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30 Non-English Speakers Share What English Words They Use Every Day

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English is one of the most popular languages in the world. About 2 billion people speak it but to find out just how deeply it has really made its way into cultures around the world, Reddit user everythingtiddiesboi made a post on the platform, asking "Non-English speakers of Reddit; the way Americans use foreign words such as Bon Appétit and Sayonara in regular conversation, what English words do you use?"

And their call was answered. People immediately took to the comment section, sharing the okays and randoms they hear in their countries, providing interesting insights into our collective linguistic landscape.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

Norwegians use 'Texas' as an adjective in describing parties, as in, 'That party was Texas!' In this context it means both 'huge and epic' and 'probably embarrassing for everybody involved.

thosearesomewords Report

Final score:

118points

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Everythingtiddiesboi told Bored Panda it was actually their own language that inspired the post in the first place. "I was just thinking about all the foreign words I say as an English speaker (for example, gesundheit, sayonara, adios, etc.)," they said.

"All the responses made me realize that almost everyone in the world says 'OK' and 'f**k'."

The technologies of telephones, radio, TV, records, CDs, mobile phones and the internet have enabled most people in the world to access each other's language really fast. David Crystal, author of "English as a Global Language," said the world has changed so drastically that history is no longer a guide.

"This is the first time we actually have a language spoken genuinely globally by every country in the world," he told The New York Times. "There are no precedents to help us see what will happen."

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#2

In France, a lot of "Ouat Ze Feuk" (wtf)

Hyperbawl Report

Final score:

97points

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And it seems that it's going to stay that way. At least for a while. "English is dominant in a way that no language has ever been before," John McWhorter, a linguist at the Manhattan Institute, a research group in New York, and the author of a history of language called 'The Power of Babel,' said. "It is vastly unclear to me what actual mechanism could uproot English given conditions as they are."

As English continues to spread, it is fragmenting -- just like Latin did -- into a family of dialects, and linguists say it could even lead to fully-fledged languages - known as Englishes.

However, unlike Latin, most scholars say English seems to be too widespread and too deeply entrenched to die out. Instead, it is likely to survive in some simplified international form - sometimes called Globish or World Standard Spoken English.

#3

In Poland we often use "sory" (pronounced a bit differently than sorry) instead of przepraszam, guess why.

lapishelper Report

Final score:

79points

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#4

There's no real word for yes or no in Irish.

Some use "ta" or "sea" (those are missing fadas) but those translate closer to "it is"

So if you go to a Gaeltacht area you will hear native Irish speakers chatting in Irish to one another but saying "ya" or "yes" every few seconds because it's a useful word and how the hell did we not have a work for it for so long

Elysiumthistime Report

Final score:

78points

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#5

Dutch speaking person here. We have loads of loanwords from English. Even verbs. The interesting part is that the Dutch conjugation rules still apply for verbs loaned from English.

"I deleted" becomes "Ik deletete"

"I've gamed all day" becomes "Ik heb de hele dag gegamed"

Not a verb but "The backed-up data" becomes "De geback-upte gegevens"

ColorMeColorful Report

Final score:

75points

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#6

Sorry,' 'ok,' and 'cool' are the most common ones in Czech. Even my grandma uses those.

prObably_nuts__me Report

Final score:

72points

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#7

Well, I live in Greece and we use A LOT of English words. But, the weirdest thing I've noticed (especially from teenagers) is to go to a tourist area, mostly beaches, and try to act like tourists. So, we are just walking on the streets having a high-level conventions in our fake-a$$-British-accents.

-No Mr. Stathakopoulos I'm British. Please repsect my accent

debbie_elef Report

Final score:

50points

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#8

In German, the list is as long as the day is... also long? F***, sorry, f*** you, hello, good morning, b****, bye, what's sup?, and cheers just to name a few. Also, a lot of people just kinda swap in the direct English translations for words to sound young and trendy. Nouns like pants, bag, backpack, bike, ect are popular as well as germanized verbs like "collecten", "up-picken", "texten", ect.

Zack1018 Report

Final score:

47points

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#9

In France, we use the word "weekend". We literally don't have a French word for it. So we just use the English one.

mxxnchild_1209 Report

Final score:

46points

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#10

Visiting a girlfriend in Spain, her friends loved saying "Kill It" when finishing a drink.

To them it was the funniest way to take shots.

Final score:

46points

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#11

In my line of work as a programmer the average Dutch sentence is 35% English vocabulary and when I speak with friends it's 20%.

