JFK was a Berliner – what's your worst linguistic faux pas? -- To mark the 50th anniversary of John F Kennedy declaring himself to be a jam doughnut, we're asking you to share your most half-baked efforts at speaking foreign languages.

John F Kennedy and the mayor of West Berlin, Willy Brandt, 
wave to the crowd on 26 June 1963. Photograph: 
Stringer/AFP/Getty Images

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It was a moment of history with an amusing linguistic footnote: 50 years ago, JFK stood in the heart of divided Berlin and said "Ich bin ein Berliner" – which, strictly speaking, can mean two things: "I am a Berliner" or "I am a jam doughnut".

We've all done it: a little bit of linguistic adventure, and embarrassment all round. Who hasn't said Je suis pleine (I am pregnant) after a meal in France, or Ich bin heiss (I'm feeling frisky) on a hot day in Germany?

Even those of us who rely on languages for our work get into trouble. A correspondent, who shall remain anonymous, told me that she had embarrassed herself in a gelateria by ordering a trumpet ("cornet") instead of a cone.

I once caused consternation when opening a French bank account for mixing up my cons and my comptes (it was the former who helped me open the latter).

So, in this confessional spirit, we would like to throw this open to Guardian readers: what is the most toe-curling linguistic mistake you've ever made? Did it cause an international incident? Or, as in JFK's case, involve mid-morning pastries? The full story, please. A copy of Monty Python's Hungarian phrase book to the best submissions.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/