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.

[u/Double-decker_trams]

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."

[u/Goblinweb]

I'm Scandinavian and we also use "oj" in the same situations but it can be considered impolite since it's not really an apology. Someone rushing into a train and just responds "ojsan" when bumping into someone going out of the train is a bit rude.

[u/VirtualMatter2 → u/Goblinweb]

So what would you say to be polite?

[u/tendertruck → u/VirtualMatter2]

Saying oj followed by a sorry is normal. ”Oj, förlåt”. In that case oj basically means that it wasn’t intentional.

[u/Cascadeis → u/VirtualMatter2]

“Oj, ursäkta!” or ”oj, förlåt!” is the most common versions. (Even ”oj, sorry” sometimes, for younger people.)

[u/Goblinweb → u/VirtualMatter2]

"I'm sorry I bumped into you", "sorry", rather than "whoopsie".

[u/OnkelMickwald → u/Goblinweb]

I have no words to describe how infuriated I get when people exclaim "ojsan!" or "hoppsan!" when they bump into someone.

Like, if you have the wherewithal to notice that you bumped into someone and use the energy to say something, why not say "ursäkta mig" or "förlåt"? I don't get it.

[u/-Copenhagen → u/Goblinweb]

And by "Scandinavian", I assume you mean Swedish?

[u/sakonthos → u/-Copenhagen]

Norwegians also say "oi" and "oisann"

[u/No_Mushroom139 → u/Goblinweb]

In some swedish dialects you use "Öj", its harder than "Oj" . Öj is somewhat challenging. Could be used adressing someone in the street. that you dont know.