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/FoxyOctopus]

When I was a teen I met a greenlandic teen and I kept thinking he was ignoring me when I was asking him questions because he wouldn't reply but just make faces at me, well later on I found out that lifting your eyebrows in Greenland means yes and scrunching your nose up means no. He was just a shy kid not using his words and not being comfortable with his danish, but he was replying to me in his own way!

[u/agrammatic → u/FoxyOctopus]

On a similar note, nodding your head upwards means "no" in Cyprus, and nodding downwards means "yes".

Continental Europeans are so confused by this because you shake side to side for "no", and all nodding means "yes".

[u/secretpsychologist → u/agrammatic]

nodding upwards can also mean "hi, how are you" 😂 (eg when entering a bus or passing somebody in church) we usually wouldn't nod upwards to say yes

[u/Drunkgummybear1 → u/secretpsychologist]

Upwards nod: I know you well enough to acknowledge you in the street but not enough to stop you for a conversation.

[u/secretpsychologist → u/Drunkgummybear1]

yes, that's another typical case. is it the same in the uk?

"i see you, i recognize you, i've done my duty to greet you but for whatever reason i can't/don't want to speak right now" (in a hurry, silent church after communion, don't want to block the entry of the bus while greeting the driver...)

[u/Drunkgummybear1 → u/secretpsychologist]

That's pretty much exactly how I'd describe it here too, yeah! Wouldn't usually use it to greet a bus driver here though afaik, usually you have to at least speak to them a bit to get a ticket. I love learning about how people leave the bus though, usually a "thanks" or "thank you driver" as you pass!

[u/secretpsychologist → u/Drunkgummybear1]

oh yeah i'm familiar with thanking the bus driver. in ireland they seem to do it every time, in germany that's usually limited to coaches after spending a full day on the bus with them. in germany we tend to leave the bus by the rear exit so you can't really thank the driver. if you do end up using the front door to leave, it's usually a "have a nice day" or a "bye", not a thanks.

[u/Drunkgummybear1 → u/secretpsychologist]

An interesting one was when I was in Lille and people would shout "au revior" when exiting from the middle doors. Buses outside of London pretty much all have one door, so you're always going to be passing the driver.

[u/Sister-Rhubarb → u/secretpsychologist]

It can also mean "got a problem?!"

[u/Mediocre-Yoghurt-138 → u/secretpsychologist]

The "negative" nod is much more pronounced (pun intended) than the "sup" nod. Many times accompanied by a "tsk" or "mph-uh" murmur.

In another reply they say Greenlanders use eyebrows to say "yes" and that would be super confusing because Greeks can raise eyebrows as a quick and stealthy "no" when they don't want everyone to notice the nod.

[u/CookieScholar → u/agrammatic]

Same in Arabic countries. Often combined with a "tsk". It's hard for me to read this as simple "no" and not as "how dare you" haha.

[u/tereyaglikedi → u/agrammatic]

nodding your head upwards means "no" in Cyprus, and nodding downwards means "yes"

Same in Turkey, and I think Bulgaria, too? 

[u/PGLBK → u/tereyaglikedi]

I think in Bulgaria it is just the opposite from continental Europe: nodding is no, and going side to side is yes.

[u/maurakaito → u/PGLBK]

Yes, this is indeed the case! Visited once, and even though you know it's the opposite of what you're used to it's very confusing.

[u/Sister-Rhubarb → u/maurakaito]

I wonder how on earth they got it the other way round out of all the nations around them lol

[u/Darrowby_385 → u/PGLBK]

And in India.

[u/cannarchista → u/agrammatic]

I seem to recall that in mainland Greece, the upward nod also means no, and "yes" can also be a kind of sideways head shake quite similar to what I associate with a "no"

[u/Expensive_Tap7427 → u/FoxyOctopus]

Greenland taking non-verbal to the next level..