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Defining the Untranslatable

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[A - C ] ~ [D - F] ~ ​[G - K] ~ ​[L - R] ~ ​​[S - Z]​

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Learn About Words From: The Reference Corner

TRANSLATING THE UNTRANSLATABLE
PART FOUR - L to R


​WORDS from L to R

"But words are things, and a small drop of ink,Falling like dew, upon a thought, producesThat which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think."—George Gordon, Lord Byron

- L -

LACIMAE RERUM - phrase for "tears of things." It derives from Book I, line 462 of the Aeneid (c. 29–19 BC), by Roman poet Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro) (70–19 BC). Some recent quotations have included rerum lacrimae sunt or sunt lacrimae rerum meaning "there are tears of (or for) things." (Latin)

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

L’APPEL DU VIDE - have you ever heard of the death drive? Well, “l’appel du vide” is similar to this, but with one specific difference. It means “the call of the void” and describes the urge of wanting to jump from a very high place when you’re standing next to a ledge. (French)

LAYOGENIC - when you see someone who appears attractive at a distance, but they’re getting closer, and… oh. (Tagalog)

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

LEEDVERMAAK - when you gleefully enjoy yourself because of some else’s misfortune. The German phrase ‘schadenfreude’ is now the term widely used for that. (Dutch)

LEILIVISKAJA – the person who makes steam in a sauna by throwing water on the hot rocks. (Estonian)

L’ESPIRIT D’ESCALIER - the direct French translation is “staircase wit.” It refers to the moment after a conversation when the time for quick replies has passed, and you’re on your own when you finally think of the perfect response. While there’s no English equivalent, the feeling is universal. We’ve all had that feeling of wishing we had only “come up with it sooner!” Except, in French, they have one word to express the entire feeling as a result of this specific situation. (French)

LEVENDIS - a masculine, tall, and upright man with a proud stature. One who is brave, direct, honest, and generous. (Greek)

LIEKO - a tree trunk that has fallen to the bottom of a lake (Finnish)

LINSLUS - someone who wants to be on camera all the time. (Swedish)

LINTUKOTO - literally translated, lintukoto means “bird’s home”. Finland is often described as being one; a safe and wealthy place where people are protected from — and sometimes ignorant of — the issues of the world outside its borders. (Finnish)

LISTOPAD - the falling of leaves. (Russian)

LITOST - the humiliated despair we feel when someone accidentally reminds us, through their accomplishment, of everything that has gone wrong in our lives. They casually allude to a luxurious house they are renting for the holidays. They mention the glamorous friends they have had for dinner. We feel searing self-pity at the scale of our inadequacies. (Czech)

LOSKOP – Used to describe someone who is forgetful, absent-minded and a bit air-headed. It literally means, ‘loose (los) head (kop)’. (Afrikaans)

LÖYLY - The steam you get in a sauna when you throw water on a sauna stove is called löyly. It is believed it is löylynhenki, the spirit of steam living in each sauna providing a decent heat for its users. (Finnish)

LUFTMENSCH – literally translated to ‘air person’, and refers to someone who is a bit of a dreamer. (Yiddish)

LYUBOVATSYA - to stare at something with admiration and adoration. It has the sense of basking in the wonderment of whatever it is you're looking at, taking enormous pleasure from just being in its presence. It is a much more self-indulgent feeling than the English ‘admire’. (Russian)

- M -

​MAGARI - declaring “I wish” after hearing something desirable. (Italian)

MAHJ - looking beautiful afterbeing sick. (Tamil)

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 guy who is super dedicated to his girlfriend, as compared to his friends (Spanish)

MANGAS – one who presents oneself as strong, brave or smart and usually behaves in a deceptive, provocative way. The term can also define someone who is capable and brave. During the interwar period, the word defined a marginalized, working class, urban male, characterized by flamboyant dress, movement and language, who was also particularly sensitive to matters concerning honor. (Greek)

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)

MÅNGATA -:refers to the road-like reflection of the moon on the water. It's the long, wavy shape that appears across the water when the moon is shining on it. (Swedish)

MASAKALI - simply means aspiring to fly high through peace and liberation. (Hindi)

