# Phrases or words that have no English equivalent.



## Musicforawhile

So I hope this isn't too anglo-centric. But English is my first language. I would like to find out more words and phrases that can't be directly translated into English. Some examples:

*L'appel du vide *- literal translation would be 'the call of the void.' I understand it to mean that feeling when you're at the edge of a cliff of feeling compelled to throw yourself over. Perhaps also wanting to jump in front of a train or jump from a high building. (a general thing, suicidal feelings not being the reason) (French)

*Schadenfreude*- feeling gleeful at someone else's misfortune. (German)

*Saudade* - I love this one. I believe it means a deep nostalgic longing for something in the past but without any negative feelings, so without any regret. (Portuguese and Galician)

*Simpatico* - usually translated as 'nice.' According to E.M Forster there isn't really an English equivalent, in that 'nice' doesn't quite translate the full meaning. (Italian)


----------



## SiegendesLicht

*Gemütlichkeit* - a warm, cheerful, cozy, comfortable atmosphere or mood (German).


----------



## Mahlerian

_Japanese_

*Natsukashii (懐かしい)* - Warm, familiar, nostalgic; an adjective describing something that evokes those qualities, often somewhat faintly.

*Shiru (知る)* - To come to know a certain place/thing/piece of information. This is something that can only happen once.

*Yoroshiku onegai shimasu (宜しくお願いします)* - I look forward to continuing in this relationship in a positive way/being of service, etc. Often used when meeting someone for the first time.


----------



## Varick

SiegendesLicht said:


> *Gemütlichkeit* - a warm, cheerful, cozy, comfortable atmosphere or mood (German).


I'm relying on you to correct what I'm sure will be spelling butchery but, doesn't "farfegnugen" also mean a general feeling of wellness? Or does it pertain specifically to driving?

V


----------



## SiegendesLicht

"Fahrvergnügen" literally means "driving pleasure", so yes, it pertains specifically to driving.


----------



## Figleaf

Sitzenbleiben: the scary German custom whereby underachieving high school kids have to repeat a year. Glad I'm not German or I'd probably be the world's most elderly schoolgirl!

Campanilismo: usually translated as 'bell tower loyalty'. The Italian tendency to identify oneself closely with one's town of origin and (Italians please correct me if I'm wrong) perhaps to close ranks against outsiders or those who are new to the area.

Zaftig: a Yiddish loan word familiar to Americans, though I had to look it up! It means an attractive, full figured look. Perhaps 'voluptuous' comes closest but it's more euphemistic and not as charming.


----------



## Guest

Moll - this is a very specific Swiss-German word. The closest translation would be the German word "doch." But it is so much more. In many cases, it can be the equivalent of a quick interjected contradiction. Think of the Monty Python "Argument" sketch, where the one character continues to say "no, it isn't." You could use "moll" there. But you could also use it in place of the other response, "yes, it is." It is the direct gainsaying of what someone has said. But then you can also hear it among a bunch of old women agreeing with one another. "Huut isch 's Wetter schoon priima! (The weather is beautiful today!)" "Moll, moll!"

Schweinehund - German - literally, pig-dog. Closest equivalent in English is "*******" in the pejorative sense, not in the technical "your mother was not married to your father" sense.


----------



## norman bates

SiegendesLicht said:


> *Gemütlichkeit* - a warm, cheerful, cozy, comfortable atmosphere or mood (German).


Now I'm tempted to open a topic to look music that fits this description!


----------



## norman bates

Figleaf said:


> Campanilismo: usually translated as 'bell tower loyalty'. The Italian tendency to identify oneself closely with one's town of origin and (Italians please correct me if I'm wrong) perhaps to close ranks against outsiders or those who are new to the area.


that's correct, but it's more or less the equivalent of chauvinism.


----------



## Musicforawhile

Figleaf said:


> Sitzenbleiben: the scary German custom whereby underachieving high school kids have to repeat a year. Glad I'm not German or I'd probably be the world's most elderly schoolgirl!
> 
> Campanilismo: usually translated as 'bell tower loyalty'. The Italian tendency to identify oneself closely with one's town of origin and (Italians please correct me if I'm wrong) perhaps to close ranks against outsiders or those who are new to the area.
> 
> Zaftig: a Yiddish loan word familiar to Americans, though I had to look it up! It means an attractive, full figured look. Perhaps 'voluptuous' comes closest but it's more euphemistic and not as charming.


Ha! From what I've garnered so far about your academic achievements Figleaf I doubt you would have been anywhere near bottom of the class.

Is _campanilisimo_ something Italians feel more than the English, do you think? I am pretty attached to the town where I grew up, but maybe that's just me.

And I love the word _zaftig_, forgot about that one. I think 'juicy' is also part of its translation


----------



## Ukko

Musicforawhile said:


> [...]
> And I love the word _zaftig_, forgot about that one. I think 'juicy' is also part of its translation


Not exactly; it describes a figure more than moderately 'Rubenesque'.


----------



## GreenMamba

norman bates said:


> Now I'm tempted to open a topic to look music that fits this description!


Mahler's 2nd, 2nd movement is often described as Gemütlichkeit.