I do just really use interjections like "though", "I guess", "like", "I mean" in my normal Dutch together with a lot of nouns and verbs that have a perfectly cromulent Dutch alternative—this is not that odd for Dutch speakers.

Like I would absolutely just say something like this in "Dutch": "Yeah, ik ben nu bij den final stages dier page; ik moet nog even de shadows afwerken en wat eye detail voltooien en dan is het wel done, I guess.".

Vegetas_Haircut Report

Final score:

42points

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#12

In Argentina a one night stand is a "touch and go"

pinkducktape8 Report

Final score:

35points

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#13

Hindi and Marathi: we use tons of English words in daily language. There are many things for which only the English word is in use, because the vernacular word either is outdated or doesn’t exist. Simple examples: “table”, “light/bulb”, any computer related noun: speaker, keyboard, etc. Many English verbs are also freely and very commonly adapted into Hindi sentences, eg. “Maine usko help kiya” (I helped him) would be considered a valid Hinglish sentence.

Final score:

34points

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#14

The French say: le selfie le feedback le brunch There’s more but that’s all I can think of just now

bobbie-m Report

Final score:

34points

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#15

American but I know Japanese people say "bye-bye" and "okay"

STANDOTSUKAI Report

Final score:

29points

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#16

One English word recently adopted by Russian is "fake". It's used as a noun, not an adjective (e.g. "this story turned out to be a fake"). Another word increasingly used by Russians online is "hater".

reddit.com Report

Final score:

29points

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#17

Talking with a portuguese man the other day, apparently they call bowling by its English name. There is a word for it in portuguese, Boliche, But he had never heard it before

joemiller02 Report

Final score:

22points

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#18

I'm Dutch and a translator and man, so many English words have been integrated into Dutch that it is hard to tell sometimes where one language ends and the other begins. Especially in corporate speak on the management level, it's basically 90% English.

De business case over de accountability van de return on investment was een sterke driver van year over year groei van de service provider.

Just threw some words together that might not make absolute sense, it's more of an illustration to show how much English I deal with in what is supposed to be an English text.

Mortlach78 Report

Final score:

22points

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#19

I'm Croatian and the English words that we use a lot are 'random,' 'accidentally,' and 'officially

princessA611 Report

Final score:

20points

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#20

Brazilian Portuguese:

The word "site " as in website.

Ok.

Delete (with Portuguese conjugation)

Monetize (also with portuguese conjugation)

Flaps (of airplanes)

We call flashdrives exclusively as pendrives.

Notebook/Laptop

Do tennis and jeans count?

Final score:

19points

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#21

Im korea there are a few english words used but they rarely have the same exact meaning. For example, “panty” is used to mean underwear but it is a gender neutral term (essentially what underwear is in english). There are some words are that are used as slang like “some”. A “some” relationship is essentially when two people are interested in each other but haven’t had the girlfriend/boyfriend talk yet.

Final score:

19points

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#22

Filipino here. Everyone calls you ma'am/sir

Final score:

18points

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#23

I'm a french speaker and here in switzerland I hear a lot of english words as well!

• cringe • awkward • sorry • bye • cool • fast food/junk food • design • game art/digital art, speed paint • cute • creepy

And a lot of other! In fact a lot of young people use to use english sentences for being cool!

ixigrekke Report

Final score:

18points

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#24

Pakistani here, pretty much every other sentence in Urdu spoken by people that live in urban areas has at least some English in it. Sometimes whole sentences, sometimes just a swear word. Mainly because of two reasons: we (along with India and Bangladesh) used to be a British colony until 1947, and also American media influence is pretty much everywhere.

Fridge, light, table, phone, internet, pistol, shirt, pants, shorts (we use the British "knickers"), school, college, backpack (bag), camera, movie etc. This list could pretty much go on for paragraphs.

ExtacyRap Report

Final score:

17points

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#25

Italian here, we (mis)use A LOT: from cocktail to smartphone, freezer, shampoo, jobs act (kill me!!), exit poll, welfare, startup, manager, full time, freelance, CEO (no one knows what it stands for), target, brand, makeup, outfit, playback, live, teenager, ...

vodkasolution Report

Final score:

17points

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#26

There are lots of English words used in Italian, sometimes idiosyncratically: 'public relations,' 'flash' (for USB drive), 'feeling' (for romantic chemistry)

SuperPantaleon Report

Final score:

14points

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#27

Many swear words: F***, S***, Oh my god, Shut up, Come on, B****, Motherf***** and F*** off are common. We also use stuff like: nice, cool, gay, straight up, trash, stuff, dope, cops etc. the list is way too long. But I don't like to use English words and «Germanize» them. I find that cringy.

comeontakemyusername Report

Final score:

13points

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#28

A lot of curse words, obviously. I also use slang that I would never use in an English conversation like saying lol(it got obsolete and uncool very fast in English but stuck with me and many memesters including me and my friends in Russia).

