Foreign Words We Need in English | Otherwords

English has more words than most other languages, but there are still so many familiar things and experiences that we don't have a word for... but other languages do! Here are some of our faves!
Otherwords is a PBS web series on Storied that digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and fınds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fıelds of biology, history, cultural studies, literature, and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human.
Host: Erica Brozovsky, Ph.D.
Creator/Director: Andrew Matthews & Katie Graham
Writer: Erica Brozovsky, Ph.D.
Producer: Katie Graham
Editor/Animation: Andrew Matthews
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Associate Director of Programming for PBS: Niki Walker
Stock Images from Shutterstock
Music from APM Music
Otherwords is produced by Spotzen for PBS.
© 2022 PBS. All rights reserved.

[@David-un4cs]

I learned recently that Indian English has some unique words. One that I learned about was "prepone" as in the opposite of "postpone". So you could prepone a meeting from Tuesday to Monday.

[@resourceress7]

I'm a US American, and I recently learned that Austrialian English has "behindhand." It means being in debt or late/behind on your payments. In my English dialect, we have "beforehand" (to describe something that occurs before something else), but not behindhand.

[@loganl3746]

Prepone is such a good concept. Also, I just love this kind of thing! Similar to how in American English slang, we have "whelm", deriving from underwhelmed and overwhelmed. It's not actually a word in Modern English, but among people I've heard use it, it means "to bring about a mild reaction in a middle-ot-the-road kind of way. Not too much or too little. Satisfactory, in a good/genuine way. When something works as it's supposed to in a satisfying way"

[@david13579naranja]

I have never used the word but I am surprised it isn't a more common thing. We have "preponer" in Spanish too. I just got so used to saying "move up" that it never occured to me to transliterate it from Spanish.

[@KeivanHH]

The opposite of "to postpone" is "to anticipate"

[@adrianblake8876]

@@KeivanHH Isn't "anticipate" synonymous with "expect", though!?

[@tiagooliveiradelucia4841]

In brazilian portuguese, we have "cafuné", which means the act of moving your fingers through the hair of someone you love. It becomes even more special when you discover that this word was brought to our language all way from Africa by slaved people.

[@twicepilled]

that's so lovely! i think there's a music duo called cafuné

[@tack3545]

@@twicepilled iiiiii watch the moooooon!

[@FaustoPego]

I immediately thought you were going to say "saudade" and I was ready to bonk

[@hyungtaecf]

@@FaustoPego A maioria dos idiomas tem alguma palavra para saudade.

[@FaustoPego]

@@hyungtaecf yes 📏💥 📏💥📏💥bonk bonk bonk

[@oktabramantio4709]

As an Indonesian, I think English should have a word for "we including you" and "we excluding you". In Indonesia we have the word "Kita" and "Kami" for these concepts. It is just much easier to understand in conversation

[@Aman-qr6wi]

Its a linguistic semantic/syntax found in many languages, not unique to indonesian. Its called Clusivity. English can't even accept it because its a grammatical feature,not just a lexical semantics or word.

[@kailomonkey]

I would like it in English. It is communicated by context which is basically have to understand the whole culture to understand which meaning is being used.

[@oktabramantio4709]

@@Aman-qr6wi I only speak Indonesian and English. It would be stupid to claim something that I don't know. If you know other languages with the same concept, I think mentioning them would be a great idea

[@zapstarfr]

Who cares bruv

[@oktabramantio4709]

@@zapstarfr I mean you can literally read 2 comments above you, mentioned that he likes the concept to be integrated in English. And anyway, I was not asking for anyone's approval when suggesting this

[@dw9219]

“Hiraeth” is a welsh word that means the longing for a place or time that no longer exists. Like a nostalgia for your childhood home, where people long departed still live. Something irretrievably lost.

[@joshuapatrickvidal4954]

This word fittingly fits the situation of endangered languages

[@gravy473]

Damn

[@Mammutidae]

Ha I know that one as the title of a particular metal album

[@Iemonic]

isnt that just nostalgia?

[@chiliwithonel]

@@Iemonic i saw a tiktok specifically explaining hiraeth in the context of Welsh culture; for centuries Wales has been under the assimilatonist thumb of the British empire, and hiraeth describes longing for that long-lost cultural connection, without fear of oppression.

[@aristotleasparaguspodcast1129]

"The English language takes what it wants, kind of like the England of languages" That line deserves an award.

[@AuntieDawnsKitchen]

Reminds me of that delightful quote, “We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”

[@jessicaclakley3691]

Glad I’m not the only one who loves that line lol

[@Lucius1958]

@@taylorfusher2997 WTF does this have to do with the video? 🤨

[@jordanbriskin238]

@@Lucius1958 Just report his reply as spam, like I've been doing.

[@SamButler22]

No it was kinda confusing. Saying England and using UK flag for a start. Did she mean it's made up of multiple things like the UK is? Did she mean taking stuff like the British Empire did? Or did she really mean England? If so, I can't work out the reference

[@ian2081]

In Finnish the word ‘sisu’ does not have a direct English translation. Though the rough translation can be ‘inner strength’ ‘perseverance’ or ‘strength of will.’ My Finnish grandmother, however, said the real translation would be: ‘too dense to know any better’

[@MsWill813]

Yes, it definitely has the element of stubborness in it.

[@mrnul-gi3fo]

Often when I tried to find translations or meanings of it it was like, the inner strentgh of a finn. and now living in Finland and seeing how rather stubborn ppl are and very humble, to a degree of slight annoying ngl, I can understand why sisu doesn't have a translation, never seen any folk like the finns

[@saygo-png]

the translation is just "stubborness" this is really not a unique word. It's calling a global concept something unique to Finland, its dumb nationalism. (I know here you just talk about the word, but people do say that the concept itself is unique to finns too)

[@ian2081]

@@saygo-png so, no, that’s not correct. Sisu doesn’t have a direct translation. Google is a thing. Try it.