----------



## Mahlerian

Here's another good one:

*Tachi (達)* - Usually a plural suffix for groups of people, but sometimes it works differently from anything in English:
Hito 人 - Person, Hitotachi 人達 - People
Moderator モデレーター - Moderator, Moderator-tachi モデレーター達 - Moderators
Mahlerian マレーリアン - Mahlerian, Mahlerian-tachi マレーリアン達 - Mahlerian and the others associated with him (moderators, members of a given group, etc., depending on the situation and context)


----------



## Figleaf

Musicforawhile said:


> Ha! From what I've garnered so far about your academic achievements Figleaf I doubt you would have been anywhere near bottom of the class.
> 
> Is _campanilisimo_ something Italians feel more than the English, do you think? I am pretty attached to the town where I grew up, but maybe that's just me.
> 
> And I love the word _zaftig_, forgot about that one. I think 'juicy' is also part of its translation


I only got my GCSE Maths when I was 31, so in an educational system where you're only as good as your worst subject (I don't know whether the German system is actually that rigid in practice) I would have crashed and burned. I was always grateful for the flexibility of the English system which allows you to specialise at 16: by playing to my strengths I went from failure to star pupil overnight. And at Oxford, the interviews are so rigorous (five interviews at two colleges over two and a half days in my case) that they can form a clear view of your abilities and decide whether or not they are bothered about a couple of failed GCSEs in unrelated subjects. (I had failed geography on purpose to get back at my dad who made me take it against my will. Obviously that was before I had Oxbridge in my sights!)

I still live where I grew up from the age of 7 and I can't say I like it that much. It's a place which condones savage practices like forcing people to study geography against their will. Like most English people who have grown up in a small town, I feel the place is synonymous with mediocrity and failure, and success consists of getting the hell out! Still working on that one though...

I wonder if I had grown up in beautiful Italy rather than drab Hertfordshire, pride in my home town might make more sense. If you grew up somewhere more picturesque than I did, or maybe somewhere which just holds happy memories, I can understand that you would feel attached to it.

Ukko seems to consider 'zaftig' rather euphemistic. I don't care, I still like it. Especially being on the 'zaftig' side myself!


----------



## Ukko

If the word means something not expressible in English, it can't be important, eh?


----------



## Figleaf

Ukko said:


> If the word means something not expressible in English, it can't be important, eh?


Now you're just being mean  English is the international lingua franca for a reason, but it can't do everything by itself. You must know of some colourful words from different cultures which can help us expand our narrow anglophone worldview?


----------



## norman bates

Figleaf said:


> Now you're just being mean  English is the international lingua franca for a reason, but it can't do everything by itself. You must know of some colourful words from different cultures which can help us expand our narrow anglophone worldview?


Ukko was just trying to describe the meaning of "campanilismo"


----------



## Ingélou

Don't forget England's neighbours.

*Hiraeth*: Wiki - 'Hiraeth, pronounced [hɨraɪ̯θ], is a Welsh word that has no direct English translation. The University of Wales, Lampeter attempts to define it as homesickness tinged with grief or sadness over the lost or departed. It is a mix of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness, or an earnest desire for the Wales of the past.'

*Pawky*: (Scots) - the google definition is 'having or showing a sardonic sense of humour' - but that really *isn't* it. It is teasing or playful rather than/as well as sardonic. I find 'pawky' humour attractive, having grown up with a Scottish father. Teasing is a Scottish art form. 

*Live horse and you'll get grass*: Irish saying that basically means don't fret about not having what you want - just carry on and eventually you'll make a living or get some reward. It's counselling patience.


----------



## Figleaf

norman bates said:


> Ukko was just trying to describe the meaning of "campanilismo"


Aha- I missed that totally. Sorry Ukko!


----------



## science

One famous one in Korean is "jeong" (or "jung" or "cheong" or "chung" or any number of romanizations, though "jeong" would be the current government-approved one) which means something like "attachment," "commitment," or "loyalty." Whether you like someone or not, if you've known them a long time, been through a lot with them, you have "jung." You can't get away from it or get rid of it. In that sense, it's a thing that takes a long time to create.

I think I get that. Oddly, though, it also means something like "random acts of kindness." It's what you do for someone you don't know, not expecting any kind of reward or reciprocity. I don't get how this is the same concept, but Koreans insist it is.

Another one: Han: something like "bitterness about injustices you or your people have endured." A lot of older Koreans think it is "the Korean emotion," as if having "han" (particularly about the Japanese occupation) makes you Korean.

There's a bit of a pun there, because "han" (the same sound, the same characters in Korean, a homophone I guess, but they have different Chinese characters so Koreans think of them as two different words with the same sound rather than one word with different meanings) also means "Korean." (Though it has to be paired with something else to have meaning. For example "han-guk" means "Korea-Land" or "Korea," and most meanings of "Korean" would be built from "han-guk" rather than just from "han": a Korean person is a "han-guk saram," and Korean [the language] is "han-guk-eo" [written or spoken] or "han-guk-mal" [spoken].)


----------



## Varick

Ingélou said:


> Don't forget England's neighbours.
> 
> *Hiraeth*: Wiki - 'Hiraeth, *pronounced [hɨraɪ̯θ]*,


Oh, gee, thanks Ingelou, that pronunciation clears it right up!