MAURI ORA - the essence that animates humans (Nogay)

MECHAYE - joy, pleasure; something that gives great joy/pleasure. (Yiddish)

MENCOLEK – a lighthearted prank where you trick someone by tapping their opposite shoulder from where you’re standing in order to fool them. (Indonesian)

MENEFREGHISTA - literally means “someone that doesn’t care.” The original expression comes from a sentence issued by a famous poet during WWI. His Me ne frego (“I don’t care”) was referred to courage, and to not care about dying in battle. The expression continued to be popularly used among Italians, but the meaning of menefreghista (“someone that doesn’t care”) shifted to describe somebody who couldn’t care less, usually about the community, social or political themes, or anything that others consider important. (Italian)

MERAKI (µεράκι) - to do something with complete passion and love and is usually associated with a task or creative endeavor. The closest English saying is ‘labour of love’, but this has a more negative connotation. The word meraki is positive and all-consuming, with its roots found in merak, a Turkish term meaning to do something with pleasure. (Greek)

MOKITA - comes from a language called Kivila, spoken in Papua New Guinea. It translates loosely as “the truth we all know but agree not to talk about.” (Kivila)

MOKSH (moksha) - is a spiritual term in Hinduism and Jainism. It means to be free of the cycle of rebirth due to the law of karma. The higher state attained by self above life is moksha. (Hindi)

MEDIA NARANJA - in Costa Rica you can schmooze your valentine by calling them your media naranja, “the other half of your orange”. Sweet, dimpled and infinitely juicy: the orange is the queen of the citrus fruits. (Spanish)

MENCOLEK - the trick when you tap someone lightly on the opposite shoulder from behind to fool them. (Indonesian)

MERAK - refers to a feeling of bliss and the sense of oneness with the universe that comes from the simplest of pleasures. It is the pursuit of small, daily pleasures that all add up to a great sense of happiness and fulfillment. (Serbian)

MERIGGIARE - to rest at midday in a shady spot (Italian)

MÍT KLIKU - to have luck, or literally ‘to have a door handle’; often used in situations when you get lucky enough to achieve a good result (Czech)

MOKITA - a painful fact everyone is aware of, but which – out of compassion – no-one mentions (perhaps someone has been unfaithful, or is bankrupt or has lost their job). The ability of a group to manage Mokita is deeply admired. (Kivila)

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)

MOTTAINAI - conveys a sense of regret over waste; the exclamation "Mottainai!" can translate as "What a waste!" Japanese environmentalists have used the term to encourage people to "reduce, reuse and recycle", and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai used the term at the United Nations as a slogan to promote environmental protection. (Japanese)

MYÖTÄHÄPEÄ - a shared sense of shame. It can refer to someone who knows they screwed up or is yet to understand they did. (Finnish)

MUSHIN - a Zen expression meaning the mind without mind, and is also referred to as the state of “no-mindness”. That is, a mind not fixed or occupied by thought or emotion and thus open to everything. (Japanese)

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

MUZHIK - historically, muzhik was simply a way of referring to a male, Russian peasant. Nowadays, if you call someone a muzhik you are expressing your admiration for strength, hardiness, independence, financial success, or bravery. (Russian)

- N -

NAMASTE – both a gesture and divine greeting that sends a message of peace to the universe in the hopes of receiving a positive message back. Namaste comes from the Sanskrit namas (bowing) te (to you) and is often translated to ‘I bow to the divine in you’. (Hindi)

NAMOONA - “dumb” in the desi sense. (Hindi)

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)

NEHROTIT - literally “not to make X into a sharp point"; a choice not to stress about something (Czech)

NEKAMA – man who pretends to be a woman on the internet. (Japanese)

NEPAKARTOJAMA - a perfect situation which will never happen again; literally translated as ‘unable to repeat’ (Lithuanian)

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

NITO-ONNA - a woman so dedicated to her career that she has no time to iron blouses, so dresses only in knitted tops. (Japanese)

NOSTALGIE DE LA BOUE - this phrase means to be “longing for the mud.” It’s the feeling of wanting a simpler life than the one we have. Perhaps you’re a lawyer or a doctor, and you drive past a flower shop and think that you’d much rather enjoy life as a florist. Maybe the pay is less as well as the prestige, but there’s a hope for happiness that having a much easier life could bring. (French)

