Thirteen Fascinating and Untranslatable Words

A Finnish tradition known as “pantsdrunk” is gaining favor with Americans stuck at home.

It’s a compact term from the Nguni languages of Zulu and Xhosa that carries a fairly broad English definition of “a quality that includes the essential human virtues of compassion and humanity.”

There is no equivalent word in English, though the concept is simple: Sobremesa is the time you spend at the table after you’ve finished eating.

“My favorite definition of saudade is by Portuguese writer Manuel de Melo: ‘a pleasure you suffer, an ailment you enjoy.’”

Lessons from the Japanese concept of ikigai.

It derives from a sixteenth-century Norwegian term, hugga, meaning “to comfort” or “to console,” which is related to the English word “hug.”

Uitwaaien is a popular activity around Amsterdam—one believed to have important psychological benefits.

Lagom is the secret to Sweden’s high rankings on international happiness and productivity.

An untranslatable word used among the few members of the Yaghan tribe has attained an odd sort of online fame.

The Hebrew word firgun describes taking pleasure in another’s good fortune.

“This is a confession: sometimes I feel good when others feel bad.”

In Georgia, known for its epic feasts and toasts, people often experience shemomechama, an untranslatable word for when you are full but you continue eating anyway.

In the years since yoga became commercially popular in the United States, the word has taken on a life of its own.

Some things that take whole sentences to describe in English are a single word in another language.

David Shariatmadari on the allure of undefinable concepts.