OK

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ok"

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əʊkeɪ/

Etymology 1

Unknown. Wikipedia lists several possibilities, of which the most widely-accepted is that it is an abbreviation of "oll korrect", a comical spelling of "all correct" which first appeared in print in The Boston Morning Post on March 23, 1839, as part of a fad for similar fanciful abbreviations in the United States during the late 1830s (e.g. K.Y. for "know yuse", from "no use"; O.W. for "oll wright", from "all right"). The variant okeh (which see) is sometimes said to suggest a Choctaw origin.

Alternative forms

• O.K., o.k., ok, okay

Noun

OK ‎(plural OKs)

1. Endorsement; approval.

   We can start as soon as we get the OK.‎

Synonyms

• (endorsement or approval): approval, endorsement, green light, thumbs up

Translations

endorsement; approval

• Amharic: እሺ ‎(ʾəši), በቃ ‎(bäḳa)
• Arabic: حَسَنًا ‎(ḥasanan), أُوكِي ‎(ʾokey), أُوكَي ‎(ʾukay)
• Armenian: լավ (hy) ‎(lav), բարի (hy) ‎(bari)
• Catalan: d'acord
• Chechen: дика ду ‎(dika du)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: OK (zh) ‎(ōukēi), 好 (zh) ‎(hǎo), 行 (zh) ‎(xíng), 可以 (zh) ‎(kěyǐ)

• Czech: dobře (cs)
• Dutch: oké (nl), groen licht (nl), goedkeuring (nl)
• Estonian: OK okei, olgu, hästi (et), davai
• Finnish: OK (fi), okei (fi), hyväksyntä (fi), kuittaus
• French: OK (fr) m, accord (fr) m, feu vert (fr) m, bénédiction (fr) (colloquial)
• Georgian: კაი (ka) ‎(ḳai)
• German: in Ordnung, gut (de), okay (de), OK (de)
• Greek: εντάξει (el) ‎(entáxei)
• Hebrew: אוֹקֵי (he) ‎(okéy), טוֹב (he) ‎(tov), בְּסֵדֶר ‎(beséder)
• Hindi: ठीक (hi) ‎(ṭhīk), ओके ‎(oke)
• Hungarian: OK (hu), oké (hu)
• Italian: ok (it)

• Japanese: オーケー (ja) ‎(ōkē), よし (ja) ‎(yoshi), はい (ja) ‎(hai), 分かった ‎(わかった, wakatta), 了解 (ja) ‎(りょうかい, ryōkai)
• Korean: 오케이 ‎(okei), 괜찮아 ‎(gwaenchana)
• Macedonian: в ред ‎(v red), до́бро ‎(dóbro), ва́жи ‎(váži), оке́ј ‎(okéj)
• Norwegian: alt i orden
• Pashto: ښه (ps) ‎(ẍa)
• Polish: w porządku (pl), okej, dobrze (pl)
• Portuguese: ok (pt), certo (pt), tá (pt), tá bom
• Punjabi: ਠੀਕ (pa) ‎(ṭhīk)
• Russian: ла́дно (ru) ‎(ládno), хорошо́ (ru) ‎(xorošó), оке́й (ru) ‎(okéj), одобре́ние (ru) n ‎(odobrénije), добро́ (ru) n ‎(dobró), согла́сие (ru) n ‎(soglásije)
• Spanish: aprobación (es), visto bueno, okey (es)
• Swedish: okej (sv), ok (sv)
• Thai: ก็ได้ ‎(gôr dâi), โอเค (th) ‎(ohkay)
• Turkish: onay (tr), olur (tr), tamam (tr), peki (tr)
• Ukrainian: оке́й ‎(okéj), до́бре (uk) ‎(dóbre), пра́вильне ‎(právylʹne), гара́зд ‎(harázd)
• Vietnamese: tốt (vi), được (vi)
• Welsh: caniatâd m

Verb

OK ‎(third-person singular simple present OKs, present participle OKing, simple past and past participle OKed)

1. To approve.

   I don't want to OK this amount of money.

2. (computing) To confirm by activating a button marked OK.
   • 2001, Mike Collins, Pro Tools: Practical Recording, Editing and Mixing for Music Production

     Type a suitable name for your Marker and OK the dialogue box.

   • 2008, Martin Evening, Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers

     When you OK the crop, the image size will be adjusted to match the front image resolution.

