I bought a book called The Untranslatables quite a while ago, it's basically a book full of foreign words that don't translate well into English. I've never actually read the whole book, but I did read another book on random foreign words and I loved it, so here are my favourite obscure foreign words...
Mamihlapinatapei - Yagan (Indigenous language of Tierro del Fuego)
"The wordless, yet meaningful, look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start." - Altalang.com
Jayus - Indonesian
"A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh." - Altalang.com
"Indonesian slang for someone who tells a joke so unfunny you can't help but laugh." - UrbanDictionary.com
Schadenfreude - German
"Pleasure dervied from the misfortunes of others." - Wikipedia.org
Tingo - Pascuense (Easter Island)
"The act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing them." - Altalang.com
Mokita - Kiriwana (Papua New Guinea)
"The truth that all know but no one talks about." - The Meaning of Tingo... - Adam Jacot de Boinod
Vokabulyu - Russian
"Passion for foreign words." - The Meaning of Tingo... - Adam Jacot de Boinod
Physiggomai - Ancient Greek
"Excited by eating garlic." - Toujours Tingo - Adam Jacot de Boinod
Truzzo - Italian
"A slang word used in Northern Italy to describe a boy, usually a teenager, who strongly believes he is really up-to-date on the latest trends and fashion but is clearly not." - Untranslatables - a Guide To Translingual Dialogue
Do you have any untranslatables?
Besos ♥
Rachel
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