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Illustrating Phrases That Don't Exist in English

By Rain Noe - September 2, 2013

in Object Culture

There are so many human foibles that English lacks words to explain, so we English-speakers have to steal them from other languages and italicize them to get by. L'esprit de l'escalier, "the wit of the staircase," is my favorite from the French: That's when you're at a party, someone hits you with a zinger that you have no comeback for, and you don't think of the perfect rejoinder until you're walking down the stairs and leaving at the end of the night.

What you see here is several more of these foreign words from Maptia, a website dedicated to sharing global stories. They've commissioned an illustrator to explain "11 Untranslatable Words From Other Cultures" that you're bound to get a kick out of.

To our international readers: What else you got? And are you Germans bummed that you invented schadenfreude but that we Americans have come to inhabit it so thoroughly with our reality TV and tabloid coverage?

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Dave

11 years ago

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There's a good one in German, which applies to social settings like Business Meetings and whilst doing Yoga:

Furzunterdrueckung = The Act of suppressing a Fart.

(Can't post umlauts)

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Leon

11 years ago

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A famous one in The Netherlands: "Gezellig". It's a Dutch word for a cozy, enjoyable, relaxed, fun, atmosphere. (sort of :P)
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