V


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Ingélou said:


> *Hiraeth*: Wiki - 'Hiraeth, pronounced [hɨraɪ̯θ], is a Welsh word that has no direct English translation. The University of Wales, Lampeter attempts to define it as homesickness tinged with grief or sadness over the lost or departed. It is a mix of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness, or an earnest desire for the Wales of the past.'


That is a very beautiful word, both the look/sound of it and the meaning. I can think of music that would convey that emotion well.


----------



## Varick

SiegendesLicht said:


> That is a very beautiful word, both the look/sound of it and the meaning. I can think of music that would convey that emotion well.


Wow, you understand those hieroglyphics in the pronunciation?

V


----------



## brianvds

The Afrikaans word "sommer" is so untranslatable that it has found its way into South African English. There simply isn't any equivalent that captures its feel. I am in fact at a loss as to how to describe exactly what it means.


----------



## Guest

One of my saucier cousins sometimes exclaims _Me cago en la hostia_! Literally, I 'defecate' on the communion wafer. I suppose an "equivalent" would be like saying "Holy ******"


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Varick said:


> Wow, you understand those hieroglyphics in the pronunciation?
> 
> V


Here they teach people English using those hieroglyphics (the IPA), and the English dictionaries all have a phonetic transcription for each word entry. Using it for reference is much easier than memorizing the pronunciation of each English word separately.


----------



## Ingélou

^^^ Exactly! The International Phonetic Alphabet is in use in English dictionaries in the UK too.

The difficulty with 'hiraeth' is that there is no English word that I can think of that has that combination. Hi as in him - raeth _almost _as in scythe, *except that *the 'th' sound is like the 'th' in thumb; oh, and the stress is on the first as well as the second syllable. Also, the 'h' is a lot breathier than in English words.

Seems much easier to learn the IPA 
- or try the audio links. 
http://www.forvo.com/word/hiraeth/


----------



## Chris

There's a Japanese word for the disappointment experienced when a woman turns round and proves to be older and/or uglier than the rear view of her promised. I can't remember what it is.


----------



## Musicforawhile

brianvds said:


> The Afrikaans word "sommer" is so untranslatable that it has found its way into South African English. There simply isn't any equivalent that captures its feel. I am in fact at a loss as to how to describe exactly what it means.


I looked it up, and it's not that hard to describe it means 'just because,' or 'because I feel like it.' We don't have a word for it, but I understand the feeling.


----------



## Varick

SiegendesLicht said:


> Here they teach people English using those hieroglyphics (the IPA), and the English dictionaries all have a phonetic transcription for each word entry. Using it for reference is much easier than memorizing the pronunciation of each English word separately.





Ingélou said:


> ^^^ Exactly! The International Phonetic Alphabet is in use in English dictionaries in the UK too.
> 
> The difficulty with 'hiraeth' is that there is no English word that I can think of that has that combination. Hi as in him - raeth _almost _as in scythe, *except that *the 'th' sound is like the 'th' in thumb; oh, and the stress is on the first as well as the second syllable. Also, the 'h' is a lot breathier than in English words.
> 
> Seems much easier to learn the IPA
> - or try the audio links.
> http://www.forvo.com/word/hiraeth/


Well here in the land of bad public education (and getting worse), we are only taught the 26 letters of the English language. So characters such as* ɨ, ɪ̯, & θ* are completely "greek to me" (another American phrase - not sure if it's English - when something is incomprehensible).

Our education system here sucks. Not sure if I would still know these things even if they did teach it, since class clowns usually don't learn a lot.:devil: It wasn't until I got older that I understood the importance of my "edumication."

Only because of extensive travel do I even know any other language characters such as the umlaut or the eszett. I still don't know the difference in pronunciation between è and é.

Stupid Americans. We are a plenty!

Thanks for the link Ingelou.

V


----------



## violadude

In Thai, all words that describe emotions or personalities have the word _Jai_, which means heart, as either a suffix or prefix. For example, when you say someone is a _Kohn Jai Rorn_ it means they are a hotheaded person Kohn - person, Jai- heart, Rorn - hot.

In my opinion, the most interesting variation of the "Jai" words is the phrase _Kao Jai_. The phrase is used to mean "I understand you" but translated literally it means "I enter your heart". You can also say _Mai Kao Jai_, which means "I don't understand you"

Also, in most Asian languages as I understand, there are various words that signify respect, either in general or toward a particular person depending on who you are talking to. In Thai, the word Krab (for males) and Ka (for females) is added at the end of most sentences when speaking formally or in polite company. It can't really be translated into English though, it's just a word at the end of a sentence that signifies politeness. The closest English equivalent I can think of would be like saying "please" at the end of a request.

Often Thai people will add extra syllables to make the sentence run more smoothly into the polite word, usually "na". For example, when asking for water at a restaurant you would usually say _Khor nam noi na Krab_. Khor is the word for a request, nam is the word for water, noi is like "please" in Thai, and then Krab is the politeness word added at the end, with "na" placed before it to connect the word krab to the main phrase.

And then, if you are a girl, you would say _Khor nam noi na ka_


----------



## Varick

Chris said:


> There's a Japanese word for the disappointment experienced when a woman turns round and proves to be older and/or uglier than the rear view of her promised. I can't remember what it is.


