Ok in Different Languages
Discover 'Ok' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'ok' is a simple yet powerful part of our daily vocabulary. It holds significant cultural importance, especially in the digital age where it's often used in text messages and online communications. Its origins can be traced back to the late 19th century in the United States, where it was first used by Boston newspaper the Evening Transcript.
But did you know that 'ok' is translated differently around the world? This reflects the rich diversity of languages and cultures that make up our global community. For instance, in Spanish, 'ok' translates to 'está bien' or 'okay', while in French, it's 'd'accord' or 'oui'. In Mandarin Chinese, the translation is '好' (hǎo), and in Japanese, it's '了解' (rieki).
Understanding the translation of 'ok' in different languages can help you connect with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. It's a small but meaningful way to show respect and appreciation for their language and traditions.
So, whether you're planning a trip abroad, communicating with international colleagues, or simply expanding your linguistic horizons, learning the translation of 'ok' in different languages is a great place to start.
Ok
Ok in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ok | ||
| The word "ok" is short for the Choctaw word "okeh," meaning "it is so" | |||
| Amharic | እሺ | ||
| The word "እሺ" can also mean "so it shall be" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | ko | ||
| The Hausa word "ko" is also used as a form of acknowledgement meaning "I understand". | |||
| Igbo | ọ dị mma | ||
| The Igbo word “ọ dị mma” is an expression of affirmation, meaning “it is good” and is also a name for the African Grey Parrot. | |||
| Malagasy | ok | ||
| The Malagasy word "ok" also means "to scratch" | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chabwino | ||
| The word "Chabwino" is sometimes used in Nyanja (Chichewa) to denote a state of physical or mental well-being and is not limited to expressing agreement or affirmation. | |||
| Shona | zvakanaka | ||
| While zvakanaka directly translates to “it is well,” it also connotes agreement, acceptance, or affirmation. | |||
| Somali | ok | ||
| The Somali word "ok" possibly derives from the Arabic "awqāt", meaning "times" or "happenings". | |||
| Sesotho | ok | ||
| The word 'OK' is derived from the Swahili phrase 'oll korrect', meaning 'all correct'. | |||
| Swahili | sawa | ||
| The word "sawa" in Swahili is derived from the Arabic word "sawa", meaning "equal" or "level", and it can also refer to "understanding" or "agreement. | |||
| Xhosa | kulungile | ||
| Kulungile, meaning 'all is well,' also implies a sense of approval or agreement. | |||
| Yoruba | dara | ||
| 'Dara' is not a singular word but a shortened form of 'dara pupo', which means 'greatly good' or 'very good' in Yoruba. | |||
| Zulu | kulungile | ||
| The word 'kulungile' also means 'it is finished' or 'it is complete' in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | n sɔnna | ||
| Ewe | enyo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ok | ||
| Lingala | ok | ||
| Luganda | kale | ||
| Sepedi | go lokile | ||
| Twi (Akan) | yoo | ||
Ok in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | حسنا | ||
| In colloquial Arabic, "حسنا" (ok) literally means "all right" or "make it good." | |||
| Hebrew | בסדר | ||
| The Hebrew word "בסדר" (pronounced "beh-seh-der") is derived from the Arabic word "بصير" (pronounced "basir"), which means "seer" or "one who discerns." | |||
| Pashto | سمه ده | ||
| The Pashto word "سمه ده" has been theorized to originate from the Urdu "sabh mazhab", meaning "every religion", and has also been linked to the Persian "sa'me", meaning "same". | |||
| Arabic | حسنا | ||
| In colloquial Arabic, "حسنا" (ok) literally means "all right" or "make it good." | |||
Ok in Western European Languages
