Results: Try and Translate This! These Words Have No English Translation!
Published on 11/01/2014
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1.
1.
The English language has approximately a million words, with no other language coming close. However, even with that being true, there are some words in other languages that cannot be literally translated in English. They can be defined, but no one word will suffice. How many of these words are you familiar with?
Abbiocco (Italian) noun: that sleepy feeling you get after a big meal
4%
81 votes
Hyggelig (Danish) adj: comfy, cozy; intimate; contented
2%
49 votes
Sobremesa (Spanish) noun: after-lunch conversation around the table
4%
90 votes
Utepils (Norwegian) noun: a beer you drink outside
2%
48 votes
Verschlimmbessern (German) verb: to make something worse when trying to improve it
3%
59 votes
Yakamoz (Turkish) and Mångata (Swedish) noun: the reflection of moonlight on water
1%
30 votes
Not familiar with any of these.
87%
1817 votes
2.
2.
Here are a few more words that we do not have in English, and perhaps wish we did. How many of these words are you going to learn and use now that you know them?
Backpfeifengesicht (German): A face badly in need of a fist
7%
152 votes
Gigil (pronounced Gheegle; Filipino): The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute
7%
157 votes
Pochemuchka (Russian): a person who asks a lot of questions
5%
109 votes
Schadenfreude (German): the pleasure derived from someone else’s pain
8%
177 votes
Tingo (Pascuense language of Easter Island): to borrow objects one by one from a neighbor’s house until there is nothing left
2%
49 votes
None, thank you!
78%
1634 votes
3.
3.
Some words in different languages have become part of our everyday language here already...for example Mensch (Yiddish/German) meaning "a person of integrity and honor" is used often in our everyday language and the word chutzpah (Yiddish also) roughly meaning personal confidence or courage that allows someone to do or say things that may seem shocking to others. Have you ever searched out the real meaning of words you use that are not from the English language?
All the time...I love languages
9%
180 votes
Often, but not always
22%
457 votes
Never--I just use these words
14%
293 votes
I never use foreign words when talking
26%
543 votes
No comment
29%
609 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
12 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.14% | 3 | |
| occasionally | 0.10% | 2 |
| when i was younger i did a lot of that. | 0.05% | 1 |
| i use them but i already have preknoweldege of their meanings | 0.05% | 1 |
| once in a while | 0.05% | 1 |
| na | 0.05% | 1 |
| only use them when i know what they mean | 0.05% | 1 |
| i have, but not often. | 0.05% | 1 |
| i've done it a few times....... | 0.05% | 1 |
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