words that don't exist in English

[Deleted]

Naturally, you would need to speak all of the languages to know if everything is correct, but I thought it was pretty interesting.

1. Zhaghzhagh (Persian)
The chattering of teeth from the cold or from rage.

2. Yuputka (Ulwa)
A word made for walking in the woods at night, it’s the phantom sensation of something crawling on your skin.

3. Slampadato (Italian)
Addicted to the UV glow of tanning salons? This word describes you.

4. Luftmensch (Yiddish)
There are several Yiddish words to describe social misfits. This one is for an impractical dreamer with no business sense. Literally, air person.

5. Iktsuarpok (Inuit)
You know that feeling of anticipation when you’re waiting for someone to show up at your house and you keep going outside to see if they’re there yet? This is the word for it.

6. Cotisuelto (Caribbean Spanish)
A word that would aptly describe the prevailing fashion trend among American men under 40, it means one who wears the shirt tail outside of his trousers.

7. Pana Po’o (Hawaiian)
“Hmm, now where did I leave those keys?” he said, pana po’oing. It means to scratch your head in order to help you remember something you’ve forgotten.

8. Gumusservi (Turkish)
Meteorologists can be poets in Turkey with words like this at their disposal. It means moonlight shining on water.

9. Vybafnout (Czech)
A word tailor-made for annoying older brothers—it means to jump out and say boo.

10. Mencolek (Indonesian)
You know that old trick where you tap someone lightly on the opposite shoulder from behind to fool them? The Indonesians have a word for it.

11. Faamiti (Samoan)
To make a squeaking sound by sucking air past the lips in order to gain the attention of a dog or child.

12. Glas wen (Welsh)
A smile that is insincere or mocking. Literally, a blue smile.

13. Bakku-shan (Japanese)
The experience of seeing a woman who appears pretty from behind but not from the front.

14. Boketto (Japanese)
It’s nice to know that the Japanese think enough of the act of gazing vacantly into the distance without thinking to give it a name.

15. Kummerspeck (German)
Excess weight gained from emotional overeating. Literally, grief bacon.

[mossie]

Very good. Try to pronounce No 1 and you know what it means

[Deleted]

#3 must have been invented to talk about Berlusconi.

[onlymark]

Schadenfreude?
Leitmotive?

[bjd]

Art de vivre?

[Deleted]

I read that English has an excellent word missing from other languages, which describes a rather complicated little accident extremely succinctly: sideswipe

[Deleted]

Tonight on the news, there was a subject about a popular play in which a perhaps not totally attractive woman (a bit overweight) declares her love to a close friend... who rejects her.

In France, this is called "taking a rake" (prendre un rateau), based on the graphic idea of what happens if you accidentally step on the prongs of a rake.

I have always found this term to be a completely excellent description of the sensation of an abrupt rejection.

[lagatta]

The modern meaning of Luftmensch must have changed with the improved social situation of most Jewish communities.

Its historical meaning was someone who lived by expedients, as if on air cambridgeforecast.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/luftmensch-max-nordau/ That is, marginalized Eastern European Jews who lived much as the Roma did. And note how Luftvolk was used by the Nazis - quite possibly for both those human groups they planned to eradicate.

I will point out that "airhead" is NOT a good translation, as a Luftmensch even in the more modern sense is not stupid or inane, (lots of other Yiddish words for the intellectually-challenged) he or she is impractical.

[lagatta]

I was fairly sure there was no one word in any Latin language I have some knowledge of (yep) but it does exist in German: Seitenhieb. However, Dutch just uses the English word, according to google translate at least.

I can't think of any one-word translation for "frileux" in English (sensitive to cold; yes, "frileux" can also mean overly cautious). One English translation gave it as "chilly", but it doesn't strike me as having exactly the same meaning.

I'm thinking of that word as I'm rather frileuse... I guess one would just say "always cold" (though of course I'm not when it is sunny and warm).

[Deleted]

Rather than "chilly," I would tend to think of it as being "easily chilled."

[htmb]

nesh (?)

[onlyMark]

Nesh is a good word, especially as Mrs M is very and I accuse her of it often, but I think it is dialect rather than otherwise(?) It does exist though.

[Deleted]

I've never encountered "nesh."

[htmb]

Neither have I, but I asked my oldest daughter since she tends to be overly sensitive to cold and that's the word she gave me.

[patricklondon]

"Nesh" is a very handy word, but it is mainly heard in the north of England and Scotland.

Related Scots words that can be useful are "peely-wally", for feeling (and looking) a bit under the weather, and "wabbit" for tired/exhausted/worn out.

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[lagatta]

Nesh is a great word. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesh

[bjd]

Hmmm, I'm easily susceptible to cold too. Never knew there was a succint word for it.

[bixaorellana]

How would nesh be used in a sentence? "I am (very) nesh."?

A Spanish word I like that doesn't have a precise one-word English equivalent is aguantar. It could be argued that tolerate means the same thing, although I personally think put up with and tolerate are slightly different.

[onlyMark]

Yes, I am nesh. Generally you don't admit it though and it is for others to say you are.

[Deleted]

Jan 3, 2015 20:00:33 GMT bixaorellana said:

How would nesh be used in a sentence? "I am (very) nesh."?

A Spanish word I like that doesn't have a precise one-word English equivalent is aguantar. It could be argued that tolerate means the same thing, although I personally think put up with and tolerate are slightly different.

In French, the verb "supporter" has long meant to "tolerate" or "stand" (as in I can stand rather than I can't stand). But in recent years, it has been polluted by the English meaning of support, as in sports teams, etc. to the point where it sometimes becomes confusing.

[bjd]

One useful Spanish word that has no equivalent in English is consuegros - these are the parents of your son- or daughter-in-law.

[bjd]

I just looked at the list in #1 again and word number 9, Vybafnout, just didn't look like a Slavic word to me. Well, I'm right -- it's not. Googling basically throws up the same word on sites either repeating the list or putting it on Facebook but even a Czech/Slovak site doesn't have a meaning or pronunciation for it.