| Albanian | ne rregull | ||
| The word "ne rregull" in Albanian literally means "in order," and is also used to express agreement or acceptance. | |||
| Basque | ados | ||
| Basque "Ados", meaning "ok", is derived from the Spanish "está de acuerdo", meaning "it is in agreement". | |||
| Catalan | d'acord | ||
| The Catalan word "D'acord" (literally "In agreement") may also be used as an expression to denote "that's enough" or "it's settled". | |||
| Croatian | u redu | ||
| The word 'u redu' literally translates to 'in order' and is used to express agreement or approval. | |||
| Danish | okay | ||
| In Danish, | |||
| Dutch | ok | ||
| In Dutch, "ok" sounds like the phrase "oei, koei", which means "oh my, cow." | |||
| English | ok | ||
| The term "OK" is believed to have originated from the misspelling of "oll korrect" in the 1830s as a joke. | |||
| French | d'accord | ||
| The French phrase "D'accord" originated in the 14th century as a hunting term meaning "the prey is killed". | |||
| Frisian | ok | ||
| It is short for 'oarlok', which means 'oarlock' in English. | |||
| Galician | ok | ||
| En Galicia, «ok» también puede referirse a una medida tradicional de superficie, equivalente a unos 400 m². | |||
| German | in ordnung | ||
| The etymology of "in Ordnung" refers to the medieval legal maxim "Ordnung muss sein": order exists or must be maintained. | |||
| Icelandic | ok | ||
| The Icelandic word "ok" is derived from the Danish word "og", meaning "and". It is also used as a conjunction and as an exclamation. | |||
| Irish | ceart go leor | ||
| Ceart go leor originates from the Irish for 'right enough', a term also in English that can be used as a sarcastic retort to something you don't 100% agree with. | |||
| Italian | ok | ||
| In Italian, "ok" can also be an acronym for "ogni conoscenza", meaning "every knowledge" or "all knowledge". | |||
| Luxembourgish | ok | ||
| OK is used in Luxembourgish to mean "alright". | |||
| Maltese | kollox sew | ||
| The expression "kollox sew" is also used to indicate that something is good or satisfactory. | |||
| Norwegian | ok | ||
| The word "ok" is an abbreviation of the Norwegian phrase "Oho korrect" meaning "oho, that's correct." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | está bem | ||
| In Portuguese, "Está bem" can also mean "goodbye". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | ceart gu leòr | ||
| Ceart gu leòr is a loan word from English with the literal meaning of 'right enough' or 'pretty well'. | |||
| Spanish | okay | ||
| In Spanish, "okay" (ok) can also mean "wave" or "bye" as a noun, while it means "wave at" as a verb. | |||
| Swedish | ok | ||
| I svensk slang kan ”ok” även betyda ”snyggt” eller ”bra”. | |||
| Welsh | iawn | ||
| The Welsh word "iawn" originated from the English word "okay". | |||
Ok in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | добра | ||
| The Belarusian word "добра" is derived from the Slavic root meaning "good" and can also mean "fine" or "well". | |||
| Bosnian | uredu | ||
| The word 'uredu' is also used in Croatian and Serbian, with the same meaning. | |||
| Bulgarian | добре | ||
| The word "Добре" is derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "добро", meaning "good" or "well." | |||
| Czech | ok | ||
| In Czech, 'OK' can also mean 'Ostrava-Karviná', which are two cities in the Czech Republic. | |||
| Estonian | okei | ||
| "Okei" is an Estonian word derived from "okay" and also shares the meaning of "all right" or "fine". | |||
| Finnish | ok | ||
| In Finnish, "ok" is also a shortening of "Oulun Kärpät", a professional ice-hockey club located in the city of Oulu. | |||
| Hungarian | rendben | ||
| The Hungarian word "rendben" literally translates to "in order," suggesting that everything is orderly and correct. | |||
| Latvian | labi | ||
| The word "labi" is derived from the Proto-Baltic word *labī ("well, good"). | |||
