Do you have jok?
Posted by Glittery_Marshmallow@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 39 comments
Do you have a version of saying jok as a way saying no in your language?
Posted by Glittery_Marshmallow@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 39 comments
Do you have a version of saying jok as a way saying no in your language?
Early-Show2886@reddit
yok bea in trakya
tipoftheiceberg1234@reddit
Yes we do. It varies by region, associated with old people although I’ve heard it “slip out” of everyone before.
Croatian people haaaaate it, Serbian people indifferent to it but lean on the side of “don’t use it” and Bosniaks use it.
Personally, I picked it up from talking to my grandparents all the time and my parents hate it when I say it and even more when I text it to them. But I kind of like it. Jok. It’s such a good reflexive answer.
“And did you make sure to leave a review after you stayed-“
“Jok”
Darkwrath93@reddit
We use it quite often in Serbia, but only in informal settings.
tipoftheiceberg1234@reddit
There are even parts of Croatia that use it - they would never admit to it though. If it existed in the past it’s not a closely guarded, dying secret
enilix@reddit
We use "jok" quite often in Slavonia, why would we not admit to it?
tipoftheiceberg1234@reddit
Not individuals, the collective.
Jok > Turkish and informal > Serbian
Therefore jok = Serbian (or Bosnian)
Exactly what Croatia doesn’t want to be.
AhmungDihtung@reddit
May be a Sarajevo thing but here it's definitely common among younger people too, just very informal/friendly
MrDilbert@reddit
Ma jok ti si.
enzo_1st@reddit
romania has a very similar yok, called ioc
k0mnr@reddit
We also have the tz sound for "no".
Suitable-Decision-26@reddit
Yes, admittedly it is used less and less, but yes.
Cool-Carry4793@reddit
Yok.
PepszczyKohler@reddit
As a diaspora Greek, only in the context of "Malta yok!", in regards to the story of the Ottoman admiral telling the Sultan that Malta did not exist after said admiral failed to conquer it. The joke varies as to whether the admiral placed a candle stand was over Malta's place on the map on the table, or whether Malta was covered up by a bit of candle wax.
CypriotGreek@reddit
Holy shit this story is actually real? I thought this was a fact my grandparents told me as a joke when I was younger.
PepszczyKohler@reddit
I'm sure it's just an apocryphal story, but it is a funny one. Another variation is that the admiral couldn't even find Malta when sailing in the Mediterranean.
AcanthopterygiiOk752@reddit
Jok, bre! 🇲🇪
crazy_houdini@reddit
c
drppr_@reddit
Does it sound like “yok”? If so, it means “there isn’t”/“absent” in Turkish and yes we say it sometimes to mean no.
zulufdokulmusyuze@reddit
It means no. Hayır (good) was gradually adopted in the 17th century as people avoided directly saying no as they thought it wax rude.
BamBumKiofte23@reddit
Yiók, we don't.
Internal-Debt1870@reddit
Yes we do. Not all over Greece, but γιοκ is a thing.
BamBumKiofte23@reddit
You seem to have missed the joke. That's okay, it happens to me too.
Internal-Debt1870@reddit
Sorry! I apparently did.
Inevitable-Theory901@reddit
Nobody says jok in Bulgaria
Mysterious-Put1459@reddit
That's not right
Inevitable-Theory901@reddit
Only Turkish people and Roma
neoberg@reddit
Well that proves that your statement "nobody says in Bulgaria" is wrong since Roma and Turkish are part of Bulgaria's population and they live in Bulgaria.
But I also heard it from Bulgarians.
arcane_labor92@reddit
I say yok.
No-Championship-4632@reddit
yok seker anani sikerim!
_Caligulean_@reddit
Jok nenamo
edwardkenw4y@reddit
Jok vala
Equivalent_Bag_3634@reddit
Iok can’t be had cause it’s nothing!
Immediate_Engine3066@reddit
yok
Slow-Hawk4652@reddit
i use iok quite frequently:)
Miserable-Ground-379@reddit
Jok means crying in Slovenian so yes🤗
Specific-Taste7469@reddit
Absolutely. In its dictionary sense, it means "absent/there isn't..." and we use it that way in daily speech as well. As far as I know, "yok/yox" means "no" in most Turkic languages, which is why its meaning has evolved the way it has in modern Turkish. We often stretch it into "yooooo" for emphasis or to sound more dramatic or sarcastic. The iconic tongue-click sound ‘cık’ conveys essentially the same.
Professional-Fee-488@reddit
Ma jok bre.
treba_dzemper@reddit
🇮🇹 🇹🇷 🇹🇷
Montenegirl@reddit
Jok here is very informal way of saying no. Wouldn't say it in professional or academic settings, would 100% say it to a friend occasionally