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I was travelling on a crowded bus. Someone suddenly ran into me and touched me when the bus stopped suddenly. The man said sorry to me. I did not get angry because I could see there was an auto accident not far from the bus, and then I said this,

that's alright

Was it polite for me to say it? If not, what shall I say? Or are there any better expressions when someone ran into you but you are alright with it?

Nathan Tuggy
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kitty
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    'That's alright' is perfectly fine in this situation and actually is one of the better responses you can give. – Mars Mar 08 '17 at 06:20
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    Not worth making this a full comment, but technically the correct written form would be two words, "all right". The contracted form "alright" is growing in use, and may well be considered correct itself, but as of today it's still considered incorrect - though as you can see from answers, you're not the only one to use it this way! – Werrf Mar 08 '17 at 16:34

4 Answers4

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It's fine as a response to an apology. However you should be careful not to use it if the accident is your fault (even if they apologize first) since, "It's all right," implies that you forgive the other person.

Other responses:

Think nothing of it.

Don't worry about it.

It's ok.

It's quite all right.

Also, there's an Australian expression, "No worries!" which I like to use even though I'm American.

Edit. Please review the comments, as there are many regional differences in the nuance of these expressions.

Andrew
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    To add to the first paragraph, in some cases if the fault is unclear (or might be unclear to the other person, or to an outside observer, or... ) it's best just to reply to their apology with a quick apology of your own. – Tin Wizard Mar 07 '17 at 20:56
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    American here and I wasn't aware "no worries" is considered an Aussie expression. As far as I know, it's just as common over here. – user428517 Mar 07 '17 at 22:48
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    British here. If someone said "No problem" I would assume they were American. If they said "No worries" I would assume they were a hippie or drifter, or Australian. If someone said "That's quite alright" I would assume they were a traditional Brit.

    If someone said "Think nothing of it" immediately then I would think they were classy, or trying to be! It is more often used to mean "You're welcome". It might make more sense after an extended conversation/apology.

    But I do agree that "no worries" seems to have gained a wider usage during the past few decades, as a friendly casual response.

     – joeytwiddle Mar 08 '17 at 03:50
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    'Think nothing of it' would be a bit odd in this situation. – Mars Mar 08 '17 at 06:18
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    @Joker How do you figure? The other party is apologising, by saying 'think nothing of it' you're basically stating that you took no offence and don't think there's an issue. – Cronax Mar 08 '17 at 15:59
  • Might be worth clarifying for the OP, that your other responses listed have the same problem as "That's alright". – anotherdave Mar 08 '17 at 16:23
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    @anotherdave Edited. OP's best option might be to deliberately bump into someone, say they're sorry, and note the response ... although in places like New York City this might be unusually "colorful" :) – Andrew Mar 08 '17 at 17:12
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    @Andrew Now you're making me think of that scene from Bean, where Mr Bean gets the middle finger as a response & think it's a local variation of a thumbs-up. – anotherdave Mar 08 '17 at 17:44
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    I always thought "no worries" was American... – user541686 Mar 08 '17 at 23:04
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    @Mehrdad - Nope, definitely Australian. Especially when followed by "She'll be right". – AndyT Mar 09 '17 at 09:42
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Assuming that you spoke with a sincere and not condescending or aloof tone, it is not rude at all.

Rude responses, usually exclaimed loudly, imply frustration, disgust, or irritation and include

Watch where you’re going! / Watch out! / Watch it!

You [pejorative, e.g., idiot, bumbler, oaf, fool]!

Excuse me!

Ugh!

Graceful responses convey understanding and include

That’s alright / It’s alright / Quite alright

It’s fine / You’re fine / You’re good / We’re good

No problem.

Sorry / Pardon me / Excuse me

Oops / Whoops

Responses along the lines of “No apology needed” or “Please don’t apologize” come off as overly formal for the context in your question. Using these or explicitly granting forgiveness is more appropriate for serious violations or mistakes.

Greg Bacon
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That's all right.

It's pretty much ok and well accepted. Not if you are paranoid about being polite like me, in which case you would say

Please don't apologize, you couldn't help it.

You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault.

It's so sweet of you to apologize, but it wasn't your fault.

An addition, after considering the comments,

Don't worry about it, are you fine/allright?

hispeed
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    Though note that the second and third responses are rather more formal than an "accidental contact on the bus" situation might warrant, and the last three can all come across as condescending or even passive-aggressive if you're not careful. "That's alright" is pretty much always safe. – Patrick Stevens Mar 08 '17 at 09:27
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    I agree with @PatrickStevens here - do not use any of those three suggestions in this situation or you may end up starting a fight. They are agonisingly over-formal and to deliver them without sounding like you're "taking the piss" would be very difficult. – ED-209 Mar 08 '17 at 12:36
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    These responses could all be very awkward for the poor person who accidentally bumped into you, if he was British anyway. No need to make a conversation out of it - no one* actually wants to talk to strangers on a bus! (*very few Brits do at any rate.) – AndyT Mar 08 '17 at 16:09
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"That's alright" is a perfectly fine and polite response.

If you wanted a better one, then from a British English perspective when people accidentally contact each other in public, they both say "Sorry". A typical exchange would be:

Person A: "Sorry"

Person B: "Sorry"

and that's it. The sorrys aren't really apologies, they're just a reflex reaction. There's the classic test of Britishness: if you bump into a Brit, then they'll say "Sorry", even when it was clearly your fault.

So, a "better" response from you would have been to just say "sorry" back. But there was nothing wrong with what you said.

AndyT
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