Translations

approve

• Finnish: hyväksyä (fi)
• French: approuver (fr), donner le/son feu vert pour (fr), donner son accord pour (fr), donner son aval pour (fr), avaliser (fr)

• Welsh: cymeradwyo (cy)

(computing) activate the OK button

• Finnish: hyväksyä (fi)
• French: valider (fr)
• German: OK (de)

• Spanish: aceptar (es)
• Swedish: OK (sv)
• Thai: ตกลง (th) ‎(dtòk long)
• Welsh: clicio "iawn"

Synonyms

• approve
• greenlight

Adjective

OK ‎(comparative more OK, superlative most OK)

1. All right, permitted.

   Do you think it's OK to stay here for the night?‎

2. Satisfactory, reasonably good; not exceptional.

   The soup was OK, but the dessert was excellent.‎

3. In good health or a good emotional state.

   He's not feeling well now, but he should be OK after some rest.‎

Synonyms

• (all right, permissible): allowed, all right, permissible
• (satisfactory): adequate, all right, not bad, satisfactory
• (in good health or a good emotional state): fine, well

Antonyms

• (all right, permissible): forbidden
• (satisfactory): bad, inadequate, poor, unsatisfactory
• (in good health or a good emotional state): ill, poorly, sick, under the weather, unwell

Translations

all right, permitted

• American Sign Language: O@Side-PalmForward K@Side-PalmForward
• Amharic: እሺ ‎(ʾəši)
• Arabic: حَسَنًا ‎(ḥasanan), صَحِيح (ar) ‎(ṣaḥīḥ), طَيِّب ‎(ṭayyib), أُوكَي ‎(ʾokay), أُوكَي ‎(ʾukay)
• Catalan: d'acord
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: OK (zh) ‎(ōukēi), 好 (zh) ‎(hǎo), 行 (zh) ‎(xíng), 可以 (zh) ‎(kěyǐ), 沒事 (zh), 没事 (zh) ‎(méishì)

• Dutch: oké (nl)
• Estonian: hästi (et), okei
• Faroese: alt í lagi
• Finnish: OK (fi), okei (fi)
• French: permis (fr), bien (fr), (be OK) pouvoir (fr) (verb), (be OK) avoir le droit de (verb)
• German: Okay, OK (de), Gut (de)
• Hebrew: או. קיי., בסדר ‎(beseder)
• Hindi: ओके ‎(oke)
• Hungarian: oké (hu)
• Icelandic: allt í lagi (is), ókei
• Irish: ceart go leor

• Italian: (be OK) andare bene (verb)
• Japanese: オーケー (ja) ‎(ōkē), よし (ja) ‎(yoshi), はい (ja), 大丈夫 (ja) ‎(だいじょうぶ, daijōbu), OK (ja) ‎(ōkē)
• Khmer: អូខី ‎(qokhei)
• Korean: 오케 ‎(oke)
• Lao: ເວີຽ ‎(wœ̄i)
• Macedonian: в ред ‎(v red), до́бро ‎(dóbro), оке́ј ‎(okéj)
• Mongolian: болно (mn) ‎(bolno)
• Portuguese: OK (pt) m
• Russian: ла́дно (ru) ‎(ládno), хорошо́ (ru) ‎(xorošó), оке́й (ru) ‎(okéj)
• Spanish: bien (es)
• Swedish: okej (sv)
• Tagalog: sige
• Thai: โอเค (th) ‎(oh-kay)
• Turkish: peki (tr)
• Ukrainian: оке́й ‎(okéj), до́бре (uk) ‎(dóbre)
• Vietnamese: được (vi), tốt (vi)
• Welsh: iawn (cy)

satisfactory

• American Sign Language: O@Side-PalmForward K@Side-PalmForward
• Cornish: da lowr
• Estonian: sobib, korras, kombes okei
• Finnish: okei (fi)
• French: acceptable (fr), passable (fr), correct (fr), assez bon, plutôt bon, (be OK) pouvoir aller (verb), (be OK) pouvoir passer (verb), pas mal (fr)
• Georgian: კაი (ka) ‎(ḳai)
• German: alles in Ordnung
• Hebrew: בסדר ‎(beséder), סביר ‎(savír)

• Korean: 괜찮다 (ko) ‎(gwaenchanta)
• Macedonian: добар m ‎(dóbar), океј ‎(okéj), в ред ‎(v red)
• Portuguese: bom (pt)
• Russian: норма́льно (ru) ‎(normálʹno)
• Spanish: aceptable (es), bueno (es), bien (es)
• Swedish: okej (sv)
• Vietnamese: được (vi), đâu vào đấy, OK (vi), ổn (vi)
• Welsh: iawn (cy)

in good health or in a good emotional state

• Amharic: ደህና ‎(dähna), ደሕና ‎(däḥna), ደኅና ‎(däḫna)
• Arabic: بِخَيْر ‎(bi-ḵayr), أُوكَي ‎(ʾokay), أُوكَي ‎(ʾukay)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 沒事 (zh), 没事 (zh) ‎(méishì), 好 (zh) ‎(hǎo), OK (zh) ‎(ōukēi)

