49 Words We Need In The English Language
You gotta love the English language. We have a word for pretty much everything. Some might say literally everything, but no! Not the case. What word describes the feeling you get when you think someone has texted you, but they haven't? How do you articulate the fear of having something really stupid last night, in one word? It's not easy, but there are a lot of non-English words out there that say a lot in just a few syllables. Here are a couple of our favourites that should find their way into our everyday conversations.
1. Zhaghzhagh (Persian)
The chattering of teeth from the cold or from rage.
2. Yuputka (Ulwa)
The phantom sensation of something crawling on your skin.
3. Slampadato (Italian)
Addicted to the UV glow of tanning salons? This word describes you. Pretty relevant nowadays all right.
4. Luftmensch (Yiddish)
This is a very specific term for a type of social misfit, an impractical dreamer with no common sense. Literally, an air-person.
5. Iktsuarpok (Inuit)
You know that feeling of anticipation, when you’re waiting for someone to show up at your house and you keep going outside to check if they've arrived? Boom.
6. Cotisuelto (Caribbean Spanish)
Bit of a scruff? This word describes a guy who doesn't tuck in his shirt.
7. Pana Po’o (Hawaiian)
“Hmm, now what assignment was I supposed to hand up today?” he said, pana po’oing. It means to scratch your head in order to help you remember something you’ve forgotten.
8. Gumusservi (Turkish)
There is no word as romantic as this in the English language. It means 'moonlight shining on water'.
9. Vybafnout (Czech)
A word tailor-made for assholes and childish roommates — it means to jump out and say "BOO".
10. Mencolek (Indonesian)
You know when you tap someone lightly on the opposite shoulder from behind to fool them? The Indonesians have an actual word for it!
11. Faamiti (Samoan)
To make a squeaking sound by sucking air past the lips, but specifically in order to get the attention of a dog or child.
12. Glas wen (Welsh)
A smile that is insincere or mocking. You've surely seen these, either from college life or Mean Girls.
13. Bakku-shan (Japanese)
We need this word so badly... It's the experience of seeing a woman who appears pretty from behind but not from the front.
14. Boketto (Japanese)
Have you ever wondered what the term for gazing vacantly into the distance was? The Japanese are nailing it.
15. Kummerspeck (German)
Excess weight gained from emotional overeating. Basically, Ben and Jerry's.
16. Tsun-doku (Japanese)
This will resonate with the bookworms among us. Buying books and not reading them; letting books pile up, unread, on shelves or floors or nightstands.
17. Toska (Russian)
Vladimir Nabokov describes it best: “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At 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, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody or something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.”
18. Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan)
The wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to do so.
19. Jayus (Indonesian)
A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh. We've all been there.
20. Litost (Czech)
The closest definition is a state of agony and torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery.
21. Kyoikumama (Japanese)
A mother who relentlessly pushes her children toward academic achievement. I guess there's a reason for all those memes...
22. Tartle (Scottish)
The act of hesitating while introducing someone because you've forgotten their name. It happens enough that it needs a name in English!
23. Ilunga (Tshiluba - Southwest Congo)
A word famous for its translation difficulty, most professional translators pinpoint it as the stature of a person “who is ready to forgive and forget any first abuse, tolerate it the second time, but never forgive nor tolerate the third offense.”
24. Prozvonit (Czech)
This word means to call a mobile phone and let it ring once so that the other person will call back, saving the first caller money. To be a scab, basically.
25. Cafuné (Brazilian Portuguese)
The act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair. Awww...
26. Torschlusspanik (German)
Translated literally, this word means “door-closing panic,” but its contextual meaning refers to “the fear of diminishing opportunities as one ages.” I never even sky-dived!
27. Wabi-Sabi (Japanese)
Much has been written on this Japanese concept, but in a sentence, one might be able to understand it as “a way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and peacefully accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay.” Not being a reality TV celebrity then...
28. Dépaysement (French)
The feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country.
29. Schadenfreude (German)
Quite famous for its meaning, which somehow other languages have neglected to emulate, this refers to the feeling of pleasure derived by seeing another’s misfortune. I guess “America’s Funniest Moments of Schadenfreude” just didn’t have the same ring to it.
30. Fremdschämen (German)
On the flipside of the above word, this means something akin to "vicarious embarrassment.” Something we feel often when watching The Office.
31. Tingo (Pascuense - Easter Island)
This is a word you might find you would use quite often: “the act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.”
32. Hyggelig (Danish)
Its “literal” translation into English gives connotations of a warm, friendly, cozy demeanor, but it’s unlikely that these words truly capture the essence of a hyggelig; it’s something that must be experienced to be known. I think of good friends, cold beer, and a warm fire.
33. L’appel du vide (French)
“The call of the void” is this French expression’s literal translation, but you'll understand it better as the instinctive urge to jump from high places.
34. Ya’aburnee (Arabic)
Both morbid and beautiful at once, this incantatory word means “You bury me” - a declaration of one’s hope that they’ll die before another person because of how difficult it would be to live without them. Not one to use on a first date then.
35. Duende (Spanish)
While originally used to describe a mythical, spritelike entity that possesses humans and creates the feeling of awe of one’s surroundings in nature, its meaning has transitioned into referring to “the mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person.” So when you cried at the end of Toy Story 3, that's what you were experiencing.
36. Saudade (Portuguese)
One of the most beautiful of all words. Translatable or not, this word “refers to the feeling of longing for something or someone that you love and which is lost.”
37. Shemomedjamo (Georgian)
You know when you’re really full, but your meal is just so delicious, you can’t stop eating it? Like Dominos? The Georgians feel your pain. This word means “I accidentally ate the whole thing."
38. Backpfeifengesicht (German)
A face badly in need of a fist. I love that this word exists.
39. Pelinti (Buli, Ghana)
When you bite into a piece of piping hot pizza, then open your mouth and sort of tilt your head back while making an “aaaarrrgghh” noise. The Ghanaians actually have a word for that. More specifically, it means “to move hot food around in your mouth.”
40. Greng-jai (Thai)
That feeling you get when you don't want someone to do something for you because it would be a pain for them. Like buy you a drink when you think they can't afford a taxi.
41. Gigil (Filipino)
The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is irresistibly cute.
42. Lagom (Swedish)
Maybe Goldilocks was Swedish? This slippery little word is hard to define, but basically means something like “Not too much, not too little, but juuuuust right.”
43. Seigneur-terrace (French)
A café dweller who sits at a table for a long time but spends very little money. People who work in cafés actually have an English word for this too, but we can't publish it here...
44. Koi No Yokan (Japanese)
The sense, upon first meeting a person, that the two of you are going to fall in love.
45. Kaelling (Danish)
You know that woman who stands on her doorstep (or in line at the supermarket, or at the park, or in a restaurant) cursing at her children? The Danes know her, too.
46. L’esprit de l’escalier (French)
Literally "stairwell wit"—a clever comeback you come up with after the opportunity has passed.
47. Cavoli Riscaldati (Italian)
The result of attempting to revive an unworkable relationship. Literally translates to "reheated cabbage." Hehehe.
48. Packesel (German)
The poor guy who is stuck carrying everyone else’s bags on a trip. Commonly known in English as a "boyfriend".
49. Bilita Mpash (Bantu)
An amazing dream, not just a "good" dream. The opposite of a nightmare.
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