Well, when the body is nice, but the face is lacking, we call her a "butter face." As in, "Everything is nice but her face."

And when she looks really good from a distance, but as the gap closes you realize she's not that attractive, we say, "Good from far, but far from good."

V


----------



## Varick

Sorry, I realize that last post should have been in the witty euphemisms thread. I was just responding to Chris.

V


----------



## rrudolph

I always liked "L'esprit de l'escalier". It's a mellifluous decription of something I experience with far too much frequency.


----------



## Ingélou

Varick said:


> Well here in the land of bad public education (and getting worse), we are only taught the 26 letters of the English language. So characters such as* ɨ, ɪ̯, & θ* are completely "greek to me" (another American phrase - not sure if it's English - when something is incomprehensible).
> 
> Our education system here sucks. Not sure if I would still know these things even if they did teach it, since class clowns usually don't learn a lot.:devil: It wasn't until I got older that I understood the importance of my "edumication."
> 
> Only because of extensive travel do I even know any other language characters such as the umlaut or the eszett. I still don't know the difference in pronunciation between è and é.
> 
> Stupid Americans. We are a plenty!
> 
> Thanks for the link Ingelou.
> 
> V


:tiphat: Don't do yourself down - you have charm in abundance! 
Wouldn't like to tell you how much *I* don't know!
(This is the person, after all, who thought Klezmer was a composer!  )


----------



## Cosmos

My favorite untranslatable word: *Waldeinsamkeit*. German word for the emotion of feeling alone in the woods


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Cosmos said:


> My favorite untranslatable word: *Waldeinsamkeit*. German word for the emotion of feeling alone in the woods


I love that one too. And the loneliness is not a sad, depressing loneliness, but rather a joyful one, a feeling of freedom, peace, unity with nature. Very poetic, very romantic, very German


----------



## Figleaf

Ingélou said:


> :tiphat: Don't do yourself down - you have charm in abundance!
> Wouldn't like to tell you how much *I* don't know!
> (This is the person, after all, who thought Klezmer was a composer!  )


He was among the most prolific of Jewish composers, I believe!


----------



## Figleaf

Cosmos said:


> My favorite untranslatable word: *Waldeinsamkeit*. German word for the emotion of feeling alone in the woods


I thought it was 'Waldeseinsamkeit', like the title of the Brahms song? Is that a separate word or a variation for the sake of the poem's metre?

John McCormack's record of In Waldeseinsamkeit was one of my favourite lieder recordings when I was a moody teenager


----------



## Tristan

In my conlang (fictional language that I'm designing), the word "súspo" means "a feeling of longing and nostalgia for a certain place brought upon by being in a similar place". It's a feeling I've experienced and I needed a word for it. 

I'll think of a real example later


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Figleaf said:


> I thought it was 'Waldeseinsamkeit', like the title of the Brahms song? Is that a separate word or a variation for the sake of the poem's metre?


*Raises hand* May I answer that one?

"Wald*es*einsamkeit" is a variation. It would mean something like "wood's loneliness", the "-es-" being the genitive, indicating belonging. This word can exist, but the usual form is "Waldeinsamkeit".


----------



## SimonNZ

What's that Japanese word for when sleeping on the job is a good thing, because it shows that you've obviously been working hard?

edit: Inemuri (居眠り?) is the Japanese practice of sleeping on the job.



> It literally means, "sleeping while present".[1] It is a way for an employee to show how committed they are to working. In other words, the employee spends so much time working that they sleep too little at home and have to do inemuri. Some people even fake inemuri, so that their bosses believe they are working hard.[2] Unwritten rules apply to inemuri, including who is allowed to do it - only those high up or low down in a company - and how it is performed - the person is supposed to remain upright to show they are still socially engaged in some way


(also: aren't schaudenfreude and simpatico official English words now - just like every other loan word the language has annexed over its history, just that those ones are more recent additions?)


----------



## brianvds

Cosmos said:


> My favorite untranslatable word: *Waldeinsamkeit*. German word for the emotion of feeling alone in the woods


It's a neat single word with which to describe some of the music by composers like Bruckner, Brahms and Mahler.


----------



## Posie

DrMike said:


> Moll - this is a very specific Swiss-German word. The closest translation would be the German word "doch." But it is so much more. In many cases, it can be the equivalent of a quick interjected contradiction. Think of the Monty Python "Argument" sketch, where the one character continues to say "no, it isn't." You could use "moll" there. But you could also use it in place of the other response, "yes, it is." It is the direct gainsaying of what someone has said. But then you can also hear it among a bunch of old women agreeing with one another. "Huut isch 's Wetter schoon priima! (The weather is beautiful today!)" "Moll, moll!"
> 
> Schweinehund - German - literally, pig-dog. Closest equivalent in English is "*******" in the pejorative sense, not in the technical "your mother was not married to your father" sense.


Is there an English equivalent for the word 'doch'? The closest phrase I can think of is "I guess (not)."


----------



## Bellinilover

I don't think the German word _Traumbild_ (which I first heard in the opera ELEKTRA, by the way) has any single equivalent word in English; all I can think of is a phrase, "an image in your dreams."

Also, the Scottish word_ fey_ -- doesn't that mean something like "feeling strangely giddy or happy as a precursor to tragedy"? If there's an English word like that, I can't come up with it.