• Estonian: hästi (et)
• Finnish: okei (fi)
• French: (be OK) aller bien/mieux (verb), (be OK) ça va (fr)
• Georgian: კაი (ka) ‎(ḳai)
• German: in Ordnung (sein), alles in Ordnung (sein), OK (de),
• Hindi: ठीक (hi) ‎(ṭhīk)
• Italian: (be OK): stare bene (verb)

• Japanese: 大丈夫 (ja) ‎(だいじょうぶ, daijōbu), オーケー (ja) ‎(ōkē), OK (ja) ‎(ōkē)
• Latin: (be in good health) salvēre (verb)
• Macedonian: до́бро ‎(dóbro), в ред ‎(v red)
• Portuguese: bem (pt)
• Russian: быть в поря́дке ‎(bytʹ v porjádke), всё в поря́дке ‎(vsjó v porjádke), оке́й (ru) ‎(okéj), ОК ‎(OK)
• Spanish: bien (es)
• Swedish: bra (sv), okej (sv)
• Vietnamese: khỏe (vi)
• Welsh: iawn (cy)

Adverb

OK ‎(comparative more OK, superlative most OK)

1. Satisfactorily, sufficiently well.

   The team did OK in the playoffs.‎

Synonyms

• (satisfactorily): adequately, satisfactorily

Antonyms

• (satisfactorily): badly, inadequately, poorly, unsatisfactorily

Translations

OK

• Dutch: oké/oke, goed
• Finnish: hyvin (fi), okei (fi)
• French: correctement (fr), convenablement (fr), pas mal (fr), assez bien
• Lao: ຈົບ ‎(chop), ເອົາລະ ‎('ao la), ເອົາເທາະ ‎('ao thǫ)
• Portuguese: bem (pt)

• Russian: оке́й (ru) ‎(okéj)
• Slovene: v redu
• Swedish: okej (sv)
• Welsh: yn iawn

Interjection

OK

1. Used to indicate acknowledgement or acceptance.

   I promise to give it back. Reply: OK.

   Let's meet again this afternoon. Reply: OK.

   Shut up! Reply: OK, OK.

2. An utterance expressing exasperation, similar to "all right!"

   OK! I get it! Stop nagging me!

3. Used to introduce a sentence in order to draw attention to the importance of what is being said.

   OK, I'm thinking of a number...

Synonyms

• (acknowledgement or acceptance): okey-dokey, okeh, okey; k, 'kay, m'kay; A-OK; all right
• (sentence introduction): now, now then

Translations

acknowledgement or acceptance

• Amharic: እሺ ‎(ʾəši)
• Arabic: طيب ‎(tayyib)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 好 (zh) ‎(hǎo), 明白了 ‎(míngbái le), 知道了 (zh) ‎(zhīdào le), OK (zh)

• Czech: OK (cs)
• Finnish: okei (fi)
• French: OK (fr), d'accord (fr), entendu (fr)
• Georgian: კაი (ka) ‎(ḳai)
• Hebrew: בסדר ‎(beséder), טוב (he) ‎(tov)
• Hungarian: rendben (hu)
• Irish: ceart go leor
• Italian: OK, va bene, d'accordo
• Japanese: 畏まりました ‎(kashikomarimashita) (very formal, see 分かる), 了解 (ja) ‎(ryōkai)
• Korean: 알겠어요 ‎(algesseoyo) (very formal, see 알다)

• Ladino: peki
• Lao: ເອີ ‎('œ̄), ເອົາເຖີດ ‎('ao thœ̄t)
• Latin: placet
• Malay: baik, okey
• Maori: tēnā
• Navajo: hágoóneeʼ
• Pashto: ښه (ps) ‎(ẍa)
• Persian: باشه (fa) ‎(bấše)
• Portuguese: OK (pt), tudo bem, certo (pt)
• Romanian: bine (ro)
• Russian: ла́дно (ru) ‎(ládno), хорошо́ (ru) ‎(xorošó), оке́й (ru) ‎(okéj)
• Spanish: vale (es), de acuerdo (es)
• Swedish: okej (sv), ok (sv), okey, visst (sv)
• Turkish: tamam (tr)
• Welsh: iawn (cy), o'r gorau

utterance expressing exasperation

• Finnish: okei (fi)
• French: OK (fr), d'accord (fr), c'est bon

• Swedish: bra (sv), okej (sv)
• Welsh: iawn (cy), o'r gorau

introduction of a sentence in order to draw attention

• Arabic: طيب ‎(tayyib), يعني ‎(ya'ni)
• Finnish: okei (fi)
• French: bon (fr), OK (fr), d'accord (fr)

