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Post by peasapie on Jul 24, 2014 13:00:06 GMT
I find it interesting that some of these words exist in any language -- and even more interesting that some of them don't exist in ours.
Age-otori (Japanese): To look worse after a haircut
Backpfeifengesicht (German): A face badly in need of a fist
Bakku-shan (Japanese): A beautiful girl… as long as she’s being viewed from behind
Forelsket (Norwegian): The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love
Gigil (pronounced Gheegle; Filipino): The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute
Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo): A person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time
L’esprit de l’escalier(French): usually translated as “staircase wit,” is the act of thinking of a clever comeback when it is too late to deliver it
Manja (Malay): “to pamper”, it describes gooey, childlike and coquettish behavior by women designed to elicit sympathy or pampering by men. “His girlfriend is a damn manja. Hearing her speak can cause diabetes.”
Pena ajena (Mexican Spanish): The embarrassment you feel watching someone else’s humiliation
Pochemuchka (Russian): a person who asks a lot of questions
Sgriob (Gaelic): The itchiness that overcomes the upper lip just before taking a sip of whisky
Tatemae and Honne (Japanese): What you pretend to believe and what you actually believe, respectively
Tingo (Pascuense language of Easter Island): to borrow objects one by one from a neighbor’s house until there is nothing left
Waldeinsamkeit (German): The feeling of being alone in the woods
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Post by doxielady on Jul 24, 2014 13:04:30 GMT
Forelsket (Norwegian): The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love L’esprit de l’escalier(French): usually translated as “staircase wit,” is the act of thinking of a clever comeback when it is too late to deliver it I LOVE some of these! And yes, why don't they exist in English?
Forelsket - This one is so sweet. I love it
L’esprit de l’escalier(French): Happens to me ALL of the time. I so need to use this one.
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Deleted
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Apr 27, 2024 1:37:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2014 13:08:42 GMT
Bakku-shan (Japanese): A beautiful girl… as long as she’s being viewed from behind>>>> In English known as a butter-face. She is really cute but her face.
I'm sure there are concepts that are expressed in English that can't be expressed in other languages as well. I know I ran into it in Italian but right now I can't remember any of them.
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Post by grammyj64 on Jul 24, 2014 13:11:48 GMT
Backpfeifengesicht (German): A face badly in need of a fist My favorite
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Post by anxiousmom on Jul 24, 2014 13:33:57 GMT
Backpfeifengesicht (German): A face badly in need of a fist My favorite I'm pretty sure it is mine too.
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anniebygaslight
Drama Llama
I'd love a cup of tea. #1966
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Jun 28, 2014 14:08:19 GMT
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Post by anniebygaslight on Jul 24, 2014 14:01:01 GMT
This is my favourite by far. I can think of several examples!
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anniebeth24
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Jun 26, 2014 14:12:17 GMT
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Post by anniebeth24 on Jul 24, 2014 14:06:23 GMT
Forelsket (Norwegian): The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love These are awesome! The only one for which I could think of an "English" equivalent was the one above. According to Bambi, it's called being twitterpated.
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Post by 4evercrafty on Jul 24, 2014 14:25:07 GMT
Those are really good, in the area I live in the south of México we have several words but one is "anolar" it means to put something like candy on your mouth and sort of roll it around with your tongue, not sucking or anything, just letting it melt while you swish it around. There is no word for that in spanish or english I think.
Loved "pena ajena" lol
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eastcoastpea
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Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Jul 24, 2014 14:33:50 GMT
That's a great list. Those are a lot of useful words.
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AmeliaBloomer
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Jul 24, 2014 14:48:12 GMT
There's a corollary in American Sign Language, and probably among other signed languages.
Deaf people, understandably, aren't terribly interested in music, so the sign MUSIC is used to describe anything remotely musical - like BAND, CHORUS, ORCHESTRA, SONG, MELODY. On the other hand, the Deaf community is sports crazy, which results in many, many signs to describe specific (American) football moves - signs that don't have parallel words in spoken English.
Kinda' like how indigenous people from cold climes supposedly have a zillion words to describe snow.
I dearly wish English had a second person plural pronoun (instead of YOU GUYS, Y'ALL, YOUZ) and non-gendered personal and possessive pronouns (instead of HE/SHE, HIM/HER, HIS/HER). Our efforts to avoid or remedy those omissions are all fails.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jul 24, 2014 14:58:01 GMT
That's the same example I was going to give!
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raindancer
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Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Jul 24, 2014 15:11:59 GMT
Forelsket (Norwegian): The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love These are awesome! The only one for which I could think of an "English" equivalent was the one above. According to Bambi, it's called being twitterpated. Or infatuation. Maybe slightly different but I think it's a pretty similar concept. But the German one is my fave too. They have lots of fun words. I love how they make compound words out of everything.
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raindancer
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Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Jul 24, 2014 15:14:03 GMT
There's a corollary in American Sign Language, and probably among other signed languages. Deaf people, understandably, aren't terribly interested in music, so the sign MUSIC is used to describe anything remotely musical - like BAND, CHORUS, ORCHESTRA, SONG, MELODY. On the other hand, the Deaf community is sports crazy, which results in many, many signs to describe specific (American) football moves - signs that don't have parallel words in spoken English. Kinda' like how indigenous people from cold climes supposedly have a zillion words to describe snow. I dearly wish English had a second person plural pronoun (instead of YOU GUYS, Y'ALL, YOUZ) and non-gendered personal and possessive pronouns (instead of HE/SHE, HIM/HER, HIS/HER). Our efforts to avoid or remedy those omissions are all fails. According to my linguistics professor, the many words for snow is a myth. It's sort of like we have different words for snow or relating to the consistency of snow. Flurries, blizzard, skiff, powder, wet, slushy, icy, blanketed, drifted, etc.