----------



## hpowders

Figleaf said:


> He was among the most prolific of Jewish composers, I believe!


Change "composers" to "posters" and you have me!!


----------



## Ingélou

Yiddish has a rich store of highly-flavoured individual words. I like *'nebbish'* - *Originally a Hebrew word, popularized in English by the cartoonist Herb Gardner. A `sad sack,' a loser, a person who can't make any thing or any situation work right for him or her; unassertive, shy, timid. Reference: `The Joys of Yiddish,' by Leo Rosten.*

'Nonentity' or 'drip' may come close, but don't quite capture the tang. I like the Yiddish joke, 'When a nebbish leaves the room, you feel as if someone has just walked in.'


----------



## cwarchc

jislaaik another Afirikaans word - the best decription would be "shock" or "surprise" but neither of them really describe it


----------



## TxllxT

Talking about Yiddish: "_Luftmensch_" was the designation of a person who lived from air, nothing... Does there exist an English equivalent for _Glockenspiel_ ?


----------



## Musicforawhile

TxllxT said:


> Talking about Yiddish: "_Luftmensch_" was the designation of a person who lived from air, nothing... Does there exist an English equivalent for _Glockenspiel_ ?


A xylophone? Or more accurately a metallophone...


----------



## TxllxT

Musicforawhile said:


> A xylophone? Or more accurately a metallophone...


I mean  the euphemism  ..................


----------



## Albert7

Zut alors! There you go.


----------



## Andreas

Cosmos said:


> My favorite untranslatable word: *Waldeinsamkeit*. German word for the emotion of feeling alone in the woods


Also a German classic: Weltschmerz.


----------



## Ingélou

TxllxT said:


> I mean  the euphemism  ..................


Duh???  Have googled it to no avail. I shall be spending the next six months being ready to find unmentionable inferences in the simplest words. '_Knitting_? I didn't expect such a gross innuendo from *you*!... _Trolley_ - how dare you, sir!'


----------



## TxllxT

Ingélou said:


> Duh???  Have googled it to no avail. I shall be spending the next six months being ready to find unmentionable inferences in the simplest words. '_Knitting_? I didn't expect such a gross innuendo from *you*!... _Trolley_ - how dare you, sir!'


----------



## Musicforawhile

Can someone explain it to me though. Does the other meaning of Glockenspiel mean what I think it means then? You can pm me if it's too indelicate for the forum.


----------



## TxllxT

Musicforawhile said:


> Can someone explain it to me though. Does the other meaning of Glockenspiel mean what I think it means then? You can pm me if it's too indelicate for the forum.


Well, even in Russia the German word Glockenspiel is used as *the* euphemism of all euphemisms. They also use "Bim bam". But we should keep the forum exclusive for enlightening revelations of the spirit, shouldn't we? :tiphat:


----------



## Headphone Hermit

Surely all those who have a good knowledge of another language can find lots of these?

I know that when I have led workshops in Europe, I often get asked for the english word for terms such as roche-moutonee, cirque, podsol, Randstad, gastarbeiter, fjord etc that have no english equivalent. Such terms are often absorbed into the language and in time almost 'become' English, even when their adopted sense os opposite to their original meaning (eg 'jungle' meaning overgrown, tangled vegetation was originally a natural open clearing in a forest .... or even 'forest' which was an area preserved for hunting rather than a large expanse of woodland).

for example (all my examples are from Polish):
osiedle - an almost self-contained suburb of a town or city built after the war comprising a housing estate, shops, school etc and managed by a central committee

dzialka - (almost, but not quite 'allotment') - a small piece of land (typically the whole field was split up for workers in one factory) that was allocated to a worker that could be used as a garden but you could also build a small house for overnight stays in the summer. 

kawa - (as in drop by for 'kawa' - literally come for coffee) - an invitation to spend a number of hours at a friend or relative's house for cake and coffee (served at the dining table) and followed shortly after by a substantial meal, more cake etc etc

Znajoma, Kolega and Sympatyczna - three varying categories of 'friend' that are confusing to get round!


----------



## JACE

SiegendesLicht said:


> *Gemütlichkeit* - a warm, cheerful, cozy, comfortable atmosphere or mood (German).





norman bates said:


> Now I'm tempted to open a topic to look music that fits this description!


I can't resist.  ...When I hear the word _Gemütlichkeit_, I think of *Bruno Walter*: Brahms 2nd & 3rd Symphonies; certain passages from Mahler.

O.K. Back to the topic at hand.


----------



## JACE

I love the Yiddish word _shpilkes_. Literally, it means "needles." In usage, it means an _agitated, nervous or impatient state_. As in, "So you look like you're feeling a bit _shpilkes_ about the ballgame."

It's a word that my father loves, so I use it too. I'm fairly certain that my father picked it up from my grandmother, who grew up beside a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. We're not Jewish, but we've adopted that particular Yiddish word.


----------



## Figleaf

Musicforawhile said:


> Can someone explain it to me though. Does the other meaning of Glockenspiel mean what I think it means then? You can pm me if it's too indelicate for the forum.


I think we should all be told: or who knows what offence we might inadvertently cause by going into The Early Learning Centre (do they still exist?) and asking for a glockenspiel. If it is, as I hope, thoroughly obscene, it could always be translated into Latin, to give it an inoffensively dry and scholarly air!


