Eunoia

Words That Don't Translate

Eunoia was built in 24h by Steph. Search 700+ untranslatable words by 80+ languages and 60+ tags, or click refresh to see a new batch. Enjoy!


Word Definition Language Tags Audio
Eldsjäl This noun is literally ‘fire-soul’, but the actual meaning is ‘enthusiast’ or ‘driving spirit’. Swedish strength
Cynefin A place where a person or an animal feels it ought to live and belong; it is where nature around you feels right and welcoming Welsh nature feeling
Fika Coffee and cake break with friends or colleagues Swedish food friends
Tachiyomi To stand in a bookstore and read a book without buying it Japanese society funny action
Pelinti To move hot food around in your mouth Buli food
Sturmfrei Having the house or flat to oneself German event
Mysa Can mean "cosying up" or "to snuggle", but in braoder sense, it means to "have a nice and relaxed time" Swedish happiness time
Wabi-sabi Finding beauty within the imperfections of life and peacefully accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay. Japanese beauty awareness
Schnickschnack Items of little value; empty words that people may utter German adverse
Mbuki-mvuki To shake off your clothes to dance more freely Swahili clothing music
Ngaobera A slight inflammation of the throat caused by screaming too much Pascuense adverse action health
Harkla The little coughing noise one makes, often before giving a speech or dislodging a piece of cinnamon bun from their throat Swedish action
Şikemperver Someone who is very fond of eating and drinking Turkish food happiness
Trasnochar To stay up all night Spanish life time event
Verschlimmbessern Literally "worsen better"; making something worse while trying to improve it German action
Innerer Schweinehund Literal: 'Inner pig dog'; the lazy voice in your head. It symbolizes the part of you that doesn’t want to go jogging, that prefers staying at home with chocolate and pizza and is just generally lazy. German feeling life health
Vybafnout To jump out and say "boo" Czech action funny surprise
Guddle To fish using the hands, by searching under stones at a river bank Scottish action nature
Schlemiel An inept, clumsy person Yiddish attribute funny
Gambiarra A very poor or ugly but effective solution for a problem; to use improvised methods / solutions to solve a problem, with any avaiable material Portuguese creative
kataṟu (கதறு) Helplessly shaking and crying Tamil action adverse
Rubatosis The unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat English physical health awareness
Aspaldiko! Expression of surprise after not seeing someone for a long time. Basque surprise feeling
Philotimo Love of honour Greek character
Ludus playful love between children or casual lovers Greek love
Carpe Diem Make the most of the present moment or opportunity. Lit. sieze the day. Latin positive
Aşermek The experience of craving certain foods while pregnant Turkish food
Enxebre Something pure and very authentic Galician positive attribute
Livsnjutare Someone who loves life deeply Swedish love life beauty
Kokoro A unity of mind and heart. Japanese awareness feeling




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