Final score:

11points

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#29

Alota Russian: f***, sorry, hi, bye, ROFL, lol, ok, prank, flex, what's up, s***, b****, guy, okurrrr, oh my god

Final score:

9points

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#30

Iranian here. Lot of curse words, like f***, b****, goddammit, etc.

m1l4droid Report

Final score:

8points

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#31

Balkan-Slav here. I often use “heyo” as a greeting.

gadkaya_lyagushka Report

Final score:

4points

#32

"Creepy"
In spanish, the equivalent/traduction sound super cringy

Final score:

4points

#33

Colombian here. Educated, usually bilingual people use tons. Okay in daily conversations, what, why, please, fine, wtf, thanks, beautiful, nice, yummy, bye, great, whatever. And then full on expressions such as "You know what I mean," "That's what she said," "I don't get it," etc., mainly copied from popular culture through movies and TV shows.

reddit.com Report

Final score:

4points

#34

We say “Make sense” a lot in Sweden, but modified to be more Swedish. We say it more like “make:a sense”, which basically substitutes a “to” before “make” by adding the “a” at the end. Pronounced “Make ah sense”.

Targaryen-ish Report

Final score:

3points

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#35

In Finnish, we use "high five" pretty regularly, as well as"fine", in the sense of something being acceptable; "Se olis mulle ihan fine" = "It would be fine with me". WTF is also common, with the letters pronounced in the Finnish way.

Mipellys Report

Final score:

3points

#36

In Polish 'no hey' can be used to say hello and also goodbye

immapikachu Report

Final score:

3points

#37

When I asked how to say "I feel you" in German. My German friend said "I feel you". I think in German they use a lot of phrases which actually sound bad. I haven't heard young people saying "scheisse" they all use "s***".

reddit.com Report

Final score:

3points

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#38

Saying ok is very common in Spanish speaking countries (at least in South America). I used to say it all the time, but now I prefer saying vale, vale - which is the European Spanish version of ok.

reddit.com Report

Final score:

3points

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#39

Brazilian Portuguese:

•Words related to technology (download, uplink, streaming, chat)

•Web slangs (WTF, OMG, LOL)

•Business and psychology (mindset, brainstorm, coach, goal)

Final score:

3points

#40

In Germany, we often say "What ze fack?" (How it sounds)

KrispyBaconS Report

Final score:

3points

#41

Brain freeze. There is no literal translation into German for this word yet perfectly describes my behavior every time I eat ice cream.

sam_well_r Report

Final score:

3points

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#42

Estonian here! I just say the foreign word(s) or just "You too!" or something. Probably most boring answer here but it's fine.

rikaraptor Report

Final score:

2points

#43

I work in science, and have several colleagues from the Middle East, East Asia etc. When they talk to their own collaborators at home in their native language, it's amazing how much English scientific terminology is present in other languages.

Final score:

2points

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#44

In Denmark they use lots of English words, but the most common by far are 's**'* and 'f***.'

Marsrath Report

Final score:

1point

#45

In Denmark we say “f******” as an exaggeration for just about everything. “Det var f****** sjovt!” would be the equivalent to “it was so fun!”

Final score:

1point

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Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Mantas Kačerauskas

As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, I indulge in the joy of curating delightful content, from adorable pet photos to hilarious memes, all while nurturing my wanderlust and continuously seeking new adventures and interests—sometimes thrilling, sometimes daunting, but always exciting!

As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, I indulge in the joy of curating delightful content, from adorable pet photos to hilarious memes, all while nurturing my wanderlust and continuously seeking new adventures and interests—sometimes thrilling, sometimes daunting, but always exciting!

What do you think ?

tuzdayschild 4 years ago

The funny thing is, English has borrowed many words from practically every language list in this post.

11points

Vincent Philippart 4 years ago

In (belgian?) french we have a weird expression : to do something "à la one again". It means "in a rushed, unprepared manner". It uses English words, but has no meaning in English, and remains a baffling mystery to me.