----------



## Kivimees

Headphone Hermit said:


> Surely all those who have a good knowledge of another language can find lots of these


Well, I can offer "viht" and "leil", which come from Estonian sauna culture. The former is the bunch of birch twigs we use to hit ourselves with, and the latter means "steam", but only that particular steam that comes from throwing water on the hot rocks.


----------



## Posie

JACE said:


> I love the Yiddish word _shpilkes_. Literally, it means "needles." In usage, it means an _agitated, nervous or impatient state_. As in, "So you look like you're feeling a bit _shpilkes_ about the ballgame."
> 
> It's a word that my father loves, so I use it too. I'm fairly certain that my father picked it up from my grandmother, who grew up beside a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. We're not Jewish, but we've adopted that particular Yiddish word.


"Schmuck" is also a good word.


----------



## Xaltotun

Some Finnish words.

_Väki._ It means "people", "folk", but also "force", "magic power". It can be made to an adjective, _väkevä,_ which means "very strong", either physical or mental strength, or a very strong smell or flavour. _Väkivalta,_ literally "power of _väki_" or "power of the people" means "violence". Weird, huh? It's all because _väki_ is an ancient word from the time of paganism and the belief in magic. Magic power was supposedly given by supernatural creatures. And the Finns have always been very polite when addressing supernatural forces, thus they are "people" as well.

_Meininki._ A newer word, but a wonderful one. It means... things that people are doing... or the feeling that exists when people are doing those things... or an attitude or thoughts that those people are having... or a course of action taken. A very general word that is so lovely to use, because you can drop the _meininki_ and the listener can then choose how to respond. "What's the _meininki_ here?" can be answered with giving almost any information about the things that are taking place or the thoughts, feelings or attitudes linked to them. So there will be no awkwardness and no loss of face.

_Mieli._ This one is "mind", but also "mood", and "desire" and "will". "What is your _mieli?_" can be answered with talking about thoughts, feelings, or desires. Again, the one who is addressed has the power to answer how he wants without awkwardness.


----------



## PetrB

rrudolph said:


> I always liked *"L'esprit de l'escalier"*. It's a mellifluous description of something I experience with far too much frequency.


It sure nails the feeling and thought of the circumstantial moment, and there is no English equivalent without using a lot more words 

I've had it happen often enough that it takes on that feeling of
*Déjà vu*


----------



## GhenghisKhan

Auftfragstatik -- roughly, military initiative.


----------



## GhenghisKhan

SimonNZ said:


> What's that Japanese word for when sleeping on the job is a good thing, because it shows that you've obviously been working hard?
> 
> edit: Inemuri (居眠り?) is the Japanese practice of sleeping on the job.
> 
> (also: aren't schaudenfreude and simpatico official English words now - just like every other loan word the language has annexed over its history, just that those ones are more recent additions?)


That's an awesome concept


----------



## PetrB

La nuit, tout les chats son gris. (Fr. _At night, all cats are grey._)

Well, yes, but....


----------



## Taggart

GhenghisKhan said:


> Auftfragstatik -- roughly, military initiative.


That's a tautology like Military Intelligence.


----------



## PetrB

Stom element (Dutch) literally, stupid element. this is used in speaking of some one, or commenting upon them. A bit like 'dumb as a post,' but _element,_ used to comment on a human being, kinda harsh


----------



## Mahlerian

Taggart said:


> That's a tautology like Military Intelligence.


You mean an oxymoron?


----------



## Taggart

Mahlerian said:


> You mean an oxymoron?


Doh! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


----------



## Ingélou

Mahlerian said:


> You mean an oxymoron?


Lovely word: I shall spend the rest of the evening working it into little scenes.

*Jo:* What's this soup?
*Brother:* It's oxtail soup.
*Jo:* Oh, you mean it tastes cow-y?
*Brother:* _(with triumphant disdain)_. No - it's *oxy, moron*!


----------



## Lord Lance

Dutch being one of the languages I've always liked: [With no logical reasoning; just picked up that _particular _language.]

Here's a list to expand your douchebaggeriness (TM) in front of your not-so-douchebaggy friends.

A more comprehensive way to sound like a complete artsy ****.

Now, *YOU *can be the reason for people's sighs.

Jokes aside, Dutch is a fantastic language.


----------



## Dim7

Japanese:
腐れ縁 Kusare-en, literally "rotten destiny/relationship", is the relationship of people who find each other annoying but somehow are unseparable by fate.


----------



## Piwikiwi

Ludwig van Beethoven said:


> Dutch being one of the languages I've always liked: [With no logical reasoning; just picked up that _particular _language.]
> 
> Here's a list to expand your douchebaggeriness (TM) in front of your not-so-douchebaggy friends.
> 
> A more comprehensive way to sound like a complete artsy ****.
> 
> Now, *YOU *can be the reason for people's sighs.
> 
> Jokes aside, Dutch is a fantastic language.


Unfortunately peanut butter, make that the cat wise, I'm crazy henkie not.


