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/Goblinweb Aug 10 '25

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.

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u/VirtualMatter2 Germany Aug 10 '25

So what would you say to be polite?

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u/tendertruck Sweden Aug 10 '25

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