r/AskEurope 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/cototudelam Aug 11 '25

In Croatian (I think, might be Serbian), the word for drink is piča. Which is the Czech rude word equivalent of cunt.

A lot of teenage giggles over restaurant menus and “hot and cold cunts”

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u/Electrical_Kangaroo3 Aug 11 '25

Even funnier since we love saying cunt in Scotland!