NULLIUS IN VERBA - Latin for “on the word of no one” or “take nobody’s word for it”. To question authority. Find out what is empirically true, not on the bias of authority. (Latin)

NUNCHI - the art of gauging how people are feeling in order to make a connection with them. (Korean)

NUTRO - something that governs your inner being; your core (Russian)

- O -

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

OEILLADES - 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)

OODAL - the act of fake-sulking after getting into a trivial argument with your loved one. (Tamil)

ORKA – means ‘to have the energy’. (Swedish)

OTIUM - the condition of being in control of one’s own time; leisure, free-time; ease, peace. (Latin)

- P -

PALIKARI (παλικάρι) - young man of note. Taken from the ancient Greek pallax, which meant young man, the modern Greek word palikari is used to describe a young man who is in his prime or has achieved something great beyond his years. During the Greek War of Independence, (1821-29), a palikari was a member of a fighting group, led by a captain, a thief or sinner, or a member of a gang of thieves. (Greek)

PANIKOS - a sudden sensation of fear, overwhelming anxiety or agitation, a feeling so strong as to often block out reasonable and logical behavior. (Greek)

PARACOSM (παράκοσμος) - an imaginary universe. Paracosm, as used in English, comes from the ancient Greek παρά (pará) meaning ‘beside’, ‘alongside’) and κόσμος (kósmos) meaning ‘world’, ‘universe’). This word denotes a detailed imaginary world. (Greek)

PAREA (παρέα) - group of friends. Parea evokes a stage of friendship that sees companions, who simply enjoy each other’s company, get together to share their values, ideas and philosophies. (Greek)

PACKESEL - a packesel is the person who’s stuck carrying everyone else’s bags on a trip. (German)

PÅLEGG - anything and everything you can put on a slice of bread. (Norwegian)

PANAPOO’O - the act of searching your head in order to help you remember something you have forgotten. (Hawaiian)

PANTOFOLAIO - have you ever had the feeling of just wanting to stay home and relax, wearing comfortable clothes and slippers on your feet, and just do…nothing? This word literally means “someone wearing slippers” and is the equivalent of a “couch potato,” although it’s not limited to sitting on the couch with the remote. (Italian)

PAPAKATA - to have one leg shorter than the other. (Cook Islands Maori)

PAREA (παρέα) – when a group of friends gather to share life experiences, philosophies, values, and ideas. (Greek)

PAVONEARSE - comes from pavo real (an interesting word, meaning peacock, but literally translating to "royal turkey"), and perfectly illustrates the action of the male bird when trying to catch the attention of a female peacock. This verb is often used in Spain to describe someone strutting around like a peacock, acting like they own the place. Other Spanish words to describe someone who likes to pavonearse is chulo. When someone says: “Es un chulo,” they mean “He’s cocky.” (Spanish)

PELINTI - “to move hot food around in your mouth.” (Buli, Ghana)
​
PENA AJENA – the embarrassment you feel watching someone else’s humiliation. (Spanish)

PERÄKAMMARIN POIKA - special kind of man, usually found in the countryside taking care of his folk’s farm. He never found a partner to move into the remote farm to live with him and his parents and thus was forced to live alone with his online porn as his only form of comfort. That is peräkammarin poika, literally translated as the boy who lives in the room at the back of the house. (Finnish)

PETRICHOR (πετριχώρ) - the smell of wet earth. It is a poetic way of describing the smell of the earth after it has rained. The word is made up of the Greek petra, meaning ‘stone’, and īchōr, the blood of the gods in Greek mythology. (Greek)

PETTA REDDAST – Iceland’s unofficial motto that loosely translates as ‘everything will work out in the end’. (Icelandic)

PHILOTIMO (φιλότιμο) - honor. It is a powerful word used to describe individuals full of integrity and honor, encompassing the pride one takes in living a rich, considerate and meaningful life. (Greek)