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Post by Merge on Jul 24, 2014 15:15:14 GMT
German has the best words.
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Post by tinafb on Jul 24, 2014 15:22:15 GMT
There's a corollary in American Sign Language, and probably among other signed languages. Deaf people, understandably, aren't terribly interested in music, so the sign MUSIC is used to describe anything remotely musical - like BAND, CHORUS, ORCHESTRA, SONG, MELODY. On the other hand, the Deaf community is sports crazy, which results in many, many signs to describe specific (American) football moves - signs that don't have parallel words in spoken English. Kinda' like how indigenous people from cold climes supposedly have a zillion words to describe snow. I dearly wish English had a second person plural pronoun (instead of YOU GUYS, Y'ALL, YOUZ) and non-gendered personal and possessive pronouns (instead of HE/SHE, HIM/HER, HIS/HER). Our efforts to avoid or remedy those omissions are all fails. . If I was to sign chorus or orchestra, I would use music + group, so it's not really the same sign
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gottapeanow
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Jun 25, 2014 20:56:09 GMT
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Post by gottapeanow on Jul 24, 2014 17:14:45 GMT
Language just fascinates me.
It's totally connected with culture. So if something is important in a culture, there will be a word for it in that culture.
I love these examples. Here is another one from Argentia:
Aminovio (male)or aminovia (female) - A friend who is kind of a boy/girlfriend, but one is not really sure exactly where the relationship stands. It is a blending of two words - amigo - Friend, and novio - romantic boy/girlfriend.
And it is much different than a friend with benefits.
Lisa
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Post by genny on Jul 24, 2014 18:10:05 GMT
I can't look up the exact spelling right now, but my all time fave is Kummerspec. German word for weight that is gained during an emotional period like a break up or mourning the death of a loved one. It's literal translation is GRIEF BACON.
Best.word.ever.
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valincal
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Southern Alberta
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Post by valincal on Jul 24, 2014 18:15:24 GMT
German has the best words. Like "schadenfreude"! I feel this acutely at times !!
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Post by papersilly on Jul 24, 2014 18:17:56 GMT
yes, I get quite gigil when it comes to scrapbook supplies.
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purplebee
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Post by purplebee on Jul 24, 2014 18:50:26 GMT
Backpfeifengesicht (German): A face badly in need of a fist My favorite Mine too- brilliant!
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AmeliaBloomer
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Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Jul 24, 2014 22:01:52 GMT
There's a corollary in American Sign Language, and probably among other signed languages. Deaf people, understandably, aren't terribly interested in music, so the sign MUSIC is used to describe anything remotely musical - like BAND, CHORUS, ORCHESTRA, SONG, MELODY. If I was to sign chorus or orchestra, I would use music + group, so it's not really the same sign Tina, you're probably a more precise signer than many I know, which is good. But whether you use MUSIC as a noun to connote "chorus" (my example) or as or adjective to modify "group" (your example), it's still semantically vague 'cause there's no explicit sign for "sing". The MUSIC sign is often (no, not always) a catch-all sign. Voice, brass, strings...it's all music. And Raindancer, thanks; I've heard that before - that the zillion snow words example is an urban...erm, tundra... myth - but wasn't sure if the myth was a myth. Strange myth to have started, huh? I love these discussions. More linguistic threads, says I.
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Post by polz on Jul 24, 2014 22:32:07 GMT
My favourite word in my own language is turangawaewae. The literal translation is 'A place to stand' or 'standing on my own two feet'. However it is a translation, like most translations across languages, that fails to capture its full meaning. Not only is tūrangawaewae an acknowledgement of the place one is connected to through our foundation, place in the world, or home; it also signifies a place where one feels empowered or connected. So I guess the English meaning would be something along the lines of 'calm in the storm', 'safe haven' or 'sanctuary'.
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Post by hop2 on Jul 24, 2014 23:16:36 GMT
Yiddish ( polish/german/hebrew related) is a wealth of wonderful words!! verklempt Bubkes shlemiel schmuck shlep And what would we do without good ole oy vey yiddish
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2014 23:19:40 GMT
Perfect. And there are so many of them running around!
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Post by melanell on Jul 25, 2014 0:52:00 GMT
I love the ideas of the words for the feeling of falling in love and the urge to squeeze cute things.
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camcas
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Post by camcas on Jul 25, 2014 1:01:51 GMT
I agree that there is somthing deeply satisfying in saying those German words out loud... all those hard sounds and long words From my high school German I always remember augenblichlich...means instant or literally "in the blinking of an eye" fun thread
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Post by yodutchess on Jul 25, 2014 2:31:42 GMT
I love the German word schadenfreude, meaning taking delight in the misery of others.
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Post by AussieMeg on Jul 25, 2014 4:50:16 GMT
My daughter was very excited when she learned this word in German:
Zusammengehorigkeitsgefuhl (there are a couple of umlauts in there somewhere)
which means a sense of belonging.
She has used it now in every oral and written assignment in German class this year LOL!
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Post by miominmio on Jul 25, 2014 6:03:28 GMT
I love the German word schadenfreude, meaning taking delight in the misery of others. And the Norwegians Word is skadefryd. I think it's used om Danish too
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Post by miominmio on Jul 25, 2014 6:06:12 GMT
I agree that there is somthing deeply satisfying in saying those German words out loud... all those hard sounds and long words From my high school German I always remember augenblichlich...means instant or literally "in the blinking of an eye" fun thread Swedish: øgonblicklig Norwegian and Danish: øyeblikkelig
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