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Defining the Untranslatable

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

BY LANGUAGE
French ~ German ~ Greek - Hindi ~ Japanese ~ Latin ~ Spanish

BY THEME​
Feelings ~ Laughter ~ Love ~ Happiness ~ Life ~ Profound ~ People​​

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Learn About Words From: The Reference Corner

TRANSLATING THE UNTRANSLATABLE
PART ONE - A to C


​WORDS from A to C

- A -

ABBIOCCO - is one of those untranslatable
Italian words that simply doesn’t exist in other languages because it comes from the specific drowsiness that takes hold of you after an Italian lunch. The word comes from the position of a hen hatching its eggs. (Italian)

ABENDROT - the color of the sky when the sun is setting. (German)

ABHIMAAN - a sense of hurt pride a female protagonist exhibits. (Hindi)

ABHIMANA - pride, false prestige, desire, an impression, the conception, by self-conception, from the misconception. (Sanskrit)

ADDA (aḍḍā) - simply a place where friends gather to spend time and have fun. An adda is a place where you’d meet your friends every day or regularly. It could be a restaurant or even a street corner. (Hindi)

AGE-OTORI - the bad feeling one gets after a terrible haircut. (Japanese)

AILYAK - the art of doing everything slowly with no rush, while enjoying the process and life in general; like the Swahili ‘hakuna matata’ (Bulgarian)

AKIHI – when you ask someone for directions, walk off, then immediately forget what they said. You’ve gone ‘akihi’. (Hawaiian)

ALKOHOLFAHNE or SCHNAPSFAHNE - describes the smell of alcohol on a person’s breath. Sometimes this word is also used to describe other kinds of bad breath, like a Knoblauchfahne (garlic breath) for example. (German)

ALLGEMEINBILDUNG - everything that any adult capable of living independently can reasonably be expected to know. (German)

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)

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

ANGSTLOCH - apparently "fear hole", but more probably from the Lat. angustus "narrow" and German Loch "hole.” Was a small hole in the floor of medieval castles and fortresses that led to a cellar or basement room below. (German).

ANTEAYER - a one-word way of saying the day before yesterday or a shorter version of ‘antes de ayer’ (Spanish)

APNAPAN - having a quality where you accept people, think of them as your own, take care of the ones you love, not for anything in return. (Hindi)

APERICENA - this word is the combination of Aperitivo, a late afternoon drink and light snacks, and cena, the Italian word for “dinner.” The result is the untranslatable Apericena which you can consider to be a very sumptuous aperitif with a variety of snacks and little dishes, or a light dinner that you eat standing up. (Italian)

​ARBEJDSGLÆDE - the feeling of happiness provoked by a satisfying job (Danish)

ARETÉ - the act of living up to one’s full potential. (Greek)

ARIGATA-MEIWAKU - an act someone does for you that you didn’t want to have them do and tried to avoid having them do, but they went ahead anyway, determined to do you a favour, and then things went wrong and caused you a lot of trouble, yet in the end social conventions required you to express gratitude. (Japanese)

ARROBA - in Spain this word refers to the @ symbol. (Spanish)

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

AŞERMEK – the experience of craving certain foods while pregnant. (Turkish)

A SERTAO - is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers to one of the four subregions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of "outback" with Australia in English). Its borders are not precise and do not correspond to any modern Brazilian states. Like the South of the United States, it is a region that is well-known in Brazilian culture, with a rich history and much folklore. (Portuguese)

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

ASTRE - on the surface, it may seem this word describes a “star” because it refers to any celestial body. However, it doesn’t mean so in a strictly scientific or observational sense. Instead, it refers to any object that is “out of this world.” While “astre” technically covers objects like stars, it covers exceptional people, ideas, and experiences as well. (French)

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. Very useful when the taxi is late. (Ancient Greek)

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

AWARE - the bittersweetness of a brief and fading moment of transcendent beauty. (Japanese)

- B -

BACKPFEIFENGESICHT - a face that cries out for a fist in it. (German)

BADKRUKA - somebody reluctant to go into a body of water while swimming outdoors. (Swedish)