4points

troufaki13 4 years ago

It's no surprise that many people in the world use English words in their every day communication. English is a universal language, most movies are American, most popular social media are in English so people try to keep up the trend. Also, sometimes new things/ideas need new words and they're usually in English and then it's easier to adopt this word as is than to make one up in your own language.

2points

Steve 4 years ago

The one phrase every country has in common is "F*ck Trump"

1point

similarly 4 years ago

In Japan, a Yankee is a juvenile delinquent. They often call them "Yankee Boys".

1point

BusLady 4 years ago

In the U.S. we've been stealing from other languages since the day George Washington was elected President.

1point

Markus Holstein 4 years ago

One more example from Germany: The German word for cell phone is "Handy". Technically there is the term "Mobilfunktelefon" (mobile radio telephone), but nobody really uses it

1point

Astrid Nineor 4 years ago (edited)

I try to differenciate formal and non-formal, but I mostly use english for tech stuff, rarely other things. . If I help somebody at work , I use nowegian names for stuff, if I talk to friends, I randomly insert the english. Browser - Nettleser (web reader) Tab - Fane (Banner) Backup - Sikkerhetskopi (Secure /safety copy)

1point

nanashi 4 years ago

we misused the English word TERROR to describe someone has amazing skill. which lead to one time I saw some kids using the word terrorist in place of "highly skilled individual". as a joke, I presume.

1point

Dorothy Cloud 4 years ago

That was boring. Hope you all enjoyed it. And yes, I think we use a lot of foreign words interspersed in our language. Why not?

0points

Neill Powell 4 years ago

In the same way the Japanese use katakana for western words, not found in their language (Sports car: スポーツカー : Supōtsukā) so Southern African languages adopt it in the same way (ambulance: e-ambulance, i-ambulance)... It's quite funny how the word is literally adopted as said in English, and just adding a letter to indicate whether it is being said in Zulu or Xhosa.

0points

elia 84631 4 years ago

We have a slang word for amusment arcades in the 80's called ufadika

0points

Heidi I 4 years ago (edited)

In Denmark we take it up a notch, and use English words not even used by...... well, at least not Americans, not sure about the British. Like...... we call a dealer (drugs) a "pusher" and cotton candy is "candy floss".

0points

Karin Jansen 4 years ago

I'm so jealous of the word 'siblings'! We always have to say 'brothers and sisters' or another plurality. Also 'cousins'! Just awesome.

0points

Lia Felis 4 years ago

I started online courses a few year ago, and still attend some other, bc they are all in english, sometimes don't know the subject in my own language, just in english -.-"

0points

Saara-Elina Kaukiainen 4 years ago

Finnish teens: rip, lit, randomi, cool, ooämgee... etc etc.

0points

Oskar vanZandt 4 years ago

It's unfortunate how English swear words have traveled the world and become 'normalised'... In the UK, swearing liberally is definitely NOT seen as a good or acceptable thing. I used 'c**p' when I first got here from Canada and people just about did an Exorcist head-turn... almost like I spat "sh*t" at them. Every dialect (I live in Yorkshire) has its own 'acceptable', minor swear words... like 'berk', 'blooming eck', 'flippin eck', 'friggin ell', 'mingin', 'twonk'...

0points

Astrid Nineor 4 years ago

Timing is a word that I feel I lack in Norwegian. Does German/Dutch have a good word for it?

0points

Leo Domitrix 4 years ago

My mom and her parents were/are multilingual, and so I grew up thinking that if a word in one language didn't 'fit', juist throw one in from another language! It's a family pidgin that nobody else "gets", and my poor spouse has often sat clueless through family events wondering what was said. All kinds of languages get tossed together. simple convo like, "How are you? Do you want coffee?" and "Fine, yes, thanks" could get verrrrry weird at times.

0points

Petra Schaap 4 years ago (edited)

Endless English words in everyday Dutch, but most common are probably Sh!t and f!ck. They are so super common, but wayyy less heavy than our original cursewords and many times just equals "oops" The other day I was eating out with a new American friend in a fancy restaurant and he brought his fancy co workers to show off the Europeans (lol!) i was so tired and jetlagged i made a mess... and went "oh f!ck" and then "oh sh!t I said f!ck" So far for the good impression.....

0points

tuzdayschild 4 years ago

The funny thing is, English has borrowed many words from practically every language list in this post.

