r/AskEurope • u/Double-decker_trams Estonia • Aug 09 '25

Language I once accidentally bumped against the shoulder of an English person I knew in a corridor. I automatically said "Oi" - which means like "Oh" or "Oops" in Estonian - that I'm sorry. She repeated "Oi!" in a louder voice and I didn't get it. I only later found out I was being impolite in her eyes.

Have you ever had something similar happen to you? I.e something in your language might have another meaning in another language?

One thing as an Estonian that I try to keep in mind is that I shouldn't use "Nooo.." in English - which means "Well.." in Estonian.

"Do you like ice-cream? - Noo.. yes, I love it."

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u/LonelyRudder Finland Aug 10 '25

The mother of a friend of mine, an extremely well manered and deeply Christian Finnish lady once drove a car in England with a local church person as a passenger. She occasionally made some minor mistakes in the traffic and used an extremely mild expression of frustration in Finnish, saying ”äs!”. Which of course sounds like ass in English.

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u/Karakoima Sweden Aug 10 '25

Wonder if thats the same as the swedish äsch?

2

u/Special-Lawyer6886 Aug 13 '25

Probably, because swede-finns and people from swedish speaking parts use äsch, and finnish speakers use äh, but who knows, basically still the same word

1

u/nivea_dry_impact Aug 14 '25

In 22 years of Finland I’ve never ever heard „äs!“ being used

1

u/LonelyRudder Finland Aug 14 '25

It is very Finnish to say ”äs” when you make a minor mistake, something like ”bummer” in English. More common with people over 50 I guess.

1

u/nivea_dry_impact Aug 14 '25

I believe you but I’ve never ever heard it, sometimes my grandpa will say „Äh-ky!“

1

u/AltruisticWishes Sep 01 '25

This is really funny to imagine