Is it offensive to Americans, if you say you need to use the toilet?

39 comments

1. No, but it sounds a bit graphic to me. Using the toilet makes me think about you squatting on the toilet which isn’t ideal.

2. No it isn’t offensive. It can be seen as somewhat crude in a formal setting. You can just excuse yourself, you don’t have to give details.

3. Just say you gotta drop a deuce.

4. Doesn’t the UK still use the whole water closet thing?

   I don’t know, I feel a lot of cultures have some type of euphemisms to de-emphasize “hey, I need to take a massive dump”

5. >Here in England we sometimes I actually say we need a No 1, or No 2 or worse.

   Even to strangers or in a business type environment?

6. No not really, we just don’t say toilet, we say.

   “I need to use the bathroom”

7. We generally say use the restroom/bathroom. I’ve been to both Australia and England where they said they had to use the toilet and it just sounds very graphic.

8. It’s not offensive; it just sounds British.

9. I wouldn’t say it’s offensive, but it’s not what we say. We say either restroom or bathroom.

10. I don’t think it’s *offensive*. I certainly wouldn’t be offended by it. It’s just not the norm to phrase it that way here. We tend to say, as you said, that we need to use the bathroom (or “restroom,” if it’s a public facility).

    But if a non-American said “I need to use the toilet,” we’d know what they meant, and I doubt anyone would take offense.

11. I don’t think anyone is going to care. Just go use it. If you need directions to find it…just ask.

12. Not at all offensive, just a bit crude or childish depending on the context.

13. *worse* ‽

14. lived in the UK for 2 years and that’s one thing I never got used to hearing. Idk why but saying “using the toilet” sounded more crude and vulgar than just saying “ I need to go to the bathroom”. But honestly nobody is going to be offended if you say it. It’s just not a common saying in America

15. I agree with the other answers saying that it’s not offensive, but it does sound a little crude to American ears. I think that’s because people in the UK refer to the *room* as the toilet, whereas in the US “toilet” pretty much refers exclusively to the actual plumbing fixture.

16. As others have said, it’s not offensive, but it would be considered a but crude in a formal or professional setting.

    Aside from restroom and bathroom, you’ll hear some older folks (usually women) call it a powder room, from the days when a lady would say she needed to powder her nose as a polite way to excuse herself. I tend to call it the ladies’ room in public.

17. We don’t really say toilet. For some reason “toilet” gives me a visual when “bathroom” and “restroom” don’t.

18. Nope we just don’t say it a lot. It’s consisted TMI.

19. I got a crap on deck that could choke a donkey

20. Not offensive but it sounds a little crass.

21. It’s not offensive, but it’s just not something we say. So it sounds funny when foreigners ask where the toilets are, ask if they can use the toilet or tell us they need to use the toilet. I guess because then there’s no longer the bit of “mystery” about what they’re going to do there, that “where is the restroom?” has.

    It took me a long time to work up the courage to ask staff “wo sind die Toiletten?” at restaurants in Germany, because it felt so weird being that “direct”.

22. It’s a bit off putting, especially in a business or professional setting. The toilet is the _thing_ you do your business in. I think most people agree that we don’t need to know exactly what you are going to the restroom for.

23. We tend to say bathroom or restroom. To us, the toilet is the actual commode. But only a jerk would actually get offended at someone saying “I need to use the toilet” — especially if that person is from another country.

24. Saying “I need to use the toilet” isn’t offensive, it just sounds unusual.

25. I always cringe when I hear someone say they need the toilet. I watch a lot of British TV on Britbox and it just seems crude to me when they say that.

26. I wouldn’t say it’s offensive but to me it’s always come across as more blunt as opposed to the usual “I need to use the bathroom/restroom”.

27. “Toilet” is a disgusting word and does not belong in my Christian household.

    We use the word “shitter”. “Crapper” is acceptable as well.

28. Not rude, but crass. When someone says toilet, they make us think of what they are actually doing.

    It’s much more common and less direct to say /ask “Where is the restroom?” / “I need to use the restroom” (in public) and “Where is the bathroom?’ / “Can I go to the bathroom?” in a private residence.

    Canadians have a similar aversion but they use “washroom” instead of restroom/bathroom.

    My father in law was a navy kid and then later lived all over the world so he uses the international “I need to use the toilet” which is just too direct for me. In using the restroom / bathroom /washroom there is the illusion you are going to wash up whereas the toilet is a specific thing.

29. I’m not offended by any request. Toilet, restroom, loo, whatever you call it is A-OK by me. Just don’t pee on the seat.

30. No, I personally find toilet to be a gross word though

31. Not offensive, just silly. I don’t need the visual image of what you plan on doing in there.

32. Not offensive, just a little gross to most people. Here we call it a bathroom or restroom and say “I need to use the bathroom/restroom”

33. Not offensive, per se, but definitely kind of trashy outside of family & close friends. Public terms: bathroom, rest room, ladies/mens room.

34. It’s not offensive, but it is very unusual and kinda graphic to us. We would definitely not share what the trip to the bathroom is for.

    I did live overseas for several years and developed the habit of saying “toilet”. But I’ve reverted back to bathroom or rest room since returning.

35. Toilet to us is NOT the room. It is the piece of equipment. It’s a bit too graphic.

    It’s a bit like saying I have to go sit on the toilet.

    It sounds a little bit crude and maybe child-like.

    “Here in England we sometimes I actually say we need a No 1, or No 2 or worse.”

    Only a child would say this here. And a young child at that.

36. Saying I’ve got to use the toilet, at least in the US, is considered indelicate. We don’t like to acknowledge anything that Implies the possibility of exposed genitals. We’re a very sensitive people

37. Here in Europe toilet, from toilette, means more generally the private room or space where one “does their business” of grooming, whereas it seems that in English speaking countries toilet has come to mean the actual plumbing fixture (aka the shitter). The first case and original meaning isn’t offensive or vulgar (eau de toilette anyone?), which is what Europeans mean when they say they need to use the toilet. However this is interpreted by the Anglo counterparts as vulgar since they assume you are referring to the porcelain throne itself

38. It’s not super offensive, but it does sound kind of crass.

39. It’s not offensive it just sounds crass to us. It’s like saying “I gotta go use the shitter”

    I live in the uk now and this has taken some getting used to.