Untranslatable Words

(noun) An untranslatable Hungarian word, aranyhíd is defined as the glistening reflection of the sun on the ocean.

literally: golden bridge

Words relating to feelings:

Gula: Spanish for the desire to eat simply for the taste Sobremesa: Spanish for when the food has finished but the conversation is still flowing Mbukimvuki: Bantu for “to shuck of one’s clothes in order to dance” Schnapsidee: German for coming up with an ingenious plan when drunk Volta: Greek for leisurely strolling the streets

Words relating to relationships:

Nakama: Japanese for friends who one considers like family Kanyininpa: Aboriginal Pintupi for a relationship between holder and held, akin to the deep nurturing feelings experienced by a parent for their child Gigil: Philippine Tagalog for the irresistible urge to pinch or squeeze someone because you love them so much Kilig: Tagalog for the butterflies in the stomach you get when interacting with someone you find attractive Sarang: Korean for when you wish to be with someone until death

Words relating to character:

Sitzfleisch: German for the ability to persevere through hard or boring tasks (literally “sit meat”) Baraka: Arabic for a gift of spiritual energy that can be passed from one person to another Jugaad: Hindi for the ability to get by or make do Desenrascanco: Portuguese for the ability to artfully disentangle oneself from a troublesome situation Sprezzatura: Italian for when all art and effort are concealed beneath a “studied carelessness”

Sonder: The realization that each passerby has a life as vivid and complex as your own.

Opia: The ambiguous intensity of Looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable.

Monachopsis: The subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place.

Énouement: The bittersweetness of having arrived in the future, seeing how things turn out, but not being able to tell your past self.

Vellichor: The strange wistfulness of used bookshops.

Rubatosis: The unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat.

Kenopsia: The eerie, forlorn atmosphere of a place that is usually bustling with people but is now abandoned and quiet.

Mauerbauertraurigkeit: The inexplicable urge to push people away, even close friends who you really like.

Jouska: A hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head.

Chrysalism: The amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm.

Vemödalen: The frustration of photographic something amazing when thousands of identical photos already exist.

Anecdoche: A conversation in which everyone is talking, but nobody is listening

Ellipsism: A sadness that you’ll never be able to know how history will turn out.

Kuebiko: A state of exhaustion inspired by acts of senseless violence.

Lachesism: The desire to be struck by disaster – to survive a plane crash, or to lose everything in a fire.

Exulansis: The tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it.

Adronitis: Frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone.

Rückkehrunruhe: The feeling of returning home after an immersive trip only to find it fading rapidly from your awareness.

Nodus Tollens: The realization that the plot of your life doesn’t make sense to you anymore.

Onism: The frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time.

Liberosis: The desire to care less about things.

Altschmerz: Weariness with the same old issues that you’ve always had – the same boring flaws and anxieties that you’ve been gnawing on for years.

the sentimental feeling you can often feel towards someone you used to love but no longer do

Fernwehr - German

Feeling homesick for a place you’ve never been to

L'esprit De escalier - French

The inescapable feeling you get when you leave a conversation then think about all the Things you should’ve have said.

Fensterln - German

When you have to climb through someone’s window in order to have sex with them without their parents knowing.

Viraag - Hindi

The emotional pain of being separated from a loved one

La douleur exquise - French

The heart breaking pain of wanting someone you can’t have.

Saudade - Portuguese

1) A haunting desire for what is gone,

Both of these verbs means “to live” but there is a slight nuance in meaning.

住む「すむ」simply means to live somewhere, the act of of you residing in a house, apartment, etc

暮らす「くらす」means to live but focuses on the 生活 (daily life) and interactions with the place you live

例えば：

僕は東京に住んでいる。This sentence simply means that I live in Tokyo, that I existence and take residence in Tokyo.

僕は東京に暮らしている。This sentence means that I not only reside in Tokyo, but my daily life and interactions are in Tokyo. May imply that I also work there, my whole life is in Tokyo, more than just a place of existence. 

Kotodama (言霊, lit. “word ghost”) refers to the Japanese belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names. Untranslatable, kotodama is based upon the notion that sounds can magically affect objects, and that ritual word usages can influence our environment, body, mind, and soul. Related terms include kotoage (”voice-raising”, to invoke, to speak boldly among divine beings) and kotomuke (”directed speech”, to cause submission/soothe through words).

The encyclopedia of shinto defines kotodama as follows:

(“forest bathing”) is to go deep into the woods where everything is silent and peaceful for a relxation.

Naaeeman [نعيما]