Sometimes, no matter how hard we search the English dictionary, we canât find just the right words to say what we mean â so, we borrow shamelessly from other languages.
After all, why make up new English words when we can simply steal from languages around the world?
To help you find just the right words to express your thoughts and feelings, weâre offering this smörgĂ„sbord of foreign terms that you might consider sampling in times of linguistic need. Wherever possible, weâve included a link to the native pronunciation.
What are untranslatable words?
When we describe a word as âuntranslatable,â it doesnât mean that we canât express its meaning in English at all. âUntranslatableâ simply means that thereâs no direct English equivalent for the foreign term.
Take, for example, Schadenfreude. This German word combines Schaden (âharmâ or âdamageâ) and Freude (âjoy,â âdelight,â or âpleasureâ) to describe the joy one takes in anotherâs misfortune. While weâve likely all experienced this feeling â whether we care to admit it or not â weâd be hard-pressed to find a single English word that conveys the same meaning.
For this reason, so-called âuntranslatableâ words often wind up becoming loanwords in English.
Some of the words in our list are already well-known loanwords in English. Others may be new to you. All of them can help you express yourself in a satisfying way.
Learn new languages smarter and faster.
Untranslatable words for feelings and emotions
Weâve all struggled to communicate our emotions clearly. Thatâs why we have these words from around the world to help us.
Joy, love, and relationships
Aspaldiko â Basque (Euskara)
From the Pyrenees, on the border between Spain and France, comes a word for the joy one feels when catching up with an old friend after a long absence.
The French word retrouvailles (literally, ârefindingsâ) expresses a similar bliss found in a sweet reunion.
ĐŃĐ±ĐŸĐČĐ°ŃŃŃŃ â Russian
Deriving from Đ»ŃбОŃŃ, the Russian verb meaning âto love,â Đ»ŃĐ±ĐŸĐČĐ°ŃŃŃŃ is that warm, fuzzy, starstruck feeling you get when youâre in the presence of someone or something that â as they used to say back in the 1950s â is just so dreamy.
For instance, when you realize how quickly you can learn Russian online, youâll feel a strong sense of Đ»ŃĐ±ĐŸĐČĐ°ŃŃŃŃ⊠and youâll be able to express it more eloquently than ever.
à€”à€żà€°à€č (viraha) â
Hindi/Marathi
This word is the driving force behind many a romantic comedy, such as My Best Friendâs Wedding. Itâs the regret you feel when you realize that your ex was actually your one true love.
Attaccabottoni â Italian
When you study the Italian language, youâll find many rhythmic, musical, and expressive words such as attaccabottoni.
An attaccabottoni is the type of person with whom you may have an involuntary relationship, probably in the workplace. A compound word formed from attaccare (to attach) and bottoni (buttons), this clingy person will endlessly regale you with pointless tales that recount every last detail of their life.
The closest English-language equivalent would probably be an âenergy vampire.â
èŠć€ (jiĂ nwĂ i) â Mandarin Chinese
An attaccabottoni presumes a non-existent closeness and intimacy. Almost exactly opposite to this is èŠć€ (jiĂ nwĂ i, simplified as è§ć€).
JiĂ nwĂ i is a Mandarin verb indicating that a close friend or associate is being treated with undue politeness, creating an artificial distance in the relationship.
English comes closest to this by saying that someone is standing on ceremony, giving a cold shoulder, or simply being âfrosty.â
Humor
Jayus â Indonesian
Cringe-worthy humor can sometimes be so bad that itâs good. Think about your favorite âdad joke,â or that joke we had in freshman biology: âWhat does Mil do?â â âHe parties. Heâs a fun guy.â
Thatâs jayus. If you like bad puns, you wonât necessarily think this term is an insult.
Elmosolyodni â Hungarian
When you hear a jayus joke, you might feel your lips twitching into elmosolyodni. This is a special smile reserved for bad jokes and inappropriate humor, or anytime you feel overcome by strong emotions and smile despite yourself.
Sadness and loneliness
Weltschmerz â German
Satirist Jean Paul, originally known as Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, came up with this word that literally means âworld pain.â
When you feel that the world is in a deplorable state, Weltschmerz can describe your anguish. Lisa Simpson, in all her angst, would be the cartoon poster child for Weltschmerz.
Saudade â Portuguese
Sometimes given as saudades, this is a Portuguese word that embodies a heart-wrenching feeling of longing and nostalgia for something or someone thatâs no longer in your life. It can be a person or a place thatâs absent, perhaps forever.
Itâs a bittersweet feeling of sad remembrance. In a single word, it echoes the wistfulness in Alfred, Lord Tennysonâs famous lines, ââTis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all.â
To discover more unique ways that the people of Portugal and Brazil describe their world and their emotions, consider learning Portuguese online.
