Fourteen Rabbits

Words that don’t exist in English…

I posted a list (via bestillthemalice) a while back of words that do not exist in the English language and I was so fascinated by the idea of various languages capturing whole concepts in a single word that I looked around and found a few more that are really interesting and, some, really beautiful.

1. 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 likely something that must be experienced to be known.

2.  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.

3. 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.

4. 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.”

5. 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.

6. Torschlusspanik

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

7. 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”

8. Jayus

Indonesian – “A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh”

9. Iktsuarpok

Inuit – “To go outside to check if anyone is coming.”

10. 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.