[@jira6423]

Persistence? Endurance?

[@ThisIsNotAhnJieRen]

Some Filipino (Tagalog) words that I can think of: 1. Kilig - like "butterflies in your stomach", but more of the rush or the giddy feeling you get when you experience or witness something romantic. 2. Umay - the feeling when you had too much of the same food or of the same chore or task that if you do it one more time, you'll gonna be literally sick. 3. Tampo - the feeling when you are disappointed at someone because they did something wrong to you but you're not on the level of pissed off yet. Then you kinda sulk and avoid the person. But if they woo or cajole you even the slightest, you're okay again. It's basically Filipino passive-aggressive but a little flirty?! If that makes sense.

[@jjsmith3302]

Lovely!

[@david13579naranja]

isnt #2 basically cloying?

[@AngryKittens]

@@david13579naranja Nope. "To get sick of something/someone" is probably the closest English translation. "Craving something different" is also close. The saying "familiarity breeds contempt" is also relevant. There is no direct equivalent in English, AFAIK. For example, you love chocolates. Someone gave you a truckload of chocolates. So you begin to eat so much chocolate that eventually it becomes "umay." You crave something other than chocolates to eat. Cloying or cringe-inducing (behavior, food, etc.) in Filipino would be "sukot."

[@TheCrackerjack95]

@@david13579naranja It can mean "cloying", but it's closer to "getting sick of something" in various context. For example, if you have a lot of homework, you can say it is "nakakaumay" or if you're watching an overly dramatic TV show, you can describe it as such. The word is synonymous with the other Filipino word "sawa", which roughly translates to "getting tired of something". The latter is another example of word not directly translatable in English.

[@ThisIsNotAhnJieRen]

@@AngryKittens whoo! SUKOT! 😆😆😆

[@plr2473]

Another gem from Japanese is enryo no katamari. It literally means "The piece of restraint." It refers to the last piece of a shared food that doesn't get eaten because it would be selfish/awkward for someone to take it.

[@matthewetmoi8436]

Galicia (Spain) also has an expression for this: la vergüenza del gallego

[@Formicola]

Also known as 'la verguenza del Gallego' ('the Galician's shame'), as I learned while in Vigo. :)

[@Rhomega]

A recent one I learned was the Japanese "Chuunibyou" describing "early teens who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers."

[@phoenixfritzinger9185]

I’m amazed that I never came across that word during my early teens when I was both going through an enormous weeb phase but I was also considering converting to Wicca Chuuni can also be used as an adjective to describe something being like something that a Chuunibyou word do, like reading books by Silver Ravenwolf or attempting to develop psychic powers

[@imightbebiased9311]

Well, when you raise a nation on decades of RPGs where no protagonist can be older than high-school age, what do you think they're going to believe? :D

[@BigKC3]

@@imightbebiased9311 I remember reading something that said this and the same trope in anime as actually being the cause of chuunibyou

[@mfaizsyahmi]

A concept with a whole anime to explain it.

[@retsevlys]

the word is a slang term literally meaning "2nd year of junior high sickness", because it is read as "中" for junior high, "二" for 2, and "病" meaning sickness or disease

[@moderndaycain16]

we have the word "üşenmek" in Turkish. it means "being too lazy to do someting". it is different than word "procrastinating" because you procrastine your responsibilities but you can "üşenmek" for literally everything. to stand up, to talk, to wake up, to drink water etc.

[@NeurosenkavalierEmilSinclair]

I really hope this word will be picked up by german youth slang since it picked up a lot of turkish words already - but this is the word i really need 😁

[@troxexlot18]

Umm no, dwadling is the word that matches that

[@fyorr]

@@troxexlot18 Dawdling is kind of procrastinating where you do something minor/unimportant. Üşenmek is a mental state rather than an action; there isn't necessarily a preventative action involved in üşenmek as there is with procrastination/dawdling

[@monguu]

One of my favorites in Spanish is "empalagoso/a" which is a word to describe something that is so sweet that it becomes overwhelming. This can also be used to describe that annoying overly lovey-dovey couple or a significant other that coddles their partner too much or is too affectionate.

[@jjsmith3302]

Cloying

[@david13579naranja]

​@@jjsmith3302Funny. The comment about this one is basically someone saying the same in Filipino and I told them that English has "cloying". idk if "cloyed" is really a word in English but I use it when I have been affected by something "empalagoso", i.e. when I am "empalagado"

[@fnjesusfreak]

I think of "saccharine" ?

[@NashobaLusaTaloa]

We have many words in Spanish which have no English equivalent: "metiche" - someone who always sticks their nose in everyone else's business; "chiquiado" - a child who is constantly catered to (not exactly the same as "spoiled"); "abrazado" - a baby who wants to be held all the time; "para dero" - someone who parties and gets drunk at parties a lot; "flojera" - not laziness, but you just don't feel like doing anything at the moment; "consuegros" - literally your son-in-law's or daughter-in-law's parents; and more.

[@NashobaLusaTaloa]

"Para dero" was supposed to say "parandero"; my phone changed it. Metiche teléfono!🙂

[@sylviecroteau3565]

So interesting! As a native French speaker, I often struggle to find an equivalent to "bon courage" (literally "good courage") to say to English-speaking friends going through a tough time. "Good luck" doesn't quite cut it for someone about to undergo major surgery or rebuilding their lives after the loss of a loved one.

[@atsukorichards1675]

頑張ってGannbatte/頑張れGannbare in Japanese, I think. (Or 勇気出して/have courage.)

[@pauljordan4452]

I speak French fluently since 1996, so we'd say in English be brave or have courage.