11points

Vincent Philippart 4 years ago

In (belgian?) french we have a weird expression : to do something "à la one again". It means "in a rushed, unprepared manner". It uses English words, but has no meaning in English, and remains a baffling mystery to me.

4points

troufaki13 4 years ago

It's no surprise that many people in the world use English words in their every day communication. English is a universal language, most movies are American, most popular social media are in English so people try to keep up the trend. Also, sometimes new things/ideas need new words and they're usually in English and then it's easier to adopt this word as is than to make one up in your own language.

2points

Steve 4 years ago

The one phrase every country has in common is "F*ck Trump"

1point

similarly 4 years ago

In Japan, a Yankee is a juvenile delinquent. They often call them "Yankee Boys".

1point

BusLady 4 years ago

In the U.S. we've been stealing from other languages since the day George Washington was elected President.

1point

Markus Holstein 4 years ago

One more example from Germany: The German word for cell phone is "Handy". Technically there is the term "Mobilfunktelefon" (mobile radio telephone), but nobody really uses it

1point

Astrid Nineor 4 years ago (edited)

I try to differenciate formal and non-formal, but I mostly use english for tech stuff, rarely other things. . If I help somebody at work , I use nowegian names for stuff, if I talk to friends, I randomly insert the english. Browser - Nettleser (web reader) Tab - Fane (Banner) Backup - Sikkerhetskopi (Secure /safety copy)

1point

nanashi 4 years ago

we misused the English word TERROR to describe someone has amazing skill. which lead to one time I saw some kids using the word terrorist in place of "highly skilled individual". as a joke, I presume.

1point

Dorothy Cloud 4 years ago

That was boring. Hope you all enjoyed it. And yes, I think we use a lot of foreign words interspersed in our language. Why not?

0points

Neill Powell 4 years ago

In the same way the Japanese use katakana for western words, not found in their language (Sports car: スポーツカー : Supōtsukā) so Southern African languages adopt it in the same way (ambulance: e-ambulance, i-ambulance)... It's quite funny how the word is literally adopted as said in English, and just adding a letter to indicate whether it is being said in Zulu or Xhosa.

0points

elia 84631 4 years ago

We have a slang word for amusment arcades in the 80's called ufadika

0points

Heidi I 4 years ago (edited)

In Denmark we take it up a notch, and use English words not even used by...... well, at least not Americans, not sure about the British. Like...... we call a dealer (drugs) a "pusher" and cotton candy is "candy floss".

0points

Karin Jansen 4 years ago

I'm so jealous of the word 'siblings'! We always have to say 'brothers and sisters' or another plurality. Also 'cousins'! Just awesome.

0points

Lia Felis 4 years ago

I started online courses a few year ago, and still attend some other, bc they are all in english, sometimes don't know the subject in my own language, just in english -.-"

0points

Saara-Elina Kaukiainen 4 years ago

Finnish teens: rip, lit, randomi, cool, ooämgee... etc etc.

0points

Oskar vanZandt 4 years ago

It's unfortunate how English swear words have traveled the world and become 'normalised'... In the UK, swearing liberally is definitely NOT seen as a good or acceptable thing. I used 'c**p' when I first got here from Canada and people just about did an Exorcist head-turn... almost like I spat "sh*t" at them. Every dialect (I live in Yorkshire) has its own 'acceptable', minor swear words... like 'berk', 'blooming eck', 'flippin eck', 'friggin ell', 'mingin', 'twonk'...

0points

Astrid Nineor 4 years ago

Timing is a word that I feel I lack in Norwegian. Does German/Dutch have a good word for it?

0points

Leo Domitrix 4 years ago

My mom and her parents were/are multilingual, and so I grew up thinking that if a word in one language didn't 'fit', juist throw one in from another language! It's a family pidgin that nobody else "gets", and my poor spouse has often sat clueless through family events wondering what was said. All kinds of languages get tossed together. simple convo like, "How are you? Do you want coffee?" and "Fine, yes, thanks" could get verrrrry weird at times.

0points

Petra Schaap 4 years ago (edited)

Endless English words in everyday Dutch, but most common are probably Sh!t and f!ck. They are so super common, but wayyy less heavy than our original cursewords and many times just equals "oops" The other day I was eating out with a new American friend in a fancy restaurant and he brought his fancy co workers to show off the Europeans (lol!) i was so tired and jetlagged i made a mess... and went "oh f!ck" and then "oh sh!t I said f!ck" So far for the good impression.....

0points

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