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
Handschuhschneeballwerfer A coward willing to criticize and abuse from a safe distance German adverse attribute interaction
A'ama Someone who speaks rapidly, hiding their meaning from one person while communicating it to another Hawaiian interaction
Arigata-meiwaku When someone does something for you that you didn’t want them to do, and having to express gratitude for the act Japanese interaction
Entzuterre A distance that allows you to listen to another conversation Basque interaction
Dapjeongneo Used when someone asks a question despite knowing the answer, expecting the listener to make a smart and studied guess Korean society interaction
Ta'arof (تعارف) The complicated set of niceties and social rules to be observed as a form of good manners and proper etiquette Persian society interaction
Jibaku The act of unintentionally or inadvertently demolishing your own argument in the process of defending your view Japanese confusion interaction
Arlésienne Used to describe people who are at the centre of a conversation/situation/problem but can’t be found anywhere French society interaction
Nunchi The art of listening to a person and identifying his or her moods or emotions. The literal combination of "eye" and measure" Korean interaction connection emotion
L'esprit de l'escalier Thinking of the perfect reply after the conversation is over. French friends interaction
Pantoffelheld Literally "slipper hero"; A man who may act tough in front of his friends but can’t stand up for himself against his wife German family interaction
Zindabad A shout of encouragement; a cheer, which can also be interpreted to mean "may [idea or person] live forever" Urdu life interaction
Tingo The act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them Pascuense funny interaction character
Jia You (加油) Literally translated to mean "add oil", Jia You means something along the lines of "give'er hell", used in the same way "good luck" is often applied in English Chinese strength interaction
L’ecole stratim (לאכול סרטים) Literally "to eat motives"; describing a person that loves drama Yiddish extreme interaction
Kolay gelsin "may it come easy for you"; said to those who are busy Turkish interaction connection
Sortable adj. Someone you can take out without fear of being embarrassed, usually used to refer to friends or family members. e.g. "Elle n'est pas sortable." French friends interaction society
Zugzwang To be forced to make a move even though it will likely to be at your disadvantage German action interaction philosophy
Gaupasa Spend the whole night partying until the early morning of the next day. Basque interaction exciting
Janteloven Jante’s law; a set of social codes or norms that emphasize the importance of collective success rather than individual Norwegian society positive interaction
Wejbet Unwanted/inconvenient social and family obligations that are somewhat necessary to maintain good relations Arabic family interaction cultural
Commuovere "Heartwarming,” but specifically refers to a story that moved you to tears Italian beauty interaction emotion
Décidément When coincidences occur or when events repeat themselves by chance (for example, when you run into the same person many times in one week) French surprise interaction fate
Paasa A person who leads someone on (intentionally or not). Appearing as if they are genuinely interested romantically when they aren’t Tagalog adverse interaction awareness
Erkelmek Teasing someone with repeating what they say Nogay interaction funny




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