[@KissMyFrog42]

Submitted for your approval: the German word "kummerspeck" which means the weight gained through emotional eating. The literal translation is "grief bacon". After the last few years, I think we can all identify with this word.

[@waldtrautwald8499]

Good one! Speck in this context just means belly fat, so maybe a better translation would be something like "grief blubber". Also, in German you capitalize every noun, so it's Kummerspeck, not kummerspeck.

[@KissMyFrog42]

@@waldtrautwald8499 Thank you! High school German class was a very long time ago.

[@foodofthegods]

**grief bacon**

[@danielkover7157]

To be honest, I like the English translation better. Grief bacon! 😂

[@Pou1gie1]

@icankillbugsThey were referring to Covid (and possibly political and social upheaval).

[@tammygant4216]

I'm not a native German speaker, but one of their untranslatable words I love is waldeinsamkeit--The feeling of solitude in the forest...not in a lonely way, but in a spiritual way.

[@lydia8937]

I am Algerian and I have three mother tongues (Amazigh, Arabic, and French), all completely different from each other. I also speak English, German, and Spanish (I am currently learning Mandarin) and this video beautifully expresses what I feel when I try to translate an untranslatable word. There is always something lost in translation. It's fascinating, and it's one of the reasons I adore linguistics.

[@arjix8738]

@@taylorfusher2997 first of all, you most likely are a bot, second of all, please fix your grammar, cause you make 0 sense.

[@robbieboydudeguy]

@@taylorfusher2997 ???

[@The_SOB_II]

@@taylorfusher2997 esteemed client, this is a gas station

[@parselucas]

@@The_SOB_II what did he say? i cant see his reply

[@The_SOB_II]

@@parselucas No idea, long since deleted. Probably something bigoted, given the fact that I responded

[@joanhoffman3702]

In a Western film (don’t recall which), a Native woman’s name is given in English as Dawn. The Native man explains that it means all the things that come with dawn. I always think of it as the early morning light, the birdsong, the feeling of the air, the freshness of a new day. I know that some words contain multitudes of meaning, in any language.

[@sheren_b]

"the england of languages" really got me lol i do really love the sentiment tho that no matter the language there are shared experiences and how much richer the share and exchange of words between languages to describe those experiences

[@judgedbytime]

smh

[@Iamlurking504]

Yeah, mhm, us8ng the union jack and saying England like a geographical idiot and a person who's brain is a hamburger.

[@allangibson8494]

Where the French actively exclude the importation of “foreign” words in spite of having a colonial empire an order of magnitude larger than England… (France has a land border with Brazil… (and a sea border with Canada)).

[@joebloggs396]

Now it's more the US of languages, unless you live in the past like certain people who's identity is irretrievably stuck to a few centuries ago.

[@KevinVanOrd]

When I moved to Belgium and started to learn Flemish, two words immediately struck me: 'komkommertijd' and 'gezellig'. 'Komkommertijd' means 'cucumber time' and refers to a slow news cycle because all the politicians are on holiday. 'Gezellig' is sort of like the Dutch/Flemish version of 'hygge'. The closest English equivalent I can think of is 'cozy', but 'gezellig' encompasses so much more nuance.

[@SuicideBunny6]

I couldn’t think of any Dutch words from the top of my head, but ‘komkommertijd’ is such a great one!

[@jannovotny4797]

That word (or phrase...) also exists in Czech! "okurková sezóna" literally translates as "cucumber season" and it has the exact same meaning

[@philemonzz]

Gezellig could be translated as cozy yeah, but that does leave out the joy of being with with others

[@gengis737]

One German wrote a complete book to explain the meaning of gesellig.

[@kalle911]

In Estonia we have a "pickled cucumber season". Or you know, " augurkseizoen".

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

My daughter has fully adopted "my mouth is lonely" into her lexicon.

[@Lucius1958]

one might go to Yiddish, and coin 'noshy', from 'nosh'...

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

@@Lucius1958 It isn't quite the same. Noshing is more like constant snacking, almost eating because its there.

[@xeixi3789]

Among us

[@BritneyLaZonga]

That would be "naschen" in german - isn`t than "Snacking" a good english approximation?

[@cwood892]

I would love for an English equivalent for the Japanese word "Otsukaresama desu" which means literally something like "You are an awesome tired person" but is perfect for a reply when someone has had a long day, is working hard, etc. It shows you acknowledge and appreciate their hard work. Your significant other comes home from a stressful day at work? "otsukaresama desu" You chat with the worker at the grocery store who told you they've been working for the last 12 hours? "otsukaresama desu". Your teenager complains about being tired after staying up late doing homework? "otsukaresama desu" It's just such a nice phrase and I always wish I could say it after I learned it while in Japan

[@blasianking4827]

The best indirect translation for that would be 'thank you for your work' or 'thank you for the help', since it is a way of thanking your colleagues for working with you but also expressing joy that work is over.

[@alpers.2123]

In Turkish, there is a similar phrase to salute someone for their work. "Kolay gelsin". But it is told to someone while there are still on their work. It translates to "May it be easy"

[@peterc4082]

Rather not. You do know that you can say a few more words and you don't need that? That's how people who relate well to each other communicate. Eg: Thank you for your hard work. Thank you so much for your awesome work. I can see you're tired. Please get some rest, etc. Japanese are colder to each other, some of our other world cultures are not as "autistic".

[@atsukorichards1675]

A casual form of "お疲れさまです/otsukaresama-desu" is "お疲れさま/otsukaresama" or even "お疲れ/otsukare," for "-desu" is a polite way to say your coworkers, strangers and so on.

[@Formicola]

I often say 'otsukaresama' to my Japanese husband (and he to me, because we're constantly having to perform some enervating drudgery or other). Interestingly, when I was in Iran I often witnessed people saying 'khaste nabashid', meaning literally 'don't be tired', which seems to be equivalent. I often find myself saying 'otsukaresama' to non-Japanese people (though I'm not Japanese, but bits of the culture have evidently rubbed off after 18 years of marriage) and then hurriedly trying to explain that I am 'honouring their tiredness'. In fact, husband and I are often so very tsukareta (tired) that we just use the truncated, informal version 'otsu'.

[@ldbarthel]

For me, the "untranslatable" words highlight different ways of experiencing the world, thereby broadening my own perceptions. If the idea is important enough in a culture, the language develops simpler words and phrases for it. (Of course, "simpler" is relative.) As an exception that proves the rule, German/Deutsch has a propensity for just slamming words together to express new concepts. A classic is "Handschuh", literally "hand shoe" for "glove". Although when specificity is needed, "Fingerhandschuh" is glove and "Fausthandschuh" is mitten. (Yes, "finger hand shoe" and "fist hand shoe".)

[@thisotheroneguy6]

😂

[@pakde8002]

I don't completely agree. In the South of the USA you commonly hear women exclaim "oh my goodness, she's so cute I could just eat her up!" referring to a baby in their presence. We really could use a word for that lol. Indonesia has it with "gemes" Possibly because cannibalism was a thing on some of the islands here.

[@GrayC_2478]

lol, that is like spanish. instead of a separate word for toe, we have "dedo de la pie", which means "finger of the foot".

[@okkietrooy6841]

In Dutch we do similar things. Handschoen = Handschuh = glove Vingerhandschoen = Fingerhandschuh = glove But Fausthandschuh = want Another example of making new words from excisting words: Werkhandschoen: glove used for work Natafelen is also a combination word. Tafelen is an old fashioned word for diner. (Tafel = table tafelen is a verb made from tafel.) Na means after. Natafelen is your activity after having dinner. We use gluing words tigetger a lit to make new words. Meisjeskleding : clothing for gurls Kinderkleding: clothing for children Jongenskleding: clothing for boys If you use schoenen in stead of kleding, the word will be about shoes. In stead of schoenen you can use ondergoed (underwear); speelgoed (toys);

[@SmoothieFan13]

@@pakde8002it’s called cuteness aggression!! Haha

[@A.H._]

i love “apapacho” as a noun or “apapachar” as a verb. is a word we use in spanish that we adopted from the nahuatl language that means “to hugh someone’s soul”. it’s a gesture or action of love that goes beyond.

[@nats9524]

One of my favourite words is 'gezellig' from Dutch. It means cosy, content or warm, but in a kind of communal context, like when you're not just physically cosy but it's cosy because you're together with other people. I wish we had that in English!

[@Nexils]

Came down here to say the same thing! It's like... a room looks cozy, but the people make it 'gezellig'.

[@saschamayer4050]

Sounds a lot like "gesellig" in German. Didn't know that this word exists in another language.

[@nats9524]

@@saschamayer4050 does it have the same meaning as in Dutch? That's so cool!

[@saschamayer4050]

@@nats9524 Yes, I think so! Funny, isn't it? 🙂

[@giratinamusics]

Dont forget about 'spannend' a fealing thats you can translate to 'exited for something scary'

[@sammmypicante]

We need a part two of this!

[@cdm8909]

wish you would’ve talked about the word “Saudade” in portuguese, it’s also untranslatable, it’s the feeling of missing, but in a more passionate way

[@MeltedBrains89]

I think maybe yearning or pining have a similar meaning

[@nesthetic]

I learned about that from the song Saudade by Us the Duo

[@imightbebiased9311]

@@nesthetic There's also a song by the Japanese band Porno Grafitti named "Saudade", but the singer mangles the pronunciation so badly, I didn't know it was supposed to be the same word. :)

[@cdm8909]

@@MeltedBrains89 not exactly

[@MsWill813]

Kaipuu

[@artturikalimo9101]

Always loved the Finnish word "saunanhiljentäjä", which literally translates to "sauna silencer". It refers to that blurting out of something inappropriate, or crossing the line in a conversation that gets everyone quiet, followed for instance by the classic "...anyway..."

[@phantasmagore7991]

aylyak - bulgarian mostly used as a noun, it means a person who doesn't take anything seriously and is never in a rush; someone who takes their time to savour life

[@kingwolfton]

In Portuguese, the word “saudade” roughly translates to the sad feeling of longing of a loved, absent someone or something that may never return. (I don’t speak Portuguese, I just know of the word)

[@Whimsy_and_Dreams]

In chamorro, my family's native language, there's "magudai" which refers to "cute agression" towards babies where you just have to pinch or bite them. However, magudai also includes the explanation that we do it so ancestor spirits think that our cute baby is an ugly baby and they don't want to steal the baby from us. So you pinch a cute baby until they make an angry or crying face to save them from dying young.

[@SiKedek]

And in Tagalog, there's the famous "gigil", which is much like Chamorro "magudai", Malay "geram", Indonesian "gemas", and Javanese "gemes".

[@VTimmoni]

As a bit of a lexophile I like the fact that sometimes one has to use multiple words to describe something. Work choice is revelatory. Well presented descriptions, excellent use of descriptors, they are like poetry.

[@ecurewitz]

You left out the best one! The German word backfeifengesicht, which means a face badly in need of a fist, which perfectly describes a coworker of mine

[@peterpan408]

German is perfect for concatenating new words. Just smush the adjectives and noun together and you're done. However it doesnt make the shortest of words since they dont contract.

[@EdKolis]

A face that was born for punching? Or something like that...

[@matthewetmoi8436]

A slappable face or a punchable face. French has a similar term: tête à claques

[@aurorazoe6011]

Food Coma, that is the phrase I use and other I have met use when feeling sleepy after eating. Food coma (American English) Abbiocco (Italian)

[@authormichellefranklin]

Mafan reminds me of the Japanese word mendokuse, which is translated as "troublesome" but it has more the flavour of "It's too much of a hassle."

[@fnjesusfreak]

"mendou kusai", literally, "a smelly problem".

[@梨-i5l]

I was thinking of mendokusai too

[@ArtemusBlue]

I think the closest equivalent I can think of in (Scottish) English is "pain in the arse," which is considerably less polite, and is also a whopping FOUR words, but does get across the point that somebody or something is "a hassle" or "an inconvenience", lol 😂

[@fnjesusfreak]

@@ArtemusBlue Apart from using the US equivalent of arse, the expression exists here (alternatively with "neck" instead of "ass").

[@freezeYT-]

Mendoukusai? Why write it in rough Japanese like mendoukusee are you a delinquent

[@danidejaneiro8378]

Thank you for not including _saudade._ Brazilians think it’s some super special unique untranslatable word that only they feel, but the way it’s used in daily life is no different to how we use _“to miss, to long for, to yearn for._

[@LindaC616]

"Choteo"-- the ability to smile through anything. Cubans think they own it, but Caribbeans in general and IMO the Irish also possess it

[@Ana_crusis]

The translations I see of this word just mean kidding or joking and I don't understand what you mean by the Irish having it, I am willing to be corrected there but I've never heard any person in Ireland ever use that word.

[@sofiamelendezcartagena1711]

In Puerto Rico "Chotear" is to tattle.

[@seonaxus]

@@Ana_crusis yeah, we'd just say "it's grand"

[@Ana_crusis]

@@seonaxus yeah i think it's more like I'm just messing

[@Ana_crusis]

@@sofiamelendezcartagena1711 online it says it means to tease , to make fun of.

[@Thunderscreamer]

The words I feel are missing in English aren’t actually the ones that pack the most meaning in, but the small & simple ones. In Kujametaak there is a word for “the day before yesterday” (fukenuum), as well as multiple “we” pronouns to distinguish if the 2nd person is also included in the group, or if it’s just the 1st & 3rd (wula & wuli, respectively). When returning to English, I found it so frustrating not having these words that cover such small things that come up so often in day to day life

[@imagesbirds5066]

Wonderful episode, as always. By far my most appreciated youtube podcast. Finnish "Sisu" springs to my mind. Something in the realm of "resilience" and "stoic tenacity". Finns tend to refer to it as something like their national spirit. As a small nation surrounded by powerful neighbours, who are historically and recently hungry for power, exposed to long and cold winters in an harsh environment - you better get your fair share of "Sisu".

[@bwaychick20]

As someone who is trying to learn Finnish right now, I agree. It’s somewhere between self assured power and charisma

[@simonkemfors]

Denmark has hygge, Sweden has lagom and Finland has sisu, as their "national spirit" words, what does Norway and Iceland have?

[@5ucur]

@@taylorfusher2997 I don't see how that's related to sisu but whatever.

[@mollysandera991]

Is it something like "grit"?

[@peterc4082]

Like the movie.

[@crazysasha1374]

As a Frenchman, I discovered "l'esprit de l'escalier". Guess we don't talk that much about it.

[@ElectariumTunic]

3:20 - In Swedish we call it _"okynnesäta"_ (oh•chynn•es•eta) [mischievous eating]; to eat something just because it tastes good.

[@zan9898]

never heard in my entire life

[@ElectariumTunic]

@@zan9898 Check SAOL

[@obnoxiousNoxy]

I'm quite fond of the German 'doch'. It means yes, but only in response to a negative statement. Kind of like snapping back at "no you won't" with "yes, I will".

[@ingela_injeela]

Like the Swedish "jo". Ja = ja Doch = jo

[@Formicola]

Similar to the Persian 'chera', which by default means 'why', but in response to a negative statement means 'au contraire'. Or, as Lewis Carroll might express it, 'contrariwise' (which I hereby move we adopt, as well as 'y'all', 'yous' or some other viable word for 'you [plural]').

[@TerriMRoberts]

I love this!! I do a learning activity around the same idea when I'm teaching teachers how to communicate with people who are new to speaking English. They love learning how ideas are expressed in other languages, some often swear they will adopt new words/idioms/etc because they're useful, like the ones in this video.

[@ferretyluv]

1:45 Esprit de l’escalier. We borrowed that already. As for mafan, sounds like “hassle” covers it pretty well.

[@Gebohq]

5:56 Dang, the mom burns at the end!

[@xianyv]

I also got to learn a term "mudita", a Sanskrit & Pali term that describes joy & pleasure from delighting in other's well being/happiness/success. I find this very beautiful 🥰

[@blazer9547]

Vicarious joy

[@tiltiktekwani7562]

Tetelque, a nahuat (not nahuatl) word adopted in salvadoran Spanish that refers to the aftertaste a non-riped fruit leaves in your mouth, like the one green bananas might leave.

[@thesalvadorian]

Learned something new, thanks!

[@AngryKittens]

We have native words for that in Filipino too: "apdo" in Cebuano "pakla" in Tagalog We even specifically use that taste to reduce the fishiness in raw fish kinilaw dishes. By using mangrove fruits or mangrove bark extracts. It does have a direct English translation though, but it is rarely used in everyday conversations: astringent

[@Prospector32]

@@AngryKittens Could that be astringent? The ultimate example would be the taste/feeling of an unripe persimmon.

[@Prospector32]

@@AngryKittens Sorry, didn't hit the read more.

[@antoniocampen]

thanks now i can describe one of the worst tastes that exist

[@approachingetterath9959]

the confidence with which you pronounce these words and the effort you put in to get it right is such a standard of quality. many don't don't put in the effort in their videos and it just feels disrespectful and uncaring towards the culture/language/country. it's not like it's a livestream, you can do takes till you get it right.

[@TheElectra5000]

Other words is Spanish: Madrugada is that time of the night between midnight and +/- 6 am. Even that hour between 5 and 6 am (when the sun is already out) is madrugada. Madrugar means to get up for the day during those hours (not to be confused with just waking up and going back to sleep). Also, the verb querer has two meanings. To want and "to be very fond of someone without having to use the L word". You would use "te quiero" when talking to a family member or to your partner in a non sexual way. But it's less intense than "te amo" (I love you). Ayer means yesterday and antier means two days ago.

[@antoniocampen]

antier? i have never heard that only antes de ayer or anteayer

[@TheElectra5000]

@@antoniocampen At the very least in my country we use the terms this way: Ayer - yesterday Antier - two days ago Anteayer - three days ago

[@theskintexpat-themightygreegor]

I can't believe I forgot about "jayus"! DAMN! I lived in Indonesia for YEARS, but that was years ago. As soon as I saw it in this video, I laughed out loud. How did I lose that word from my idiolect?? Well, it's back in there now, and thank you so much for that! And yeah, 麻烦 (máfan) is another one I need to keep.

[@oscarflores7823]

(3:30) I'm from Honduras, not sure about other latin American countries, but over here we use the word "Gula" to describe this. Which is basically a direct translation of the capital sin of Gluttony.

[@Genzafel]

In Mexico we also say that word

[@pOpsi_mOn]

In Brazil we also say that word

[@botigamer9011]

6:22 actually the Tagalog "gigil" would translate to "cuteness overload"

[@cel2460]

As an Indonesian I totally forgot that the word "Jayus" even exist, and I haven't heard that word used since I think 2010. We need to bring that word back y'all.

[@hooraayy]

Jayus always shows up in "word need to exist in english" hahaha

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

cringe word.

[@kategaringer789]

Thank you for the additional cultural context identifying it as a form of dated slang! I definitely picture it differently in my mind now

[@Edward135i]

Umami is a word I always think of, its a Japanese world with no translation but foodies use it so much now that its basically a English word now, most English speakers who are into food, now understand what Umami means. 20 years ago very few people would have understood what the 5th since of taste was or would have ever heard the word umami.

[@williandalsoto806]

I love this channel so damn much, since the beginning when it was only Monstrum to now, with all the additions that made it even better, specially Dr. E!

[@datafoxy]

It is so fun to know there are single words that can take a paragraph to explain.

[@bracket0398]

The itis is when you eat (sometimes too much) and get sleepy pretty quick after. Not sure origins on that one, but I heard it used in 'The Boondocks' long while ago.

[@1eDITORcHRIS]

It's short for something we cannot say which I don't know the origins of either but yes as a Black, African-American person I was definitely looking at 3:50 and thinking we do have a word for that for sure lol

[@jitaru3707]

My favorite personal example of this is the word "gaman" in Japanese, which I would say describes persistence, combined with strength, stubbornness, and stoicism to go on? Maybe? It has a very clear meaning in Japanese, but I've never been able to explain it in a way that feels correct in English.

[@ingela_injeela]

Like the Finnish "sisu".

[@thomasdevine867]

Let's bring back "overmorrow," a now archiac word meaning the day after tomorrow.

[@KevinVanOrd]

In Dutch we still use that. Overmorgen!

[@maelstrom57]

French has _avant-hier_ (the day before yesterday) and _après-demain_ (the day after tomorrow). It's weird how useful words like these somehow fall out of use for no reason.

[@jalabi99]

In Nigerian pidgin English, they say "next tomorrow" for "the day after tomorrow".

[@TheClintonio]

As a native English speaker one word I couldn't find in Japanese was petrichor which itself is a rare English word meaning "the smell just after rain has fallen on dry ground". You all just imagined it when reading this too. I explained it to a Japanese native and they told me they didn't know of any such word so it definitely goes both ways.

[@atsukorichards1675]

雨上がりの匂い。

[@hyperseele]

Indonesian here. And I might also add that being 'jayus' is another level of skill dads could learn to add to their repertoire of puns and dad jokes.

[@kaollakitten]

I love your videos, you make the language barrier become a bridge to knowing our human experience is essentially the same 💖

[@nochan99]

"Pålegg" in Norwegian means that stuff you put on a piece of bread to make a sandwich, iike "spread", but also non-spreadable items like ham and cheese slices. It has annoyed me several times there is no good English alternative to this very simple and common concept.

[@twistedtachyon5877]

"Lay out" or "arraign"? Or is the particular context of sandwiches and interchangeability of continuous and discontinuous spreadables core to the term?

[@OmegaPointZealot]

It doesn't really have a meaning if it's not used for something that is relatively commonly put on a slice of bread (or between two slices, if you're feeling fancy). It (fairly) literally means "[stuff] that's laid on", and encompasses everything from jam, sliced ham and cheese, to fish roe, pickled herring and the perennial Norwegian experience: mackerel in tomato sauce. 😆

[@rinnavalcury7008]

In tagalog, we call that "palaman" or "to put something in"

[@flis625]

Filling? The filling in a sandwich?

[@nochan99]

@@flis625 except sandwich is two peices of bread, we usualy just have one piece with pålegg on top

[@whospilledmybeans]

2:04 could call it “treversion” in English. You don’t want words that don’t sound English in English. That’s another problem. Biggest problem is getting people to use that word

[@Shatterverse]

Part of why English is awesome is because when you don't have words that describe the thing you're thinking of, You can cobble together a sentence that does the job just fine.

