Yakamoz – for romantics and moon worshippers
The vivid definition of the Turkish word yakamoz is ‘the reflection of the moon on the water’. In 2007 – the ‘year of the humanities’ of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research – it was even named the most beautiful word in the world. The Swedes, too, can summarise this poetic natural phenomenon in one single word: mångata. In English translations, however, an explanation or a phrase is required to express this idea.
Fredagsmys – suits off, and into the weekend
This Swedish word is literally translated as Friday cosiness. The term represents a feeling of security, togetherness and relaxation – sitting together in a cosy environment at home with your family or friends, with a glass of wine and some tasty snacks. Even if there’s no name for this feeling in English, children of the 1980s in particular know this feeling as sitting and watching a film with family on a Saturday evening, fresh from the bath and with a bag of chocolate snacks.
Uitwaaien – let your troubles fade away
This adorable term from Dutch can be literally translated to mean ‘to deflate’ – and now you might already get it without speaking the language. What is meant is to take a break to clear your head. Something that is easily done on holiday on the Dutch coast: lekker uitwaaien aan zee en lange strandwandelingen maken.
Jugaad – just great!
This term comes from Hindi and essentially means to be able to improvise or the ability to find solutions under difficult conditions. Jugaad thus describes the lifestyle of many Indians that enables them, in spite of somewhat difficult circumstances – two-thirds of the country lives in poverty – to maintain their positive attitude towards life. The particularly noteworthy aspect is that the lacking is not what shapes the attitude; instead, the lacking, or limitation, is seen as an opportunity. This important nuance should definitely be accounted for as part of a good translation.
Mamihlapinatapai – that leaves us speechless
Impossible to pronounce and, depending on the context, romantically tragic beyond belief: mamihlapinatapai. The complicated translation of the word is as follows: Two people cast (longing) glances at one another, both hoping that the other takes the initiative – but neither of them is able to muster up the courage. This term that describes how two people can be quite literally speechless originally comes from the language of the Yaghan, the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego. This language, unfortunately, has more or less died out. But mamihlapinatapai has made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘most succinct word’.
Pochemuchka – but why?
You surely know someone who always wants to know everything down to the last detail. In Russian, you would call this person pochemuchka, followed by either a wink or a roll of your eyes, depending on your mood at that moment. In an English translation, this noun could be replaced by a combination of adverb and adjective: ‘especially curious’. Sometimes, when you encounter an untranslatable word, you’re better served by changing the part of speech.
Cercle vertueux – things are just going your way
Every once in a while, you might say to yourself: ‘Damn, how do I put an end to this vicious circle?’ Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to simply make the switch to the French term cercle vertueux – literally translated, the word means ‘virtuous circle’ and refers to a time during which everything runs smoothly, with good things followed by good things. So the opposite of a vicious circle. We also have this term in English – ‘virtuous circle’ is in the Oxford English Dictionary – but it remains difficult to translate into other languages.
