# saying I am OK



## Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I got on the bus, and as I was about to sit, I nearly fell and the bus driver stopped the bus. I fell onto the seat so I wasn't badly hurt. The bus driver asks me how I feel. How can I say?

"Kiitos, kuski! Olen kunnossa. Ei hätää" (???)


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## Grumpy Old Man

Your reply is fine. There's no point in thanking the driver as he hasn't done anything for you. You can omit_ Kiitos, kuski!_ if you like.


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## fennofiili

Right, but thanking the driver is OK too – after all, (s)he stopped the bus, apparently having observed there was a problem. And bus drivers don’t get too many thanks, I think. I suppose they generally have instructions on checking that everyone is safely seated, but in a rush, with problems with timetables, etc., they seem to drive forward as soon as there is no obvious problem.

Saying just _Ihan ookoo_ would work too (_ookoo _= _OK_). The wording in the question is well formulated, and I suppose few people would be able to express themselves in such a careful manner; I suppose I would myself have said _Ihan ookoo._ _Ookoo _is of course an Americanism, but well understood; an alternative reading is _okei_.

Generally, in US English, “OK” often means just lack of imminent danger of death. Or it might refer to full recovery after a bad accident. Or something being in order. Or something else. It is rather difficult to translate without knowing the context (and tone!). In Finnish, _ookoo _tends to mean that everything is fine, or at least acceptable. _Olen kunnossa_ or _kaikki kunnossa_ is a more careful formulation.


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## Gavril

Terve Fennofiili,



fennofiili said:


> Saying just _Ihan ookoo_ would work too (_ookoo _= _OK_). The wording in the question is well formulated, and I suppose few people would be able to express themselves in such a careful manner;



What do you mean when you say that few people would be able to express themselves this way? (I.e., when would they be unable to do so?)



> In Finnish, _ookoo _tends to mean that everything is fine, or at least acceptable. _Olen kunnossa_ or _kaikki kunnossa_ is a more careful formulation.



Can you elaborate a bit on what you mean by "careful" here?

Kiitos


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## fennofiili

Gavril said:


> What do you mean when you say that few people would be able to express themselves this way? (I.e., when would they be unable to do so?)



After nearly falling and after getting scared, I would hardly be able to express myself with, say, six well-formulated words – especially if an immediate response to some question is expected from me. I think the same applies to most people.



> Can you elaborate a bit on what you mean by "careful" here?



I mean grammatically well-formulated expressions that send a consistent message.


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## Gavril

fennofiili said:


> After nearly falling and after getting scared, I would hardly be able to express myself with, say, six well-formulated words – especially if an immediate response to some question is expected from me. I think the same applies to most people.



Thanks, it just wasn't clear to me why "Olen kunnossa" / "Kaikki kunnossa" would be more careful (and therefore less likely) expressions in that context than "Ihan ookoo", since all three have the same amount of words. But maybe that is not what you were saying.


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