For generations men have wondered what women really mean when they say or do things that they wrongly interpret, which usually lands them in big trouble! From the subtle comments to the big gestures, women for centuries haven’t said exactly what it is they mean, and men still don’t understand. I have compiled a list of the most common cases of misinterpretation between the sexes:
- “I don’t know what I want.”
When we say I don’t know, it really means we want you to pick… the right thing. Usually if you hear this, it’s best to compile a list of various different things so you give us a little room to pick and choose what we want. We may still shoot down a bunch of ideas but there will be the golden ticket in there somewhere.
- “I’m fine.”
NO we are NOT FINE! We say this as a placeholder when we don’t know what else to say or we want you to care enough to dig a little deeper. Pay attention to the tone of the “fine”, the tone tells you everything you need to know. You should know us pretty well by now that this phrase, and how we say it, means we are not peachy!
- “I just want to be alone right now.”
DO NOT for the love of all things holy leave us alone when we say this! We want you to care enough to try to sit with us and work it out. Leaving us angry only gives us time to stew in our anger and come up with more reasons to be angry.
- “He’s just a friend.”
YES he is just a friend. NO we are not sleeping with him. We can have friends of both sexes without it being awkward or without us having feelings for him. This is one of those rare times we actually say what is it we mean. Trust me, if I wanted someone else, I wouldn’t be with you. So don’t go through my phone and check my messages, there will be nothing suspicious to find.
- “Are you jealous?”
Secretly, we like making you jealous because it shows you’re protective and care about us and our relationship. Even if you’re not, saying yes will make us feel special and loved.
- “I don’t care.”
This one is my favourite and I find that everyone gets it wrong. Obviously we do care or else there wouldn’t have been an argument in the first place. So, yes we care, and no this doesn’t give you permission to go out and do whatever it is we “don’t care” about. Try asking us why it’s such a big deal and we can probably come to some sort of compromise.
- “I’m craving chocolate.”
This is a code red, or an early warning that we are probably PMSing and will become hormonal any minute. If there isn’t chocolate in the house we are not responsible for your murder, just saying.
- “We have to talk.”
You f*cked up. Plain and simple. Now we are going to have a long discussion about every reason I’ve ever been angry with you and fight for a couple of hours. There will be tears and a lot of yelling. It’s best to be calm and keep apologizing. We’ll calm down, eventually.
So no guys, we don’t always mean what we say. We may be a little complicated and this may seem a little over the top at times but it’s how we’re hardwired. We can’t just get down to the point or else it wouldn’t be interesting. A great tip is to always listen for the tone of what it is we say, or watch our body language. Those are huge indications whether we mean what we say, or we’re angry and mean the complete opposite. Don’t say you haven’t been warned!
Featured image via Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels
