u201d
\n\u201cDo you have to tinkle<\/strong>?\u201d<\/p>\n

poop<\/strong><\/em>
\nto<\/strong> defecate<\/strong> (v) – (formal)
\nfeces<\/strong> (n) \u2013 (formal)
\nstool<\/strong> (n) \u2013 (formal)
\nto have a bowel movement<\/strong> (v phrase) –\u00a0 (formal)
\nbowel movement<\/strong> or BM<\/strong> (n) – (neutral)
\nnumber 2<\/strong> (n) – (neutral\/polite)
\npoop<\/strong> (n) – (neutral, most common)
\npoo<\/strong> (n) – (neutral\/childish)
\npoo-poo<\/strong> (n) – (childish)
\npoopy<\/strong> (n & adj) – (childish)
\ndoo-doo<\/strong> (n) – (childish)<\/p>\n

(to) sh*t<\/strong> (n & v) – (very informal)
\nto take a dump<\/strong> \u2013 (v phrase) – (very informal)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe old man defecated<\/strong> in his bed.\u201d
\n\u201cHow often do you have a bowel movement<\/strong>?\u201d
\n\u201cI need to change my daughter\u2019s poopy<\/strong> diaper.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere can I take a dump<\/strong> around here?\u201d
\n\u201cI haven\u2019t had a BM<\/strong> in 2 days.\u201d
\n\u201cI saw some feces<\/strong> in the bushes at the park.\u201d
\n\u201cYou will have to provide a stool<\/strong> sample for testing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning this array of vocabulary for talking about bodily functions is important for a few reasons:
\n1) You may hear other people (especially native speakers) use these words and so it is good to know what they mean;
\n2) You want to use the right type of word for the right type of situation, and to do that you have to know a variety of ways to talk about your bodily functions; and
\n3) This is vocabulary building! There is more than one way to say almost everything and now you have many ways you can talk about a subject that is often hard to discuss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Today\u2019s post is all about words and expressions that you aren\u2019t likely to learn in a class; today we are going to talk about going to the bathroom! The vocabulary introduced today are words and expressions you will definitely hear native speakers use, and these are also words and expressions you may need to use…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":4442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[135370],"tags":[7337,930,333475,333478,333480,49736,333483,7560,333474,333479,7614],"class_list":["post-4439","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-vocabulary","tag-bathroom","tag-english","tag-how-to-ask-for-the-bathroom","tag-lavatory","tag-loo","tag-pee","tag-poop","tag-restroom","tag-toilet-talk","tag-washroom","tag-wc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4439"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4445,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4439\/revisions\/4445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}