PHILOXENIA (φιλοξενία) - to show love to strangers. Hospitality was considered to be one of the most virtuous qualities in ancient Greek culture, and philoxenia is the word to describe the value and respect extended towards a guest or visitor in your home or a stranger on the street. The term dates back to ancient Greece, where guests of the Spartan king abused the philoxenia shown to them by abducting the king’s wife, triggering the Trojan War. (Greek)

PICOTEO - means “small bites of different types of food”. This is a word people use in Spain when having a snack to socialize, usually accompanied by a drink, and an important part of tapas culture. (Spanish)

PILKUNNUSSIJA - person whose only purpose in life is to make sure you understand how bad your grammar skills are. That is pilkunnussija, literally translated as “comma fucker”. (Finnish)

PISAN ZAPRA - the time needed to eat a banana. (Malay)

PLAATSVERVANGENDE SCHAAMTE - the feeling of shame you experience caused by someone else’s (stupid) actions. It’s that feeling you get when you see your President is making a fool of himself in a press-conference. (Dutch)

POCHEMUCHKA – refers to someone who asks too many questions. (Russian)
​
POKAZUKHA - means something similar to window-dressing. It refers to a slightly absurd attempt to show things in a good light when you know full well that it's in absolute shambles. It emphasises the audacity of the deceiver. (Russian)

PROZVONIT – this word describes the experience of calling a phone and letting it ring just once so that the other person will call back, saving the first caller money. In Spanish, the phrase for this word is “dar un toque,” or, “to give a touch.” (Czech)

PUENTE- literally translates to “bridge.” However, depending on the context, it can also refer to a long or three-day weekend. Whether it’s Labor Day, or Tuesday is a holiday and you take Monday off, it’s a puente! (Spanish)

PUNYA - merit,” “virtue”, “sacred", "good karma", among other things (Sanskrit)

- Q -

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)

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

- R -

RAKHI (rākhī) - a wristband or a string that sisters tie around their brothers’ wrists. It’s a symbol of love from a sister to her brother and a promise by a brother to protect his sister, no matter what. (Hindi)

RÂLER - annoyed? Frustrated? Angry and in the mood to complain, but don’t want to feel overly judgmental? Well, in French, you can merely express râler to illustrate your dissatisfaction with the world in an eloquent, yet enlightened way. (French)

RAME - something that is both chaotic and joyful at the same time (Indonesian)

RASA (rāsa) - while talking of performance arts, dance form, theatre or cinema, rasa is a form of communication with coordinated movements of the eyes, feet and vocal chords to express emotions and tell a story that reaches the audience. (Hindi)

RAS-LE-BOL - to be fed up with something, frustrated, tearing your hair out. Impossible to literally translate, the phrase can be used for anything that fills you with uncontrollable rage or despair. (French)

RAZBLIUTO –the sentimental feeling you can often feel towards someone you used to loved but no longer do. (Russian)

RE - expression of familiarity or anger and frustration. It is derived from the word moros, meaning “imbecile”. An imbecile can emotionally touch, leading to pity, and, ultimately, affection. (Greek)

RIMJHIM (rimajhima) - colloquial word used to describe rain. It loosely translates to drizzle or a light shower. But rimjhim has more to do with the joy and happiness that comes with rain and monsoons. (Hindi)

RIPOSO - rest, repose; a nap; a siesta. (Italian)

RISHTA - an inexplicable connection with another soul. (Hindi)

RIYAZ - practicing music every day. (Hindi)

​RÉ NAO - a place or situation that is ré nao is not only fun and lively, but also has a special vibe that makes everyone want to be there. A lively, special bar or club may be ré nao, but so might a meeting with friends. (Chinese)

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

RUCKKEHHRUNRUHE - the feeling of returning home after an immersive trip only to find it fading rapidly from your awareness. (German)

RUHE - Peace and quiet, when nothing around you bothers you and you feel calm and good. Also the designated quiet time in a neighborhood. (German)

RUNANUBANDHA - the only known reason to understand the strange and weird encounters that happen in our lives with people who are near and dear to us. It gives us the soothing reply to the sufferings we encounter in life with a readymade answer in the unfolding of the past life debts. (Hindi)

UP NEXT: PART 5 [S-Z]

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