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13 words not found in the English language


  3. sinlung
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These words do not have direct equivalents in English. Some of them would definitely be useful for us English-speakers, what do you think?

1. Waldeinsamkeit (German): the feeling of being alone in the woods

2. Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo): a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time

3. Taarradhin (Arabic): a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face (not the same as our concept of a compromise - everyone wins)

4. Litost (Czech): a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery

5. Esprit de l’escalier (French): a witty remark that occurs to you too late, literally on the way down the stairs…

6. Meraki (Greek): doing something with soul, creativity, or love

7. Yoko meshi (Japanese): literally ‘a meal eaten sideways’, referring to the peculiar stress induced by speaking a foreign language:

8. Duende (Spanish): a climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art, which might be fulfilled in flamenco dancing, or bull-fighting, etc.

9. Guanxi (Mandarin): in traditional Chinese society, you would build up good guanxi by giving gifts to people, taking them to dinner, or doing them a favour, but you can also use up your gianxi by asking for a favour to be repaid.

10. Pochemuchka (Russian): a person who asks a lot of questions

11. Tingo (Pascuense language of Easter Island): to borrow objects one by one from a neighbour’s house until there is nothing left

12. Radioukacz (Polish): a person who worked as a telegraphist for the resistance movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain

13. Selathirupavar (Tamil): a word used to define a certain type of absence without official leave in face of duty

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Of course, I’m just relying on the accuracy of online resources for this information, if you speak any of these languages please let me know if there are any errors or inaccuracies above.
sinlung

28 responses // 13 words not found in the English language

  • hopefully there are a few answers that may be useful here..1vulnerable..2.? 3.UNDERSTANDİNG.4.guilt.5reflection.6.art.7?8.culmination.9.obligation.10.inquisitive.11.stealing?12.?13.a.w.o.l.
    mcwally
  • meraki and ilunga are my favorite words...
    jade_azul16
  • re:mcwally
    I cant speak for all the other language but I speak for the one I understand, czech

    "litost" is a little bit different than "guilt". its really hard to explain but "litost" is a much deeper emotion than guilt, at least the connotation in my head is different :)
    neokn
  • This is so great.
    middle_east
  • Very interesting!

    As a non native speaker of English, I'm always amazed at the quantity of English words that have no equivalent in my language.
    saverio
  • How interesting!
    phoenix_fire999
  • Esprit de l’escaliers = one I'd use quite often...
    Humdrum
  • uno mas: koyaanisqatsi - a hopi word that means life out of balance...or as we know it daily life
    blackdaylight
  • Heres another one: Schaudenfreud (German) - Happiness at someone else's misery.
    Dmitri_Molotov
  • my favorite is in Welsh , and it goes like this : wieufghef vjhdfbushbbyuigbrhhbuibehjjhkjsnncjhhefjhbe - it's on road signs , and means " merge with oncoming traffic " ( sorry to any native welsh speaker i may have offended with my horrible spelling )
    malathion
  • everyone who isn't a non native speaker should add a word..this is cool
    keeshii768
  • I've always thought that there were too many loop holes in the English language. I constantly find myself at a loss of words when trying to address unusual feelings or actions.
    Sara_Airey
  • Uhh. No. Duende in Spanish is a dwarf that is only heard in mythical tales.
    dreamland15
  • Yeah, "duende" means "elf" or "goblin", to be more specific.

    But interesting article. Spanish is my first language and I've always thought that english should have some equivalents to words in spanish that are deeper in meaning.
    lxluigixl
  • (look at #3)

    duende
    ALFA duende Elisión del español antiguo duen de (casa) , donde duen es apócope de dueño ; duende equivalía antiguamente (s. xiii ) a ‘dueño de una casa’. De la familia etimológica de dueño (V.). nombre masculino

    1 Ser fantástico que habita en determinados lugares produciendo alboroto y estruendo; los cuentos populares lo representan como un viejo o un niño juguetones, traviesos y burlones: hadas, duendes y pequeños animales que reflejan un mundo mágico; el trasgo, duende casero, es vivaz, está lleno de picardía, cojea y lleva un gorro encarnado.

    2 Ser imaginario al que se atribuyen ciertos errores o cosas inexplicables: los duendes del teléfono; no encontraba sus anteojos, parecía que hubiera duendes; los duendes de la imprenta les han gastado la mala pasada de hacer inservible la cronología final.

    3 Gran encanto o atractivo, casi mágicos, que se desprende de una persona o una manifestación artística: lo más destacable no es su técnica, es que tiene duende; basaba su admiración por el ya fallecido diestro, en la personalidad.
    stephenthomson
  • what we might call "spirit" or "spark" or "special air" or "aura" or "magic" in English, when referring to an artistic piece or entity of particular ineffable wonder.
    stephenthomson
  • I like the feeling alone in the woods one. I've been there a couple of times. I think we all have.
    natedawson
  • #3. Stephen Covey teaches that concept as Habit 6 in his "7 Habits of Highly Effective People." He explains the experience of seeking Synergistic Win-Win situations in which "the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts." People achieving a better solution without compromise (1+1=3).

    In fact:
    syn·er·gy (noun)
    the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects

    @ sinlung, thanks for posting this. Very interesting.

    @ blackdaylight, have you seen any of the films in the Koyaanisqatsi series? I thought that they were pretty captivating and moving.
    Hawkmang
  • Duende, as any player or dancer of flamenco knows, is that inexpressible spirit that they say someone has when their performance makes you get goosebumps.

    I played flamenco guitar for 4 years, but never approached "duende"...

    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PP65MNK8L._SL50...
    Julie_Soller
  • This was awesome... and it just gives me further reason to love the French language.
    kcmcd
  • We can't even understand each other with basic english, let alone adding new words to our overstuffed Mall sized Dictionaries....
    'Cause no one truly listens....
    Save hearing themselves during moment of interjected thought, ejaculating words for their own ears.........
    PlanetBJR
  • So...Homer is Ned's "Tingo"? Got it.
    I love this list and would love to see more words we don't put into words in English as words.
    D'oh!
    huntre
  • ah yes the elusive guanxi...china wouldn't be where it is today, without all that asking to return the favor, but really how is this different from any other country, indeed we just don't have the word in english.
    sustainablejohn
  • My favorite word on the list is

    Taarradhin (Arabic) : a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face (not the same as our concept of a compromise - everyone wins).

    I wonder if we can teach this word to Bush...
    celestialceiling
  • Strategery (Bushanese?) : ?

    Internets (Dubyavakian?) : ?
    Hawkmang
  • Actually there is an English equivalent to the German word "Schaudenfreud"...

    It's called "Reality TV".
    DJMatt2
  • Language is so interesting, don't you think? Thank you for posting this here!
    alexandra_opny
  • I have many Brazilian friends who say there is no direct translation for the Portuguese word "saudades" which they use as a way to express the feeling of missing someone's presence. Most dictionaries will translate it as "nostalgia" but that is not how it is used. They will use "saudades" just like we use "I miss you".
    sh0kr0k

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