BAKKU-SHAN - a beautiful girl— as long as she’s being looked at from behind. (Japanese)

BAKWAS - essentially used when something is rubbish, crap, ridiculous or absurd. When accompanied by an expression of disgust or disappointment, it creates a powerful impact. (Hindi)

BASTA - the word when said by itself means the speaker doesn't want to be bothered with questions, or wants one to do what they say without asking any questions in response. (Tagalog)

BÉRÉZINA – a sense of panic associated with a huge defeat. The word Bérézina is used in the French idom ‘C’est la Bérézina’ meaning a complete defeat, loss. The origin of this expression dates back over 200 years to the banks of the river Berezina in Belarus where a fierce battle took place between Napoleon’s retreating army and the Imperial Russian army. The battle ended in a victory for the Russian Empire and heavy losses. (French)

BESA – a pledge of honour that means to keep a promise by honouring your word. It’s usually translated as “faith” or “oath”. (Albanian)

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)

BILITA MPASH - an amazing dream. Not just a "good" dream; the opposite of a nightmare. (Bantu)

BLUNDA – means to close or cover your eyes to avoid seeing something or facing a hard truth. It’s similar to the English expression ‘turn a blind eye’, or can be the simple act of ignoring something. (Swedish)

​BOKETTO - means gazing vacantly and without thought into the distance. (Japanese)

BOTELLÓN - a large gathering in a public space to drink alcohol and have a good time. (Spanish)

BRICOLEUR — a handyman who uses whatever materials he can get his hands on to create a construction (or bricolage). He starts building something with no clear plan, adding bits here and there, cobbling together a whole while flying by the seat of his pants. Refer to bric-à-brac - the miscellaneous objects and ornaments of little value. The closest equivalent in English would be something like a DIY-er. (French)

- C -

CACIMBO - used in Angola, refers to a heavy mist or drizzle that occurs in the Congo basin area, often accompanied by onshore winds. It is synonymous for the cool season, and apparently, for the locals there is no translation possible. Upon hearing the word, Angolans would just think about the fresh air, the summer, the cool weather and the very cold water. (Kimbundu)

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

CALCALA - children wading through water as they play (Tulu)

САМОРОДОК - literally means a nugget of precious metal (usually gold) but colloquially it’s used to describe an intelligent person who doesn’t have a formal education – a naturally-gifted individual. A ‘самородок’ is someone innately clever and quick-witted who trusts their instincts. (Russian)

CARTONNER - do you want to talk about the next summer blockbuster? Then you can use cartonner to point out how great a movie was. It’s technically a slang term to describe successful films, and it’s derived from the action of covering an object in cardboard. (French)

​CAVOLI RISCALDATI – literally means “reheated cabbage” but the phase describes the moment when you attempt to start up a failed relationship or love affair. (Italian)

CHAI- PAANI - tea and water in the literal sense, but for Indians is more like the idiom that means to give “money and favors” to someone to get your work done. (Hindi)

CHANDAMAMA - literally means "uncle moon,” referring to the moon when admiring it. (Telugu)

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)

CHANTER EN YAOURT - to fudge your way through song lyrics that you don’t really know. It is particularly used for singing in another language. (French)

CHICHORA - a guy who all dressed up like a b-grade movie star and who whistles and shouts comments at a girl. (Hindi)

CHINGADA – a hellish, imaginary, faraway place where you send all those who annoy you. (Spanish).

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)

COMMUOVERE - often taken to mean “heartwarming,” but directly refers to a story that moved you to tears. (Italian)

CONTRESENS - this word consists of two different French words, “contre” meaning against and “sens” meaning direction, but it’s still without an English translation. It describes confusion or being wrong, but can also be used to describe “the wrong way” of doing something. (French)

COTISUELTO - a word that would aptly describe the prevailing fashion trend among American men under 40, it means one who wears the shirt tail outside of his trousers. (Caribbean Spanish)

CRAPOTER - to smoke a cigarette without actually inhaling. (French)

​CÚBÓG – a collective noun for Easter eggs. (Irish)

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

UP NEXT: PART 2 [D-F]

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