'I am not mad ok': Dutchman shares English learning experience from Indian wife

English in India has come a long way from its colonial past, evolving into a colourful, sprinkled with regional accents and borrowed expressions.

In a hilarious example, a Dutchman named Sacha Arbonel, married to an Indian woman, recently took to X to describe his language-learning journey and some of the English phrases he picked up from her.

New English phrases I learned from my Indian wife:

"It's normal only"
"I'm not mad okay"
"Salt is less"
"Do one thing"
"He is my REAL brother"

And my most favorite

"I can get this in India for 100 rupees" https://t.co/cpb5kIREgc

— Sacha Arbonel (@sachaarbonel) April 20, 2025

Among the phrases Arbonel listed were, “It’s normal only”, “I’m not mad, okay”, “Do one thing”,and “He is my REAL brother.”

His personal favourite – “I can get this in India for 100 rupees.”

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Indian X users responded to Arbonel’s post by sharing their suggestions and joking about it. “I get the others, but what’s wrong with ‘salt is less’? asked one X user, Swastika.

Another X user, Ronojoy, suggested Arbonel try “Mad or What?” to which the Dutchman responded, “Oh, I forgot that one.”

A user, minorityhunter zoro, tried to explain why such English phrases are used in India. “Well, Indians aren’t native English speakers. They think in their mother tongue and then translate it to English all at the same time. That’s why there are so many grammatically incomplete sentences that only make sense in Indian English,”

Chota Singham suggested that Arbonel add “Just because” to the list.

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