[@megmiao3051]

In Chinese there are a group of words called cheng yu, which are translated to idioms in dictionary but I don’t feel they are exactly the same. They are basically individual words that refer to a historical story or particular literature, so their meaning can only be understood if you know the story. It’s like a story packed in a single word. The closest examples I can think of in English is Achilles' heel, you have to know the mythology to understand the reference. I bet other languages have this kind of words or phrases.

[@pobelix5803]

I always knew Linguistics and languages in general are fun, which is why I studied German Philology. Not very inventive given the fact that I'm a native speaker of German. I would really like to know how many languages Dr. Brozovsky is fluent in. Doesn't have to be perfect, just being able to talk in daily conversation and understanding things like literature and news. Greetings from northern Germany 🙂

[@tuliofaustino783]

In Portuguese, there is the word "Saudade", which means the feeling of missing somebody that you love

[@chocomintcookie524]

"piliriqatigiiniq" seems like the concept of "gotong royong" in Indonesian. And yup, I agree, it's really hard to define it in a single word like "togetherness" in English, cause it really is a much deeper concept than that, as it includes the community spirit and helping each other when you mention about it :)

[@stevetheduck1425]

The closest English comes to that may 'being in common cause', but it's got a bad name due to it being used to accuse the family or friends of a rulebreaker due to lack of knowledge of the case, often by neighbours. A rough experience.

[@simonkemfors]

the Swedish word "lagom", meaning something like just right, not too much and not too little, is pretty famously difficult to translate into other languages without making a wordy explanation or missing the exact meaning

[@uur3n]

Otherwords is one of my favorite series! Thank you for sharing al these wonderful words. I was wondering if you will ever do an episode on rhotics??

[@dbernardo7226]

Amazing that someone thought of putting together words that people who speak other languages wish they could use in conversation, just to make a direct point! TY Erica!!! (BTW, amazingly pretty, too)

[@DragonGalvy]

I always enjoy these videos, but this one particularly so, having seen documentaries in the past regarding how English came about. :) Hope it continues to assimilate other meaningful words in the future. Plus, you have a very enjoyable voice to listen to.

[@ELisa-qf2mw]

Much happy as I am to see you included "abbiocco" as an Italian linguistic, cultural and lifestyle staple, I really can't understand how do you english speakers live your entire lives without "Ti voglio bene". It literally translates as "I want good for you/ I want your good" and you can use it to express tender, deep, uninterested affection to relatives, pets, friends, children and so on. It's like I love you but it has no possible romantic/sexual misunderstanding, I could say it to my husband's brother at Christmas (which I probably did at some point) and nobody would take it wrong. At the same time it's very personal, you don't use it referring to an artist, an activity, an object, a fictional character or a place you would say you "love" in English. On the other hand, I think I will live my entire career as a psychologist without finding a satisfactory translation to "empowerment". I end up using the english word all the time, it's freaking great.

[@deldarel]

"Fridge wit" would work well for the first one. We already have fridge logic, which is when you walk away from a story and you start questioning the logic of what happened or the universe it took place in. "Why didn't they just fly to Mordor?" kind of stuff. The Dutch word Natafelen is a contraction of 'na' and 'tafelen' (after 'eating at a table'). But this brings us to another one: 'tafelen' = eating at a table. Though it's generally used for groups of people sitting at a table, and implies a certain 'gezelligheid'

[@lmeeken]

Sobremesa and Natafalen exist in those countries because restaurant workers are actually paid a living wage, and aren't forced to live off tips. So diners can linger and chill out in a restaurant after eating without costing their server a bunch of that night's take-home pay by denying them more tipping customers.

[@aliciab.b.1837]

In Spanish, we have a word for the day after tomorrow and I think we need it in English, it's Pasado mañana which translates to past tomorrow, I think we should use the word past-tomorrow in English

[@eomguel9017]

We also have the word for the day before yesterday, "antier". And that also reminds me of the words for second to last "penúltimo" and third to last "antepenúltimo".

[@aliciab.b.1837]

@@eomguel9017 I'd completely forgotten about those but they should also have words in English

[@justinbeath5169]

Terms for both exist in English, but they have fallen out of usage. They are overmorrow for the day after tomorrow and ereyesterday/nudiustertian for the day before yesterday

[@MsWill813]

Ylihuomenna and toissapäivänä

[@rachelcookie321]

Learning a second language I’ve noticed there are a lot of words that seem to have a direct translation but when it comes to actual use, they’re differently. Like I would be taught by my teacher that this word means the same as this word English but when I hear that word being used by native speakers I often hear them using it contexts that I wouldn’t use the English word in.

[@WhiteRaven696]

I definitely want/need schadenfreude to become a much more well-known word.

[@davidbarber3821]

I've been using it for yrs

[@TyxTheRedSnapper]

The best type of joy ;)

[@TheSuzberry]

It’s very popular in my circle. But we take pride in our snark.

[@iamTheSnark]

@@TyxTheRedSnapper No. The worst.

[@iamTheSnark]

@@TheSuzberry oh.

[@Lawrence2525]

I know it’s not a word, but in Italian we have “ti voglio bene”, which would roughly translate to “I want you to be fine/I want good things to happen to you/I cherish you” and it’s an “I love you” you say to friends, parents, people you care for (even significant others) without the erotic subtext of love ❤

[@stevetheduck1425]

Nice. In English it can be 'all the best', or 'my best wishes', but it doesn't have weight you describe.

[@raphaelnej8387]

As a french individual, I have never heard of the word « l’esprit de l’escalier ». Yet what you describe is commonly referred as « ressasser », which is define as "Going back to (the same things), going over in his mind" It has a double meaning as you can « ressasser » alone in your head you can also do it talks, but there it means reminding people of some event again and again, to make them guilty or something, or simply because you can’t think of anything else. Google wants to translate it as rehash or turn over. Also « ressasser » is a cool palindrome.

