Scylla

13 words not found in the english language.

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by , 02-07-2010 at 09:01 AM (1106 Views)
1. Waldeinsamkeit (German): the feeling of being alone in the woods

2. 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

3. Taarradhin (Arabic): a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face (not the same as our concept of a compromise – everyone wins)

4. Litost (Czech): a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery

5. Esprit de l’escalier (French): a witty remark that occurs to you too late, literally on the way down the stairs…

6. Meraki (Greek): doing something with soul, creativity, or love

7. Yoko meshi (Japanese): literally ‘a meal eaten sideways’, referring to the peculiar stress induced by speaking a foreign language:

8. Duende (Spanish): a climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art, which might be fulfilled in flamenco dancing, or bull-fighting, etc.

9. Guanxi (Mandarin): in traditional Chinese society, you would build up good guanxi by giving gifts to people, taking them to dinner, or doing them a favour, but you can also use up your gianxi by asking for a favour to be repaid.

10. Pochemuchka (Russian): a person who asks a lot of questions

11. Tingo (Pascuense language of Easter Island): to borrow objects one by one from a neighbour’s house until there is nothing left

12. Radioukacz (Polish): a person who worked as a telegraphist for the resistance movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain

13. Selathirupavar (Tamil): a word used to define a certain type of absence without official leave in face of duty

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Comments

  1. BlissfulDreams's Avatar
    Very interesting post. I've always had an interest in other languages and it's neat how despite the huge amount of words that there are in the English language, there are still things that we don't have words to describe. With the languages you posted above, you can tell the kinds of things that the native speakers of those languages value by looking at the definitions. We can always learn from other cultures and people. Thanks for posting.
  2. Mutatio NOmenis's Avatar
    Interesting.
  3. Scylla's Avatar
    glad you two enjoyed it!

    gorihay, that's a brilliant point about being able to peek into a culture's value system via language. makes me wonder what the western world values! haha.
  4. pikmenbattlehealer's Avatar
    I haven't read anything yet----and i could go typical by saying oh your so pretty. I'm guessing a model is your aim, or maybe a famouse person of a sort. Either case---good luck with blogging. God knows i screwed it up with my fantasies and lack of reality grounding, oh and chicken feet in being able to persue em. Hmmmm, as i insult you, mention you, or ect---i will slowly compell myself to read some of thy blog.
  5. Scylla's Avatar
    hey man, i find it really hard to understand what you're saying. is english your first language?

    and no, i just like taking pictures (;
  6. Haruhi Suzumiya's Avatar
    OOoh, these types of articles are awesome. Nice job
  7. pikmenbattlehealer's Avatar
    I caught you, you are an S type and i'm a very odd N type at present. Hmmm, read some more---seeems my misjudgements will need to reset in the other direction.
  8. Scylla's Avatar
    thanks, haruhi!

    i'd actually love to travel some more and make my own list (:

    pikmen, i'm just... not gonna reply to you anymore, please don't be offended, as i have no idea what you're talking about. like... ever.
  9. Polly Glot's Avatar
    That is some fascinating information. I particularly liked "litost".
  10. lycanized's Avatar
    That's really, really cool! Thank you :)
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