how to say “okay” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/טוב-בסדר-#.m4a” /]אוֹקֵי, בְּסֵדֶר, טוֹב
By using the word okay people might segue into a new piece of a conversation. They might also express that they agree with or accept something, sometimes reluctantly. Hebrew has three words for this, including simply אוקיי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/טוב-בסדר-#.m4a” /]:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/טוב-בסדר-#.m4a” /]אוקיי, אז אמלא את כל ארבעת הטפסים…
Okay, so I’ll fill out all four forms…
The proper Hebrew word for this that most Hebrew learners use is בסדר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/טוב-בסדר-#.m4a” /], literally, (it’s all) in order:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/טוב-בסדר-#.m4a” /]לא, אני לא רוצה להיות במשרד בשבע וחצי, אבל בסדר, בסדר.
No, I don’t want to be at the office at seven thirty, but okay, okay.
But much more common than בסדר is the word טוב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/טוב-בסדר-#.m4a” /], which means literally good or well.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/טוב-בסדר-#.m4a” /]טוב, אז מה עושים הערב?
Okay, what are (we) doing tonight?
I think Hebrew learners prefer בסדר over טוב because they think of טוב such as basic word as good: they don’t like to suddenly use it in another sense. But Israelis do, and טוב should be your okay of choice.
That being said, you’re also likely to hear טוב, בסדר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/טוב-בסדר-#.m4a” /] meaning okay, okay.
