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TRANSLATING THE UNTRANSLATABLE
Words of Love

THE WORDS OF LOVE & AFFECTION

Love, affection, romance, and the eternal union of soulmates with heart and souls tied together by a red string.. there are all kinds of love. What is true about all of them is their universality. It is a human emotion. It transcends boundary lines and everyone across the globe feels love. The following list translates the untranslatable feelings of love we all have the capacity to feel.
WORD DESCRIBING THE THEME OF THIS LIST
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)


​AMOR FATI - loosely translated as “love of fate” or “love of one’s fate”. It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one’s life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessary. (Latin)

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

ARUMPU - a bud, but specifically referring to the stage where it is just starting to bud (Tamil)

​ASPALDIKO - the joy of meeting up with someone that you haven’t seen in a long time. (Basque)

BHAVA - When you're in a mental state of bliss or peace, a oneness that flits into you, especially when you're listening to music. (Sanskrit)

CAFUNÉ -The motion of running your fingers through your beloved's hair. (Portuguese)

CHARMOLYPI - sweet, joy-making sorrow. a bittersweet moment to describe how you feel while celebrating the life of a loved one who recently died or waving goodbye to your toddler on their first day of school is probably bittersweet, but that doesn’t convey the depth of that peculiar happy-sad emotion quite like charmolypi does. (Greek)

CIĞERPARE – Persian origins that literally means ‘liver part’. It refers to someone that you love as much as your own body. Lovers or friends may call each other ciğerparem, meaning ‘my liver part.’ (Turkish)

CWTCH - A hug — A safe haven given to you by the one you love. (Welsh)

DOR - Describes a deep longing you have for a loved one, a longing that results in the need to sing sad songs. (Romanian)

ESTRENAR – means ‘first time’ or the beginning of something. It’s used to describe the first time you do, wear or use something for the first time. (Spanish)

FILOTIMO – almost impossible to translate but can be summed up as ‘love of honor’. It describes a person who understands the responsibility to themselves, as a human, being to always do the right thing and with honor. Even if their wealth, safety, freedom, or even life is at peril. No matter what, this person will do the honorable thing, regardless of the consequence. (Greek)

FLECHAZO - Feeling that you've been struck by Cupid's arrow (when you have an intense connection with someone.) (Spanish)

FORELSKET - A Euphoric feeling experienced when you start falling in love. (Norwegian)

GIGIL - The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is irresistibly cute. (Filipino)

HÁZISÁRKÁNY – a nickname for your spouse or better half who is constantly nagging. It literally means an ‘Domestic Dragon’ (Hungarian)

HYO – this is both a name meaning ‘dutiful’ and a term to describe the sense of duty children have towards their parents and the expectation that they may need to make sacrifices for them out of respect. (Korean)

KILIG – The heady-sublime rush you experience right after after something good happens, particularly in love/dating. Like running into your crush, kissing someone for the first time, hearing someone you love tell you they love you too for the first time. (Tagalog)

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)

KOI NO YOKAN –The sudden knowledge upon meeting someone that the two of you are destined to fall in love. (Japanese)

LA DOULEUR EXQUISE – The heartbreaking pain of wanting someone you can’t have. (French)

MAITRI - unconditional friendship / acceptance with oneself. (Sanskrit)

MAMIHLAPINATAPAI - derived from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word", and is considered one of the hardest words to translate. It refers to "a look that without words is shared by two people who want to initiate something, but neither start" or "looking at each other hoping that either will offer to do something which both parties desire but are unwilling to do." A romantic interpretation of the meaning also exists: "It is that look across the table when two people are sharing an unspoken but private moment. When each knows the other understands and is in agreement with what is being expressed. An expressive and meaningful silence." (Yaghan)

MANDILON - a male who is super dedicated to his girlfriend, as compared to his friends (Spanish)

MANJA – a person who shows so much outward love and affection towards someone they care about, like a spouse, partner, or child, to the point where they are pampering or spoiling them. (Malay)

NINTENDO - “leave luck to heaven” or to leave one's fortune in the hands of fate. (Japanese)

ODNOLIUB – someone who only has one love in their life or is only capable of a single person at a time. (Russian)

OEILLADES - a term for the sly, secretive glances often exchanged by lovers. (French)

ONSRA – Loving for the last time; that bittersweet feeling you get when you know a love won’t last. (Boro language of India)

QUEESTING – When you invite someone into your bed for some pillow talk. (Dutch)

RETROUVAILLES - literally "rediscovery"; a reunion (e.g., with loved ones after a long time apart). (French)

SEHMSUCHT - a "longing", "desire", "yearning", or "craving". Some psychologists use the word Sehnsucht to represent thoughts and feelings about all facets of life that are unfinished or imperfect, paired with a yearning for ideal alternative experiences. (German)

SPREGLEDATI – to simultaneously understand someone on a deeper level, while also overlooking it. (Slovenian)

TI VOGLIO BENE - means “I love you,” but it’s a little more complicated than that… Literally, it translates to “I want you well,” and what it really means is a very special kind of love: one that’s usually everlasting, encompassing, and definitely not just a romantic kind of love. It’s a greater, deeper kind of love and it’s basically untranslatable in other languages. (Italian)

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)

YA’ABURNEE - the desire to die before another person, because of how unbearable it would be to learn of their death. A sense frequently experienced around one’s children. (Arabic):
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