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TRANSLATING THE UNTRANSLATABLE
Words of Emotion


​There are lots of emotions, feelings, moods, needs and states of mind that our own language has not yet captured in our lexicon. The perfect word helps us explain ourselves to others and it quietly reassures us that our feelings are shared across the globe. We are not truly alone. Sometimes that perfect word is in a language we don’t know. The following list translates the untranslatable emotions we all feel. Yes, there is a word for that feeling.
WORD DESCRIBING THE THEME OF THIS LIST
NATSUKASHII
identifies the feeling of evocative longing for something past: a nostalgia that's so deep that it reminds you that what you are missing will never come again. (Japanese)

ÂNANDA - Bliss, lasting contentment; spiritual, ‘unconditional’ happiness. (Sanskrit)

ATARAXIA - a state of calm that all Stoic philosophers aspired to. It’s a lack of agitation that comes from understanding the ways of the universe, accepting fate, knowing what one can control and therefore focusing only on the things one can actually change. (ancient Greek)

AYURNAMAT - Stoicism; the possibility or approach of not worrying about things that cannot be changed. (Inuktitut)

DÉPITE - describes the feeling of itching irritation or fury (on a small scale) that happens when you're disappointed by something, like getting rejected or not winning a prize. (French)

ELEUTHEROMANIA - An intense, irrepressible desire for freedom. (Greek)

EUDAIMONIA - often translated as ‘happiness’, it really means the deepest kind of fulfillment, often comprising a flourishing work and love life. It’s accepted that eudaimonia can go hand in hand with lots of day-to-day frustration and pain. (German)

FJAKA - Relaxation of body and mind; sleepiness, drowsiness; the ‘sweetness of doing nothing’. (Croatian)

GHOSEH - to “have emptiness," or "to practice holding sadness." A perfect term for when the your sorrow feels outside yourself or that needs to be carried, not internalized. (Farsi)

HARIKOA - Joyful, euphoric, delighted, exuberant, elated, thrilled, ecstatic, jubilant. (Māori)

HI FUN KOU GAI - righteous, miserable anger, frustration and despair over a situation that seems terrible but cannot be changed. For example, corruption in a government. (Japanese)

HIRAETH - the longing to go back to a place that has been so changed in our memory that it cannot really be said to exist outside our imaginations. (Welsh)

HÜZÜN - the gloomy feeling that things are in decline and that the situation – often political in nature – will probably get gradually worse. Despite the darkness, there’s a joy in having the word to hand, sparing us from a personal sense of persecution and reminding us that our misfortunes are largely collective in nature (Turkish)

KOEV LI HALEV - refers to a certain kind of empathy. If you can't watch people you love suffering that you become so affected to the point of causing you serious physical pain then this is the term for you. (Hebrew)

LEBENSMÜDE- literally translates as "life-tired" and means you do such risky things that you shows you clearly don't care for your own safety or that you've entered a deep, physical state of not-caring. (German)

LITOST - the humiliated despair we feel when someone accidentally reminds us, through their accomplishment, of everything that has gone wrong in our lives. (Czech)

MONO NO AWARE - This phrase describes a particular sadness or sensitivity regarding the passage of time and the transience of life. In experiencing this sadness people are affected by the fleeting nature of specific things (love or experiences) and become wistful and reflective about the fact that everything must end. (Japanese)

MORRIÑA - Longing; homesickness; nostalgia. (Galician)

MUTTERSEELINALLEIN - loneliness so deep that it literally means that your mother's soul has left you. (German)

NATSUKASHII - identifies the feeling of evocative longing for something past: a nostalgia that's so deep that it reminds you that what you are missing will never come again. (Japanese)
QARRTSILUNI - Sitting together in the darkness, perhaps expectantly (e.g., waiting for something to happen or to ‘burst forth’); the strange quiet before a momentous event. (Inuit)

SAUDADE - a deep, soul-rending sadness, flavored with longing and melancholy. (Portuguese)

SEHNSUCHT – “life-longings”, an intense desire for alternative states and realizations of life, even if they are unattainable (German)

SHINRIN-YOKU – the relaxation gained from bathing in the forest, figuratively or literally. (Japanese)

SIELVARTAS- soul tumbling and used in cases of grief or resentment. It can also refer to distress, woe, or pain. (Lithuanian)

STENACHÓRIA - means worry, grief, upset. Derived from the words "narrow" and "room," but etymologically related to "close" and "chorus," the word translates to feeling enclosed in a space where the darkness of the corners feel inescapable. (Greek)

SUKHA – genuine lasting happiness independent of circumstances (Sanskrit)

TARAB– a musically induced state of ecstasy or enchantment (Arabic)

TǍNTÈ - This Chinese word means a kind of nervousness or perpetual anxiety, a state of worry where your senses are so heightened that you can feel your own heartbeat. (Chinese)

TORSCHLUSSPANIK - Literally gate-closing panic. The anxious, claustrophobic feeling that opportunities and options are shutting down; you have missed the boat, you have to get a grip, you are getting too old.

TOSKA - At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. Less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, or yearning. It may be the desire for somebody, of something specific, from nostalgia or love-sickness. At the lowest level it it is ennui or boredom. (Russian)

WATJILPA - describes a feeling of disconnection from family or social units. Similar to homesickness, but far more deeply felt. (Pitjantjatjara)

WELTSCHMERZ - ennui (a French word meaning listlessness or severe boredom) that translates as "world-pain." It essentially means depression that comes from believing your problems are caused by the world itself and its unfairness and cruelty. (German)

WINTERCEARIG - literally means "winter-care.” It is a metaphor for the strength of your sadness, which is as strong and never-ending as the bitter cold of midwinter. (Old English)

XĪNTÉNG - literal translates to "heartache": it's the particularly kind of sadness and pain that comes from witnessing and sharing the pain of people you love. You can translate it as "feeling sorry," but it's more physical and empathetic than that. (Chinese)
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