{"id":1695,"date":"2013-11-29T17:22:49","date_gmt":"2013-11-29T17:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=1695"},"modified":"2013-11-29T17:23:17","modified_gmt":"2013-11-29T17:23:17","slug":"adopt-a-word-foreign-words-with-no-english-equivalent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/adopt-a-word-foreign-words-with-no-english-equivalent\/","title":{"rendered":"Adopt a Word! Foreign Words With No English Equivalent"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a New Zealander, there are many words in the Maori language, like Mana<\/i> and Tapu,<\/i> that don\u2019t translate into English as they reflect concepts that aren\u2019t apparent in a Western society \u2013 but Maori isn\u2019t the only tongue that does not always compute!<\/p>\n

There are thousands of words and phrases from around the world that don\u2019t have a translatable example in English, and vice versa, but here are a few we think we should adopt to make the world a better place.<\/p>\n

Sobremesa: <\/b><\/em>We all know and love Spain, partly for its rich culture, history, and architecture, but its food, wine, and ma\u00f1ana lifestyle also appeals, and of course they have a word that perfectly describes the conversation that follows a shared meal \u2013 I will be adding the word sobremesa<\/em> to my vocabulary in future!<\/p>\n

Komorebi:<\/b><\/em> <\/b>This Japanese word poetically describes the lovely effect of sunlight filtering through the trees. Wish I\u2019d known this word during autumn \u2013 not much use for it now with the bare trees of winter abound.<\/p>\n

Age-otori<\/i><\/b>: <\/b>Another great Japanese word to use as often as possible, it basically translates as \u2018to look worse after a haircut\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"untrans\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Arigata-meiwaku<\/i><\/b>:<\/b> And here\u2019s a Japanese phrase that\u2019s further inspiring me to learn the language<\/a>. In a nutshell, \u2018it\u2019s when someone does something for you that you didn\u2019t ask or want them to do, but they did it because they wanted to do you a favour, but then it all went horribly wrong, and you had to clean up the mess, but had to show gratitude because it\u2019s the right thing to do\u2019!<\/p>\n

Mangata: <\/b><\/em>The Swedish are poetic too when it comes to shimmery\/glimmering light, with this word perfectly capturing the vision of moonlight reflecting on the water.<\/p>\n

Backpfeifengesicht<\/i><\/b>: <\/b>Not one you\u2019ll need often, one hopes, but this German word simply translates as \u2018a face badly in need of a fist\u2019.<\/p>\n

Waldeinsamkeit: <\/b><\/em>By contrast, this German word is much gentler, meaning a sense of solitude, and being at one with nature.<\/p>\n

Poronkusema: <\/i><\/strong>Not one we\u2019ve much use for in Britain, unfortunately \u2013 simply put, it\u2019s Finnish for the distance a reindeer can go before needing to take a break.<\/p>\n

Jayus: <\/b><\/em>This Indonesian word for someone who is so bad at telling jokes, and is so unfunny that you can\u2019t help but laugh, could come in handy sometimes \u2013 as long as I\u2019m not on the receiving end!<\/p>\n

Tingo: <\/b><\/em>This word from the Pascuense language of Easter Island is my all-time favourite, but not one I\u2019ll likely get the opportunity to use often \u2013 it\u2019s the act of borrowing things from a neighbour\u2019s house, one by one until there is nothing left!<\/p>\n

With an estimated \u00be million words in the English language, what\u2019s a few more?!<\/p>\n

Do you know of any words or phrases that get lost in translation? Are there any others we should adopt as our own?\"untrans2\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a New Zealander, there are many words in the Maori language, like Mana and Tapu, that don\u2019t translate into English as they reflect concepts that aren\u2019t apparent in a Western society \u2013 but Maori isn\u2019t the only tongue that does not always compute! There are thousands of words and phrases from around the world(\u2026)<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t \t\t\t\tCONTINUE READING »<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[239,31],"class_list":["post-1695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday-language","category-language-learning","tag-foreign-words","tag-words"],"yoast_head":"\nAdopt a Word! 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