| Lithuanian | gerai | ||
| The Lithuanian word "Gerai" not only means "ok", but is also used to express agreement, acceptance, or approval. | |||
| Macedonian | добро | ||
| "Добро" can also mean "good" in Macedonian language, while "добро утро" means "good morning". | |||
| Polish | dobrze | ||
| The origin of the interjection "dobrze" is unknown, but some etymologists speculate that it may be onomatopoeic. | |||
| Romanian | o.k | ||
| In Romanian, "O.K." can also mean "zero" or "nothing" | |||
| Russian | хорошо | ||
| The Russian word "хорошо" (ok) can also mean "good" or "well". | |||
| Serbian | ок | ||
| In Serbian, "ок" can also refer to the Cyrillic letter "о" (o) or an exclamation of surprise. | |||
| Slovak | ok | ||
| The Slovak word "ok" comes from the word "okey" in Hungarian, meaning "all right" or "good." | |||
| Slovenian | v redu | ||
| The word "v redu" can also be used to describe something as being "in order" or "correct". | |||
| Ukrainian | в порядку | ||
| The word "в порядку" in Ukrainian can also mean "in order" or "in good condition". | |||
Ok in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ঠিক আছে | ||
| The Bengali word 'ঠিক আছে' derives from 'ठीक है' in Hindi originating from the Persian 'tashih ast'. | |||
| Gujarati | બરાબર | ||
| The Gujarati word "બરાબર" also means "equal" and "accurate" in English. | |||
| Hindi | ठीक | ||
| The word "ठीक" has also been used in Hindi for centuries to mean "well" or "right". | |||
| Kannada | ಸರಿ | ||
| The word 'ಸರಿ' ('ok') in Kannada can also mean 'correct' or 'straight'. | |||
| Malayalam | ശരി | ||
| The word "ശരി" is derived from the Sanskrit word "sari", which means "proper" or "straight" | |||
| Marathi | ठीक आहे | ||
| The word 'ठीक आहे' in Marathi is derived from 'ठीक' meaning 'correct' and 'आहे' meaning 'is', thus connoting a sense of agreement or approval. | |||
| Nepali | ठिक छ | ||
| ठिक छ can also be a slang term meaning "very good" | |||
| Punjabi | ਠੀਕ ਹੈ | ||
| ਠੀਕ originally means 'straight, unbending' as a Sanskrit word; in Punjabi, it's also an expression of affirmation. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | හරි | ||
| In ancient times in Sinhala, the word "හරි" was used to address a person, especially a king, who was considered to be divine or sacred. | |||
| Tamil | சரி | ||
| The Tamil word 'சரி' ('ok') is also used to express surprise, agreement, or approval. | |||
| Telugu | అలాగే | ||
| The word "అలాగే" can also mean "that's right" or "that being the case". | |||
| Urdu | ٹھیک ہے | ||
| Derived from the Hindi word "thik", meaning "correct" or "alright." | |||
Ok in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 好 | ||
| The word "好" (hǎo) in Chinese can also mean "good," "beautiful," "fine," or "well." | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 好 | ||
| 好 (hǎo) can also mean 'good', 'positive', 'fine', 'nice', 'well', 'beautiful', 'appropriate', 'proper', 'kind', 'friendly', 'favorable', 'adequate', 'fit', 'satisfactory', 'acceptable', 'sincere', 'trustworthy', 'reliable', or 'dependable' depending on the context. | |||
| Japanese | ok | ||
| The Japanese word 'オーケー' (ōkē) is an onomatopoeia originating from the English pronunciation of 'okay'. | |||
| Korean | 확인 | ||
| 확인 (ok), pronounced as 'ok' in English, literally translates to 'confirmed' in Korean. | |||
| Mongolian | болж байна уу | ||
| The phrase "болж байна уу" ("ok") in Mongolian can also mean "are you done?" or "is it complete?" | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရလား | ||
| The word "ရလား" ("ok") in Myanmar (Burmese) is derived from the English word "okay" and also means "understood". | |||
Ok in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | baik | ||
| The word "baik" in Indonesian also means "good" or "kind". | |||
| Javanese | nggih | ||
| **Nggi**h** has other meanings such as 'yes' as an affirmation, 'yes' in agreement with someone, and 'yes' in compliance. | |||
