This is a list full of untranslatable words of foreign languages.
List of abbreviations that are used:
Lit. –
literal translation
See –
words that have the same or similar meanings in another language.
The Letter A
Age-otori, (Japanese), to look worse after a haircut.
The Letter B
Baku-shan, (Japanese), a beautiful girl – as long as she is being viewed from behind.
Bon mot, (French), a witty remark or comment; clever saying; witticism.
The Letter C
Cacimbo, (kimbundu), refers to a heavy mist or drizzle that occurs in the Congo basin area, often accompanied by onshore winds.
Cafuné, (Brazilian Portuguese), the act of tenderly running fingers through someone’s hair.
The Letter D
Dapjeongno, (Korean), used when somebody has already decided the answer they want to hear, and all is left for you to do is to utter that answer.
Dépaysement, (French), the feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country – a feeling of being a foreigner, an immigrant or of being somewhat displaced from your origin.
Duende, (Spanish), the mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person.
The Letter E
Elysian, adj., (Greek), beautiful or creative; divinely inspired; peaceful and perfect.
Eomchina, (Korean),lit. “mom’s friend son”; used to describe a person who is more successful or skilled then you.
Eomchina, (Korean),lit. “mom’s friend son”; used to describe a person who is more successful or skilled then you.
Eponym, (Greek), a word based on or derived from a person's name.
Extrawunsch, (German), an additional request which turns a simple task into a complicated one, often with only a marginal benefit and a sense of it being an unnecessary complication.
The Letter F
The Letter G
Gufra, (Arabic), the amount of water that can be held in a hand.
The Letter H
Hiraeth, (Welsh), particular type of longing for the homeland or the romanticised past.
The Letter I
Iktsuarpok, (Inuit), the feeling of anticipation that leads you to keep looking outside to see if anyone is coming.
Ilunga, (Tshiluba, a Bantu language), a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time.
The Letter J
Jayus, (Indonesian), a joke so poorly and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh.
The Letter K
Kintsukurio, n., (Japanese), lit. "to repair with gold"; the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold or silver lacquer and understand that breakage and repair is part of the history of the object, making it more beautiful with its imperfection.
Komorebi, (Japanese), sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees.
Komorebi, (Japanese), sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees.
Kyoikumama, (Japanese), a mother who relentlessly pushes her children toward academic achievement.
The Letter L
L’appel duvide, (French), lit. “the call of the void”; used to describe the instinctive urge to jump from high places.
Leedvermaak, (Dutch), lit. “sorrow-entertainment”; feeling of joy or pleasure when one sees another fail or suffer misfortune. See: Schadenfreude
Luftmench, (Yiddish), lit. “air person”; refers to someone who is a bit of a dreamer.
The letter M
Mamihlapinatapei, (Yagan), the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start.
Mokita, (Kivila), the truth we all know, but agree not to talk about.
The Letter N
Natsukashii, adj., (Japanese), a warm, sudden feeling of sentimentality in which small things bring back some old, good memories while one remembers the fondness and goodness of that time.
The Letter O
The Letter P
Palegg, (Norwegian), anything and everything you can put on a slice of bread.
The Letter Q
The Letter R
The Letter S
Saudade, (Portuguese), feeling of longing for something or someone that you love and which is lost.
Schadenfreude, (German), lit. “harm-joy” feeling of pleasure derived by seeing another’s misfortune. See: Leedvermaak.
Schlimazl, n., (Yiddish), a chronically unlucky person.
Sternstunde, n., (German), a dramatically compressed, fateful event in which a lasting development is being condensed into a single day, a single hour, or even a single minute as it occurs only rarely in the life of an individual or in the course of history; a high-point or a pivotal moment that turns things around in the course of history
The Letter T
Taraadin, (Arabic), I win, you win.
Tingo, (Pascuense), the act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.
Torschlusspanik, (German), lit. “gate-closing panic”; the fear of diminishing opportunities as one ages.
Tretar, (Swedish), lit. “threefill”; on its own, “tar” means “a cup of coffee” and “patar” is the refill of said cup of coffee. A “tretar” is a second refill, or “threefill".
The Letter U
The Letter V
Verschlimmbessern, (German), to make something worse when trying to improve it.
Virago, n., (Latin), a strong, brave, or warlike woman; a woman who demonstrates exemplary and heroic qualities.
Virago, n., (Latin), a strong, brave, or warlike woman; a woman who demonstrates exemplary and heroic qualities.
The Letter W
Waldeinsamkeit, (German), a feeling of solitude, being alone in the woods and a connectedness to nature.
The Letter X
The Letter Y
The Letter Z
Zeitgeist, n., (German), the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.
Zeitgeber, n., (German), lit. "time giver"; an environmental agent or event, such as the occurrence of light or dark, that provides the stimulus setting or resetting a biological clock of an organism.