Tech terms
Many tech terms, such as âhashtagâ and âmodem,â have spread from their English-language origins into other languages across the world. In turn, English has borrowed technological terms from a few other languages.
Two of these terms are used for self-expression in online communications.
ç””æć (emoji) â Japanese
Although emoji sounds a lot like the related term emoticon, it actually comes from a combination of the Japanese words for âpictureâ and âcharacter.â
You might remember emoticons as the original âsmileys.â Each emoticon combines several different characters intended to be viewed sideways, such as :-) representing a smile.
By contrast, emoji are the tiny icons on a virtual keyboard that symbolize everything from facial expressions and emotions to flags, animals, and household objects.
Avatar â Sanskrit
Whether itâs a cartoon drawing of your likeness, your âspirit animal,â or some other symbol, the image that represents you online is an avatar. The Sanskrit word à€ à€”à€€à€Ÿà€° (avatÄra) came to English almost 250 years ago, via Hindustani à€ à€”à€€à€Ÿà€° (avtÄr, also rendered ۧÙŰȘۧ۱â).
It came into pop culture through several 1980s role-playing games, featured prominently in Neal Stephensonâs 1992 cyberpunk tome Snow Crash, and is now the name of a James Cameron film franchise.
Words describing food, drink, and good times
Whether we get together online or in person, we can use these words to talk about our shared experiences.
ëščë°© (mukbang) â Korean
Sometimes spelled meokbang, this is a hugely popular type of social media event in which a host chows down while presenting their livestream topic. ëščë°© brings together two Korean words: ëščë (meongneun, or âeatingâ) and ë°©ìĄ (bangsong, or âbroadcastâ).
A mukbang often involves the preparation of a meal, which is then eaten on camera by the host. Since eating has historically been a communal activity, researchers such as Kyae Hyung Kim, EunKyo Kang, Jihye Lee, and Young Ho Yun postulate that a mukbang gives viewers the vicarious satisfaction of feeling that theyâve shared a meal with someone.
Entarter â French
This verb is used by French speakers for the act of throwing a pie in someoneâs face. The celebrated Belgian entarteur (pie-thrower) NoĂ«l Godin targeted Bill Gates with a tarte classique (whipped-cream pie) in 1998.
When you improve your French online with personalized courses that teach you how to speak like a native, youâre less likely to become an entartĂ©(e) (pie target).
Craic â Irish
While this word is famously Irish for a fabulously good time of conversation, relaxation, and mad fun, it actually came to Irish from the Middle English crack, which meant âbragging talkâ or âloud conversation.â
If âthe craic was mightyâ last night at the pub, that means you had a truly wonderful time.
ÎαÎčÏÏÏ â Greek
Speaking of time, we have ÎșαÎčÏÏÏ (kairĂłs), which can be thought of as the perfect, most opportune time for something to happen â whether itâs a great meal, a pint with friends, or a pie in the face.
Words for habits and home
For bibliophiles, seekers of coziness, or those who appreciate really good upholstery, these words go to the heart of our home life.
ç©èȘ (tsundoku) â Japanese
Not to be confused with âsudoku,â the name of the popular number puzzle, tsundoku is a Japanese word that literally means âto pile up reading.â
Do you have growing stacks of future reads by your bedside? You are likely a practitioner of tsundoku.
Sturmfrei â German
If you share your living quarters, you canât always behave exactly as youâd like. But, when everyone else is out of the house, youâre finally free to crank up the stereo or binge-watch your guilty pleasure shows.
Thatâs when you experience a completely sturmfrei (âstorm freeâ) state of kicking back and relaxing.
You can even use your sturmfrei time to eat your Studentenfutter (trail mix) right out of the bag as you learn more German words with daily online practice.
Donât worry â we promise we wonât tell your Mitbewohner (roommates).
Friolero â Spanish
Are you someone whoâs always bundling up in multiple layers, regardless of the season? Do you find yourself sneaking off to adjust the thermostat? If so, your friends might say that youâre a friolero â or friolera, if youâre a lady.
In some parts of South America, you might be called friolento or friolenta (and your French-speaking friends might use a similar word, frileux, which can mean both âsensitive to coldâ and âcautious about changeâ).
It doesnât matter if you prefer friolento or friolero. To get hot on the trail of more useful Spanish expressions, you can study Spanish vocabulary online and learn new words fast.
Hyppytyynytyydytys â Finnish
If Tigger of Winnie-the-Pooh fame spoke Finnish, this is just the sort of word heâd devise. It literally means âbouncy cushion satisfaction.â
The next time you sit in a chair with a particularly resilient cushion, think of this word.
Filling in the gaps with âuntranslatableâ words
Whenever youâre struggling to find le mot juste (the exact right word for a particular situation or circumstance), consider borrowing one of these beautiful, untranslatable words from around the world.