Backside vs. Back

Backside VS Back

Today while waiting for my son who was competing in a challenge, the head invigilator announced, "Invigilators, please stand at the backside." 

The parents who were sitting behind me laughed immediately. Though it was not heard by the head invigilator, I felt they shouldn't have acted so. 

The husband and wife then discussed about the word "backside" used by the head invigilator. While I understood that she meant "后面”, it is totally different from 'the back' in English. 

"Backside" in English = bottom or buttocks which you sit on. 

The mistake is due to the direct translation of "面” to "side". Chinese use "面” in all directions which differs from English which don't. 

前面 = the front 

后面 = the back 

上面 = on top / above

下面 = under / below 

So, you can say, please stand at the back but not "please stand at the backside." 

And the main point of this sharing is, none of us is perfect. We shouldn't laugh at others when they make mistakes in languages as all of us are learning and learning is a progress. It never stops. I'm sure the head invigilator has better Mandarin than I do or the parents sitting behind me.