----------



## Piwikiwi

PetrB said:


> Stom element (Dutch) literally, stupid element. this is used in speaking of some one, or commenting upon them. A bit like 'dumb as a post,' but _element,_ used to comment on a human being, kinda harsh


I'm Dutch and I've never heard this one, it could be Flemish though.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Another German one: _Fernweh_. It is the opposite to _Heimweh_ (homesickness), a desire to travel, a longing for distant places. It also seems to be translated into English with "wanderlust", which is also a German loanword.


----------



## PabloElFlamenco

I'm sure every language has plenty of nigh untranslatable words and concepts... In Dutch, they "look the cat out of the tree", meaning "wait and see, don't do anything". And in Flemish "uw schup afkuisen" means something like "wipe your spade", i.e. stop working. And in French "s'observer en chien de faience", literally "observe one another like a pair of china (porcelain) dogs". 

Another aspect of languages I like is how different phrases are used to express the same thing. In English, it rains cats and dogs, in Dutch (and in German, I think) pipe stems, in Spanish and French it's ropes. In Belgium it's just darn wet right now.


----------



## Ingélou

I've skimmed through this thread again, but I may have missed something, so apologise if anyone has posted the German word *kopfkino* = 'mind cinema'.

I just read it on my violin forum from a German lady who's nervous about getting a new teacher & is playing through in her mind all the 'what-ifs', such as 'what if I sound much worse than I do in the practice room' and 'what if my new teacher thinks I don't practise' - hence 'mind cinema'.

It's an art-form that I indulge in a lot, and now at last I have a word for it!


----------



## TxllxT

Not so long ago President Putin held his hours long televised audience answering questions from the people. Lots of time was dedicated to agricultural problems and an English farmer (living in Russia) brought forward his problems with the milk-price. Putin answered the question, but also in a friendly way informed, why the Englishman lived in Russia: "_Cherchez la femme?_"


----------



## SiegendesLicht

And yet another German one: _verschlimmbessern_. It is made up of _verschlimmern_ (make worse) + _verbessern_ (improve) and means to make something worse while trying to make it better.


----------



## Headphone Hermit

PabloElFlamenco said:


> Another aspect of languages I like is how different phrases are used to express the same thing. In English, it rains cats and dogs, in Dutch (and in German, I think) pipe stems, in Spanish and French it's ropes. In Belgium it's just darn wet right now.


In the rainy part of England (ok ... the even-rainier part) we say its coming down like stair rods (long thin pieces of wood that were used to keep carpet in place on a staircase) and some students from Cyprus told me that they used the term 'raining like chair legs'


----------



## Xaltotun

This thing also works the other way around. There are plenty of quite normal and commonplace words in, for example, the English language, that can be translated to Finnish poorly at best. My point is not that these are special English words related to British culture or anything like that, but that Finnish is exceptionally and specifically poor in expressing certain things. Usually these are related to urbanism, feodalism, theology... generally, traditional European high culture. It's just that our language developed in a totally different environment. We've got plenty of ways to talk about nature, emotions, obligations and expectations in a rural, agrarian sense... but we don't have a word for something as simple as 'glory'. Well, yes we do of course, but it's just a completely confusing, misleading and inappropriate translation. What else... I don't think we have 'patronizing'. I don't know if that's because we're so egalitarian or because we're so passive and obedient.


----------



## Art Rock

I have always liked the Spanish word _*duende*_, the mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

I am not sure if there is an English equivalent or not, but here is a German idiom I have learned today: _alle Register ziehen _ (literally: to pull all the registers of an organ) - to use all possible means/opportunities to reach a goal. The reason it's made such an impression on me is that the first thing this idiom is associated with is the full and mighty sound of an organ all whose pipes are playing at the same moment. There is also a variation on it: _alle Register (deines) Könnens ziehen _(literally: to pull all registers of (your) ability) *goes to listen to some Bach*


----------



## Taggart

Definitely - we would say "pull out all the stops" with exactly the same meaning.


----------



## Woodduck

Xaltotun said:


> This thing also works the other way around. There are plenty of quite normal and commonplace words in, for example, the English language, that can be translated to Finnish poorly at best. My point is not that these are special English words related to British culture or anything like that, but that Finnish is exceptionally and specifically poor in expressing certain things. Usually these are related to urbanism, feodalism, theology... generally, traditional European high culture. It's just that our language developed in a totally different environment. We've got plenty of ways to talk about nature, emotions, obligations and expectations in a rural, agrarian sense... but we don't have a word for something as simple as 'glory'. Well, yes we do of course, but it's just a completely confusing, misleading and inappropriate translation. What else... I don't think we have 'patronizing'. I don't know if that's because we're so egalitarian or because we're so passive and obedient.


Well, Xaltotun, without a word for "patronizing" there can never be a Finnish equivalent to TC! :lol:

Are Finns really never patronizing, or do they just ignore it when it occurs?


----------



## Xaltotun

Woodduck said:


> Well, Xaltotun, without a word for "patronizing" there can never be a Finnish equivalent to TC! :lol:
> 
> Are Finns really never patronizing, or do they just ignore it when it occurs?


Finnish people are notorious in our willingness to leave others alone, to their personal space - this is often seen by others as rudeness, although with it, we mean respect. So, we aren't patronizing as individuals, we just neglect others. When it comes to the legal and political system, it's different, though: there we usually assume that the system must be right and expect everyone to always comply to the finest details. With _that_, we mean to be trusting and egalitarian, but we can come off as patronizing without our noticing it, I think.


