20 Awesomely Untranslatable Words from Around the World

There are at least 250,000 words in the English language. However, to think that English, or any
language, could hold enough expression to convey the entirety of the human experience is as
arrogant of an assumption as it is naive. Here are a few examples of instances where other
languages have found the right word and English simply falls speechless.

1. Toska
Russian Vladmir Nabokov describes it best: No single word in English renders all the shades
of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without
any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long
for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the
desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades
into ennui, boredom.

2. Mamihlapinatapei
Yagan (indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego) the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by
two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start

3. J ayus
Indonesian A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh

4. Iktsuarpok
Inuit To go outside to check if anyone is coming.

5. Litost
Czech Milan Kundera, author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, remarked that As for the
meaning of this word, I have looked in vain in other languages for an equivalent, though I find it
difficult to imagine how anyone can understand the human soul without it. The closest definition is
a state of agony and torment created by the sudden sight of ones own misery.

6. Kyoikumama
Japanese A mother who relentlessly pushes her children toward academic achievement

7. Tartle
Scottish The act of hestitating while introducing someone because youve forgotten their name.

8. Ilunga
Tshiluba (Southwest Congo) A word famous for its untranslatability, most professional translators
pinpoint it as the stature of a person who is ready to forgive and forget any first abuse, tolerate it
the second time, but never forgive nor tolerate on the third offense.

9. Prozvonit
Czech This word means to call a mobile phone and let it ring once so that the other person will
call back, saving the first caller money. In Spanish, the phrase for this is Dar un toque, or, To give
a touch.

10. Cafun
Brazilian Portuguese The act of tenderly running ones fingers through someones hair.

11. Schadenfreude
German Quite famous for its meaning that somehow other languages neglected to recognize, this
refers to the feeling of pleasure derived by seeing anothers misfortune. I guess Americas Funniest
Moments of Schadenfreude just didnt have the same ring to it.


12. Torschlusspanik
German Translated literally, this word means gate-closing panic, but its contextual meaning
refers to the fear of diminishing opportunities as one ages.

13. Wabi-Sabi
Japanese Much has been written on this Japanese concept, but in a sentence, one might be able
to understand it as a way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and
accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay.

14. Dpaysement
French The feeling that comes from not being in ones home country.

15. Tingo
Pascuense (Easter Island) Hopefully this isnt a word youd need often: the act of taking objects
one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.

16. Hyggelig
Danish Its literal translation into English gives connotations of a warm, friendly, cozy demeanor,
but its unlikely that these words truly capture the essence of a hyggelig; its likely something that
must be experienced to be known. I think of good friends, cold beer, and a warm fire.

17. Lappel du vide
French The call of the void is this French expressions literal translation, but more significantly
its used to describe the instinctive urge to jump from high places.

18. Yaaburnee
Arabic Both morbid and beautiful at once, this incantatory word means You bury me, a
declaration of ones hope that theyll die before another person because of how difficult it would be
to live without them.

19. Duende
Spanish While originally used to describe a mythical, spritelike entity that possesses humans and
creates the feeling of awe of ones surroundings in nature, its meaning has transitioned into
referring to the mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person.

20. Saudade
Portuguese One of the most beautiful of all words, translatable or not, this word refers to the
feeling of longing for something or someone that you love and which is lost. Fado music, a type of
mournful singing, relates to saudade.

For myself, the hardest part about learning a new language isnt so much getting acquainted with
the translations of vocabulary and different grammatical forms and bases, but developing an inner
reflex that responds to words texture, not their translated ingredients. When you hear the word
criminal you dont think of one who commits acts outside the law, but rather the feeling and
mental imagery that comes with that word.

Thus these words, while standing out due to our inability to find an equivalent word in out own
language, should not be appreciated for our own words that we try to use to describe them, but for
their own taste and texture. Understanding these words should be like eating the best slab of
smoked barbequeued ribs: the enjoyment doesnt come from knowing what the cook put in the
sauce or the seasoning, but from the full experience that can only be created by time and emotion.

Jason Wire
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