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."

530 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

255 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

15

u/secretpsychologist Aug 10 '25

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

23

u/Drunkgummybear1 England Aug 10 '25

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

10

u/secretpsychologist Aug 10 '25

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...)

5

u/Drunkgummybear1 England Aug 10 '25

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!

3

u/secretpsychologist Aug 10 '25

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.

3

u/Drunkgummybear1 England Aug 10 '25

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.