----------



## Cheyenne

The often-mentioned 'schadenfreude' is the biggest one for me. There's a Dutch one for it too: 'leedvermaak'. If I got a penny for every time I saw an English author use schadenfreude, I'd have a significant sum of money by now. It's sorely missed in English.


----------



## Dr Johnson

Cheyenne said:


> The often-mentioned 'schadenfreude' is the biggest one for me. There's a Dutch one for it too: 'leedvermaak'. If I got a penny for every time I saw an English author use schadenfreude, I'd have a significant sum of money by now. It's sorely missed in English.


Perhaps its very ubiquity makes an English equivalent redundant.


----------



## Xaltotun

This is a bit tangential but I started to think how some non-native English speakers favor some English words over others. Take the Finns. Finns always talk about "cottages" when we talk about our summer houses. It's never a "house" of any sort - because we want to emphasize the difference to our usual houses. When we visit the "cottage", we enter a different mode of living, almost turning into different persons. Then there's "village". Finns always talk about Finnish "villages", when we talk about our small towns. The word "town" is rarely used. That's because "town" seems to be too fuzzy for us. There can be a "small town" and a "large town". But, we always feel that Finnish small towns are really small, isolated and insignificant (even when we're being proud about them). So they have to have their own word that can not mean any large or medium sized settlement; hence, "village". Even with a medium sized, half urbanized, technological settlement... we want to emphasize the rural aspect, the backwardsness that may not be there anymore: "village".

Here's a hard to translate Finnish word; it's a classic one. "Ammattitaito". It has been translated as "professional skill", that however completely misses the mark. "Professional skill" means that you can do something and you get paid for it; "ammattitaito", however, belies our Lutheran sanctification of work. It means that not only can you do something and get paid for it, you are a master - not in a creative sense, but in the sense that you really know how to do this one thing to perfection. There's also a very strong sense that you also have high ethical standards when applying your skill. Again, this isn't "creative" ethics but knowledge of the situations where you may end up, and ability to choose a suitable response. There's also a sense that one with "ammattitaito" takes a certain well-deserved pride in this skill and this work ethic. "Ammattitaito" means that you cannot ask for more from a person. It's the highest degree of doing something fairly specific and the pride and the work ethic that goes along with it.

Also, did you know that "judgement" and "doom" are the same word in Finnish? Of course not but I wanted to tell you. So, we don't separate those, it's all "tuomio". Ergo, all judgement is supremely unfair, when you are judged you are doomed, so there's no sense to do anything else but to grit your teeth, bite your tongue and submit in silence. DOOM comes to everyone so keep the faith and be doomed. Also, large churches in other countries are cathedrals ("katedraali"), but large churches in Finland are DOOM-churches ("tuomiokirkko").


----------



## Ingélou

Very interesting: of course 'doom' was just the English way of saying 'judgement' and was a more neutral word which suffered semantic change over the centuries because of its context. That more neutral sense survives today in the related word 'deem'.


----------



## Dr Johnson




----------



## Lucifer Saudade

<------ Saudade


----------



## Ingélou

Lucifer Saudade said:


> <------ Saudade


Had to google it - interesting! :tiphat:

*saudade
saʊˈdɑːdə/
noun
(especially with reference to songs or poetry) a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament.
"her songs are based on love poems and evoke a melancholy known to the Portuguese as saudade"
*
Though not identical, the Welsh word *hiraeth* is similar:

*Hiraeth, pronounced [hɨraɪ̯θ], is a Welsh word that has no direct English translation. The University of Wales, Lampeter attempts to define it as homesickness tinged with grief or sadness over the lost or departed. It is a mix of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness, or an earnest desire for the Wales of the past.*

Maybe it's the Celtic link?


----------



## GhenghisKhan

Coquin in french. 

The nearest english equivalent is rascal, the difference is rather subtle but rascal is far too harsh.


----------



## Marsden

TxllxT said:


> Talking about Yiddish: "_Luftmensch_" was the designation of a person who lived from air, nothing...


_Verklempt _-- how I feel half the time, especially when Bruckner, Mahler, or Wagner is on 

I'm told that the Turks have a word for what happens when two pedestrians encounter one another and both sidestep in the same direction!


----------



## Xaltotun

Ingélou said:


> Very interesting: of course 'doom' was just the English way of saying 'judgement' and was a more neutral word which suffered semantic change over the centuries because of its context. That more neutral sense survives today in the related word 'deem'.


I didn't know that! Many thanks for this information, Ingélou!


----------



## MoonlightSonata

Dr Johnson said:


>









.


----------



## Piwikiwi

Helaas pindakaas. It is Dutch it literally means "unfortunately peanut butter" and it only makes sense in Dutch because it rhymes. You use it when something slightly unfortunate happens:

"Did you win the anything with your last lottery ticket?"

"I didn't win anything this time."

"Ah well, unfortunately peanut butter."


----------



## Ingélou

GhenghisKhan said:


> Coquin in french.
> 
> The nearest english equivalent is rascal, the difference is rather subtle but rascal is far too harsh.


My Victorian granny used to call us 'scamps', which maybe gets closer.


----------

