I have yet to meet an American who understand what a washroom is .
Whenever us Canadians travel, people often hear us speak and immediately assume we’re American. Putting a Canadian flag on our backpack to differentiate ourselves doesn’t even really work anymore, because Americans have started to do the same, realizing the world is more fond of Canadians than Americans.
But let’s get something straight: Canadians are SO different from Americans. It’s like NIGHT AND DAY in a lot of ways. So hopefully this list of “instant giveawaysthat someone is Canadian” — coming to you from the people of Reddit — helps people learn how to accurately spot a Canadian:
Note : Some responses have been edited for length and/or pellucidity .
1."‘Just gonna squeeze right past ya there.'"
u / Unapologetic_Canuck
" Once on a plane in Canada someone said to a guy ' I ’m just gon na pinch past ya there . ' The guy pay him a weird look and answer in a southerly idiom , ' You do n’t have to sneak , you could just go by … ' "
– u / starflowy
2.“They take their shoes off at the door even if no one else does. They’re told not to worry about it, but then said person still takes off their shoes.”
– u / Ornery_Context_9109
3."‘Washroom.’ I was shown a laundry room once."
– u / Parking - Bench
" I asked a waitress at a clowning club in Boston where the washroom was , and she tell , ' What part of Canada are you from ? ' "
– u/849x506
4.“They mention their duotangs from back in elementary school.”
– atomic number 92 / chrisdj99
5.“I’m an American who has lived in Canada for 3 years now and I had never heard of a ‘toque’ until I moved here.”
– atomic number 92 / bazackward
6.“Being in a store and helping a random person find something they are looking for. Then talking to them about family stuff and not even working at that store. I’m Canadian and this happens a lot of times with me.”
– u / DistinctCar6767
" I ’m a magniloquent Canadian , so a flock of times I ’m asked to reach something on the top ledge for someone . But mostly , if I note someone struggling , I offer to get it for them .
And then stand and chat in the gangway for a while . "
– uracil / Sunflower_grl
7.“Describing a 10-below day in winter as ‘mild.'”
– uranium / dom462
" ' Ah , the windchill ’s not too bad . ' "
– u / Canadian - Man - infj
8.“Apologizing when someone bumps into them.”
– u / CDNSpartan
" apologise when you kick downstairs in to an target . "
– uranium / TheSkyIsAMasterpiece
9.“Americans will just eat the last candy or chocolate. Canadians will not, until it’s been there alone for ages or if there’s no one else around who could possibly want it.”
– u / AmbivalentSamaritan
10.“Saying ‘thank you’ when you get off the bus.”
– u / Kiriuu
" I did this in Brussels a few month ago and my German champion made playfulness of me for it . "
– u / RytheGuy97
11.“True Canadians will hold a door for you and smile. At least where I was born and raised.”
– u / Nd343343
12.“Measures distance in time, i.e., “It’s about 2 and a half hours to Montreal.”
– uracil / SpiralToNowhere
13.“Uses both metric and imperial measurements.”
– u / anarchylovingduck
" But we shift back and onward depend what is being measure .
metrical , or clock time when measuring large distance , like geographic feature , but regal when referring to real estate , a house has straight footage or floor is an amount per sqare foot . peak of a person is still in imperial .
The temperature alfresco is metric , but oven temperature or eubstance temperature ( feverishness ) are imperial . The weightiness of meat or produce is metric , but the weight unit of a person is regal . "
– uranium / Vast_Section_5525
14.“When visiting Europe last summer, I was told that it was obvious I was Canadian in that I asked the employee how they were doing (as a greeting).”
– u / BillClintonsMistress
15.“The accent. I didn’t notice it growing up, but I now notice it’s strong in my Canadian friends since I moved to the US.”
– u / oddlotz
" We have an accent . pretty sluttish to distinguish from every other English - speak land , save for an odd law of similarity between California and Ontario . "
– uracil / No - Wonder1139
16.“I’ll do you one better. You KNOW they are from specifically Saskatchewan if they call a hooded sweater a ‘bunnyhug.'”
– u / Cheezdealer
17.“Grade 12. Not ‘senior.’ And WTF is a sophomore?”
– atomic number 92 / luna934934
" We also say ' what scratch did you get on the psychometric test ? ' versus ' what grade did you get ? ' "
– atomic number 92 / house - Investigator152
18.“A while back, a lady in Florida knew I was Canadian because I called my mom over to look at something. She said, ‘You must be Canadian!’ I asked how she knew, and she said it was because I said ‘mom’ like ‘mum.’ I guess we spell it mom but pronounce it ‘mum.'”
– u / horrific - Advice384
19.“Has a strongly-held opinion about whether or not windchill is real.”
" ( We all know it ’s real ; the argumentation is over what temperature meteorologists should give . ) "
– u / ThisSaladTastesWeird
20.“They refer to their electricity bill as ‘the hydro.'”
– u / KLONDIKEJONES
21.“Wearing Roots sweaters.”
– u / amysite
" I was in California once with my reddened Canadian Roots hoodie with the giant high hat on it . More than one person inquire me about the jumbo Oregonian . "
– u / KellyBreard
22.“When wearing your shoelaces untied, an American will tell you ‘hey, your shoelaces are untied’ and be done. A Canadian will do that as well, then uncomfortably stare at your shoes until you fucking tie them.”
23.And finally: “Pronouncing ‘sorry’ as ‘sohrry’ instead of ‘sahrry.'”
– u / rainbowkey
