Paroloni

[agaragar]

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 or 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. Jayus
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.”

[agaragar]

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 one’s 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 you’ve forgotten their name.

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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. Cafuné
Brazilian Portuguese – “The act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair.”

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

[agaragar]

12. 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.”

13. Dépaysement
French – The feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country.

14. Schadenfreude
German – Quite famous for its meaning, which somehow other languages have neglected to emulate, this refers to the feeling of pleasure derived by seeing another’s misfortune. I guess “America’s Funniest Moments of Schadenfreude” just didn’t have the same ring to it.

15. Tingo
Pascuense (Easter Island) – Hopefully this isn’t a word you’d need often: “the act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.”

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

17. L’appel du vide
French – “The call of the void” is this French expression’s literal translation, but more significantly it’s used to describe the instinctive urge to jump from high places.

18. Ya’aburnee
Arabic – Both morbid and beautiful at once, this incantatory word means “You bury me,” a declaration of one’s hope that they’ll die before another person because of how difficult it would be to live without them.

[agaragar]

19. Duende
Spanish – While originally used to describe a mythical, spritelike entity that possesses humans and creates the feeling of awe of one’s surroundings in nature, its meaning has transitioned into referring to “the mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person.” There’s actually a nightclub in the town of La Linea de la Concepcion, where I teach, named after this word.

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.

21. Melanzana
Italian - new - More or less a melanzanous female

[agaragar]

1. Kummerspeck
German for “grief bacon.” It refers to the weight you put on while overeating for emotional reasons.

2. Luftmensch
A Yiddish word for a dreamer or a social misfit.

3. Tsundoku
A Japanese word referring to the act of buying a book and then never reading it.

4. Chi Ku (吃苦)
Chinese for “to eat bitterness.” This refers to the ability for one to endure hardship without becoming a bitter person.

5. Toska
A Russian word referring to spiritual anguish with no apparent cause.

6. Kreng-jai
A Thai word that directly translates as “awe heart” or “deferential heart.” It sort of means “consideration,” but often is used to reference the deference you might to someone else’s interests even at the expense of your own.

7. Pochemuchka
A Russian word for a person who asks too many questions.

8. Goya
An Urdu word meaning the suspension of disbelief one feels while hearing a really good story.

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9. Esculhambação
A Brazilian Portuguese word referring to the mess that comes about as a result of organizational incompetence.

10. Koi no yokan
The feeling you get when you meet someone for the first time and think you’re going to fall in love with them.

11. Backpfeifengesicht
A German word referring to a face that needs a slap.

12. Hanyauku
A RuKwangali word for the act of tiptoeing across hot sand.

13. Verschlimmbesserung
A German word for an attempted improvement that just made things worse.

14. Pålegg
A Norwegian word meaning “things which might be put in a sandwich,” or, as it might be translated in the American south, “sandwich fixin’s.”

15. Cwtch
A Welsh word that most closely translates to “safe place,” but actually refers to a certain type of affectionate hug — by giving someone a “cwtch,” you’re providing them with a “safe place.”

16. Sisu
A Finnish term that basically means the quality of being a badass. The word is usually equated with the Finnish national character.

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17. Inat
A Serbian word that refers to the act of arguing with someone solely because you like arguing with them. It’s a more complicated concept than that, though, and can also be equated to the English aphorism of deliberately “cutting off your nose to spite your face.”

18. Mokita
A Kivila word that means “the truth we all know but agree not to speak of.”

19. Won
A Korean word referring to the feeling of reluctance a person gets when letting go of an illusion.

20. Yakamoz
A Turkish word for the reflection of moonlight on water.

21. Waldeinsamkeit
An amazing German word referring to the feeling you get when you’re alone in the woods.

22. Lítost
A Czech word that the writer Milan Kundera defined as “a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery.”

23. Culaccino
An Italian word referring to the circle of condensation left on a table after picking up a perspiring glass.
(Mai sentuta)

[Hatshepsut]

19. Duende
Spanish – While originally used to describe a mythical, spritelike entity that possesses humans and creates the feeling of awe of one’s surroundings in nature, its meaning has transitioned into referring to “the mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person.” There’s actually a nightclub in the town of La Linea de la Concepcion, where I teach, named after this word.

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.

21. Melanzana
Italian - new - More or less a melanzanous female

Tu sei di quelli che non ci tengono alla sopravvivenza?? Melanzana è un'invenzione dei maschi maschilisti di questo forum. Non esiste!