• Hungarian: szóval
• Swedish: okej (sv)
• Welsh: iawn (cy), o'r gorau, reit

Derived terms

term derived from OK

okay okey-dokey k

'kay m'kay A-OK kthxbye

References

• How 'OK' took over the world, Allan Metcalf, BBC News Magazine (2011 February 18)
• The ‘O’ Word, Roy Blount, Jr., The New York Times Sunday Book Review (2010 November 19)
• OK: The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word, Allan Metcalf, Oxford University Press (2010)
• Jim Fay (16 September 2009), “The Choctaw Expression "Okeh" and the Americanism "Okay"”, in Illinoisprairie.info^[1], archived from the original on 24 December 2010.
• Allen Read, the Expert of 'O.K.,' Dies at 96, Douglas Martin, The New York Times Obituaries (2002 October 18)
• What does "OK" stand for?, Cecil Adams, The Straight Dope (1985)

See also

• oll korrect
• Wikipedia article on "okay"
• Wikipedia article on the "OK" hand gesture
• Wikipedia article on "A-OK" and the hand gesture

Etymology 2

Proper noun

OK

1. Acronym of Oklahoma, a state of the United States of America.

Anagrams

• ko, KO

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Chinese

Alternative forms

• 歐克／欧克 (ōukè) (one of the ways to transliterate into Chinese characters)

Etymology

From English OK.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): ōukèi

  (Zhuyin): ㄡ ㄎㄟˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ou¹ kei¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
    • Pinyin: OK
    • Zhuyin: ㄡ ㄎㄟˋ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: oukey
    • IPA ^(key): /ˀoʊ̯⁵⁵ kʰeɪ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: ou¹ kei¹
    • Yale: ōu kēi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ou¹ kei¹
    • IPA ^(key): /ou̯⁵⁵ kʰei̯⁵⁵/

Adjective

OK

1. (colloquial, nonstandard) alright

   • 「70%咖啡OK嗎？」 [MSC, trad.]

     “70%咖啡OK吗？” [MSC, simp.]

     From: 夏渥客, 11樓 - Page 90

     "70% kāfēi OK ma?" [Pinyin]

     "Is 70% coffee alright?"

   你OK嗎？ / 你OK吗？  ―  Nǐ ōukèi ma?  ―  Are you OK?

   你O唔OK啊？ [Cantonese]  ―  Nei⁵ ou¹ m⁴ ou¹ kei¹ aa¹? [Jyutping]  ―  Are you OK?

Interjection

OK

1. (colloquial, nonstandard) OK

   上頭說OK就OK了。 / 上头说OK就OK了。  ―  Shàngtou shuō ōukèi jiù ōukèi le.  ―  If higher authorities say "OK", it means "OK".

Usage notes

• Using Roman letters in a Chinese running text is frowned upon by many purists and not supported by language policies of Chinese speaking areas, but a limited number of words in Roman script in all capitals have entered Chinese dictionaries and mainstream Chinese literature.
• In transcribing speech synonyms are often used instead of "OK", e.g. 好 (hǎo), 行 (xíng).

Synonyms

• 好 (hǎo), 好的 (hǎo de), 好吧 (hǎo ba)
• 行 (xíng)

See also

• 卡拉OK (kǎlā'ōukèi)

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Japanese

Etymology

From English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [o̞ːke̞ː]

Noun

OK ‎(katakana オーケー, romaji ōkē)

1. (manufacturing) good

Antonyms

• NG

Interjection

OK ‎(katakana オーケー, romaji ōkē)

1. OK

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Korean

Etymology

From English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /o̞kʰe̞i/
• Phonetic hangeul: 오케이

Romanizations

Revised transcription	okei
Revised transliteration	okei
McCune–Reischauer	ok'ei
Yale	okheyi

Noun

OK • ‎(okei) ‎(hangeul 오케이)

1. (colloquial) good

Antonyms

• NG

Interjection

OK • ‎(okei) ‎(hangeul 오케이)

1. (colloquial) OK

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Portuguese

Alternative forms

• ok, Ok

Etymology

Borrowing from English OK.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌɔ.ˈkej/, /ˌo.ˈkej/

Interjection

OK

1. OK (indicates acknowledgement or acceptance)

Synonyms

• tudo bem, certo

Noun

OK m (plural OKs)

1. OK (an indication of acknowledgement or acceptance)

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Swedish

Adverb

OK

1. OK, okay

Synonyms

• okej

Adjective

OK

1. OK, okay

Synonyms

• okej

Interjection

OK

1. OK, okay

Synonyms

• okej