How many words don't translate into English.(or any other language)

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Permalink Reply by Julia Madruga ( a Yarioness) on June 19, 2010 at 6:45pm

well... not MY language but my husband's one: Saudade.
probably one of the least translatable word in the world, yet everybody already felt that way.

For those who wonder it's this bittersweet home/peoplesickness you feel that fills you with sadness and a kind of happy thankfullness for knowing this land/person. Not sure the description is very accurate...

Permalink Reply by Joana Duarte on July 15, 2010 at 11:06am

Hey I just came to this topic to write that same word! Saudade :)
I'm portuguese and we all know that this word is very hard to translate. Julia made a very good description though. It's a special way to miss someone...

Permalink Reply by Melisa Fujiki (Cephalope) on July 20, 2010 at 3:05pm

I can think of a couple Japanese words.

Natsukashii - It sort of means evocative, but not quite. It's kind of a deja vu-y, nostalgic sort of thing.

Mendoukusai - It's what you say when something you're doing is not at all challenging, but tedious and labour-intensive. It's kind of like saying "this is a pain in the ass."

Permalink Reply by Fiona van den Bergh (Lamia) on July 29, 2010 at 2:36pm

Gezellig. It's Dutch, and means something like 'cosy' but isn't really translateble.

Permalink Reply by Simonas Nemickas (Raijū) on August 4, 2010 at 7:55am

rugpienis - it's a Lithuanian word, that I have yet to find a translation in english. I tried, couldn't find it. It's like milk in a strange state, that is hard to explain, and no it's not kefir. XD

Permalink Reply by Monika on March 19, 2012 at 11:14am

Sour milk, arčiausias angliškas rūgpienio vertinys:D

Permalink Reply by Xantiago P on August 20, 2010 at 11:00pm

I guess there's a lot of Spanish words that no one translates... I'm from Argentina and we have a lots of Spanish variations... Also a lot of slang :)

Wanna know some slang?

-Chamuyo: it has a lots of meanings. It can be the speach of someone to flirt, but it's also what you say to professors to simulate you know stuff, and it also means to lie. But the use that we give to it is so sutil you probably won't understand it :)
-Boludo: it's a word that we use to refer to someone, like "dude", "buddy", "pal", "mate", etc. But it can be offensive, according to the situation.
-Pelotudo: same as "boludo", but its a little more insulting :)
-Mina: it means "woman".
-Pendejo: OK, this one its an insult in almost every country of America, but here means "kid", "boy", etc. It also can be use like "dude" by the teenagers and young adults.

Permalink Reply by Hennie Marie (The KiwiBird) on September 28, 2010 at 9:05am

The Norwegian word "bolle" do no translate into English. A "bolle" is a small, sweet, round kake sort of thing of flour and sugar + other stuff.

Permalink Reply by Hennie Marie (The KiwiBird) on September 28, 2010 at 9:16am

Wanna know some Norwegian slang?

Chille - to chill.
Rille - a newer version of "chille".
Sjæl - slang for "me too"
Samma det! - this actually means "whatever", but i can be used to act cool about something you are really very happy about. For instance, "I got an Ipad today. Samma det!" or "No school today. Samma det!" It's meant to be cool.



Xantiago P said:

I guess there's a lot of Spanish words that no one translates... I'm from Argentina and we have a lots of Spanish variations... Also a lot of slang :)

Wanna know some slang?

-Chamuyo: it has a lots of meanings. It can be the speach of someone to flirt, but it's also what you say to professors to simulate you know stuff, and it also means to lie. But the use that we give to it is so sutil you probably won't understand it :)
-Boludo: it's a word that we use to refer to someone, like "dude", "buddy", "pal", "mate", etc. But it can be offensive, according to the situation.
-Pelotudo: same as "boludo", but its a little more insulting :)
-Mina: it means "woman".
-Pendejo: OK, this one its an insult in almost every country of America, but here means "kid", "boy", etc. It also can be use like "dude" by the teenagers and young adults.