| Khmer | យល់ព្រម | ||
| Lao | ຕົກລົງ | ||
| (Lao) "ຕົກລົງ" is a word with many different meanings. It can mean to "agree" or "consent" to something, or it can mean to "drop" or "fall" down. It can also be used to describe a situation where something has been "settled" or "resolved". | |||
| Malay | okey | ||
| The word "okey" (or "ok") in Malay is derived from the Chinese phrase "wú kè yì" (無可議), meaning "no objection" or "no dispute". | |||
| Thai | ตกลง | ||
| The Thai word "ตกลง" is derived from the Pali word "takka", meaning "to determine" or "to agree". | |||
| Vietnamese | đồng ý | ||
| Đồng ý (literally "copper agreement") is composed of đồng (copper), which represents money, and ý (will, agreement). | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | ok | ||
Ok in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | tamam | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "tamam" comes from the Persian word "tamām", which means "complete" or "finished". | |||
| Kazakh | жарайды ма | ||
| The phrase 'Жарайды ма' is also used as a polite way to ask for permission, as in 'Can I sit here?' | |||
| Kyrgyz | макул | ||
| The word "макул" can also refer to an exclamation expressing surprise or agreement. | |||
| Tajik | хуб | ||
| "Хуб" is also used as a term of endearment, meaning "my dear" or "my sweetheart." | |||
| Turkmen | bolýar | ||
| Uzbek | ok | ||
| In Uzbek, "ok" also means "sure" or "definitely". | |||
| Uyghur | ماقۇل | ||
Ok in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻā | ||
| 'Ā' can also mean "yes" and is sometimes elongated to 'ā'e or 'ā'e nō. | |||
| Maori | pai | ||
| The Māori word "pai" can also mean "good" or "correct." | |||
| Samoan | ua lelei | ||
| The word "ua lelei" can also mean "very good" or express an agreement or approval and is frequently used in the contexts of health and recovery. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | ok lang | ||
| In Tagalog, "OK lang” ("ok") can also mean "it's enough" or "it's acceptable." | |||
Ok in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | waliki | ||
| Guarani | oĩma | ||
Ok in International Languages
| Esperanto | bone | ||
| The Esperanto word "bone" is also used in the sense of "good" or "beautiful" and is cognate with the English word "bonus". | |||
| Latin | ok | ||
| In Latin, "ok" can also mean "all correct" or "it is so." | |||
Ok in Others Languages
| Greek | εντάξει | ||
| The word "Εντάξει" is derived from the French phrase "en tout cas," meaning "in any case." | |||
| Hmong | ok | ||
| Hmong has another word for ok, “yees,” which translates as “okay” or “agreed”. | |||
| Kurdish | baş e | ||
| The Kurdish word "baş e" not only means "ok", but also "head" and "chief". | |||
| Turkish | tamam | ||
| The word "tamam" is derived from Arabic, where it means "complete" and is used in a similar sense in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | kulungile | ||
| Kulungile, meaning 'all is well,' also implies a sense of approval or agreement. | |||
| Yiddish | אקעי | ||
| Despite meaning "ok" today, "אקעי" originally meant "right away" or "immediately". | |||
| Zulu | kulungile | ||
| The word 'kulungile' also means 'it is finished' or 'it is complete' in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | ঠিক আছে | ||
| Aymara | waliki | ||
| Bhojpuri | ठीक बा | ||
| Dhivehi | އެންމެ ރަނގަޅު | ||
| Dogri | ठीक ऐ | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | ok | ||
| Guarani | oĩma | ||
| Ilocano | ok | ||
| Krio | ok | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | باشە | ||
| Maithili | ठीक छैै | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯣꯀꯦ | ||
| Mizo | a tha e | ||
| Oromo | tole | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଠିକ୍ ଅଛି | ||
| Quechua | kusa | ||
| Sanskrit | अस्तु | ||
| Tatar | ярар | ||
| Tigrinya | እሺ | ||
| Tsonga | lulamile | ||