[@k-techpl7222]

From what I checked 'esprit de l'escalier' comes from an old French novel written by Denis Diderot. (Paradoxe sur le comédien)

[@GusJKlaus]

In Brazilian Portuguese we have "saudades" which is the heartache that you have on remebering something, some moment or someone that is gone or you don't see for a long time, it is a mix of sorrow for something that's left in the unreachable past, and bliss for the happiness you felt while it lasted

[@jacobalbores]

I had an inkling it would be "gigil" for Tagalog. Easy pick and very relatable. Learned a lot in this video. I will start using "kuchisabishii" now 😄

[@pakde8002]

Gigil also means shiver in both Tagalog and Indonesian. Menggigil /shivering but the word for overcome by cuteness is gemes in Indonesian.

[@karlbasallote6719]

giggle

[@achuuuooooosuu]

@@pakde8002 Gigil doesn’t mean shiver in Tagalog. Sure there’s the act of trembling, but we only use the word when it’s a hidden outburst of happiness or anger (and also recently, cuteness). But it never means “shiver,” we have the words “katog,” “ginaw,” and “nginig” for that.

[@honeybhingful]

What's funny is 'gigil' can also be used negatively: when a person is angry at someone and they have this urge to (physically or verbally) hurt them.

[@seaneken1483]

​@@pakde8002gigil doesn't mean shiver in tagalog. the word for shiver in tagalog is "ginaw" or "nginig

[@blue_champignon5738]

It would be really cool to see a video on the international phonetic alphabet IPA and have IPA pronunciations on future words!

[@EdKolis]

Yeah, I see these words spelled out in IPA but I can't read it so I have to go with these ambiguous pronunciation guides, like is that A supposed to be like in its-a me or like in Mario or like in I'm Canadian, eh?

[@zlyntudteam2394]

3:33 javanese kinda also have a word for that feeling of wanting/craving to eat something not because you're peckish but just because you're bored, or have nothing to do.. it's called "perapinen"

[@zlyntudteam2394]

@kepala kentang to be honest, i dunno.. it's just something that we say too often without knowing its actual meaning

[@alaa_abuiteiwi]

in 0:17 you completely forgot to mention ARABIC, it has over 12 million words, some things have multiple words expressing the same meaning or a derivative meaning in different circumstances, like the word "lion" which can be translated into 300 different words, or the word "sleep" that can be translated into at least 8 words expressing the degrees of sleepiness. I know you can't know all the languages of the world, but I thought it's worth mentioning :)

[@nikkicastle3423]

”Empalagar” Spanish That sickly/tired feeling you get when you eat too much sugary foods

[@GinnyNReviews]

And "empalagoso": A sweet sugary food which certainly is going to give you that feeling

[@jessicajayes8326]

I call that an insulin dump.

[@bananamama4393]

In Icelandic we have the word "að nenna" or "nennis" and that roughly translates to i don't want to do this or i dont have the energy for this. Its also uesd as a way to say shure i can do this

[@MariaVosa]

Another great video, I really love this series. Though I have to quibble (great English word) a bit with the common misconception that Denmark is cold and dark just because it's part of Scandinavia. It's on the same level as Great Britain and has a very similar climate.

[@OmegaPointZealot]

Very good point. As someone from further up north (with a possibly fraught history with Denmark), I think it would help most people get an accurate conception of the country by thinking of it as part of mainland Europe first rather than primarily a part of Scandinavia. The culture, landscape and climate is rather more in line with what you'd expect from the Netherlands or Germany rather than Sweden or Norway, after all.

[@berniethekiwidragon4382]

An episode of QI, a comdian panel quiz show mentions this, or rather one of the guests keeps saying it, leading to a hilarious explosion in frustration from host Sandi Toksvig, who is of course, Danish.

[@MariaVosa]

@@berniethekiwidragon4382 It's hilarious when filmatisations of Hamlet purports to place it in Denmark but use Scottish or Norwegian dramatic settings. The highest peak in Denmark is 171 m (c 570 ft).

[@KaCentDix]

One of the best word i've learned this past year is : nhau "it’s a clarion call to go “drinking and feasting”. Pressed to explain the concept further, a man from Da Nang once described “nhau” as “eating and drinking for no particular purpose.”"

[@UnderDrigger]

In Costa Rica, we have a word that could be used in English; Tertulia! It refers to those conversations you have with family and friends, that aren't about anything specific, you just go from one topic to another, just to enjoy the company and the conversation.

[@MsWill813]

Rupattelu

[@lunakick12]

It’s official. I declare that this is the most enjoyable and insightful channel in KZbin.

[@DanielGonzalezL]

Y'all definitely need the spanish word "estrenar", which means to use an object for the first time, very frequently used when wearing clothes for the first time.

[@dankmemewannabe]

6:15 so cute how one of the replies says “la” lol, idk if other people feel that way but it’s nice to see it

[@1Kapuchu100]

I am SO happy Denmark made it into this video! Yay for inexplainable words!

[@calladricosplays]

I love seeing more members of the ABT community! What an inspiration you are. A lot of language studies took place in Taiwan because of all the languages there lol

[@planclops]

3:50 - My family calls the sleepy sensation after eating the “Itis” 😂

[@vassily-labroslabrakos2263]

In Germany it is called Fresskoma (glutton's coma is a good approximation)

[@michaelvaller]

I think the German "doch" is very useful, it functions in the following way: your conversation partner says a statement is false (for example: trees are never green) but you disagree, so you say "doch", meaning "no, in fact the statement is correct", for this case: no, trees are NOT never green. I use this word at least a dozen times every day

[@luisespineira9882]

Contigo means “With you” in Spanish, which also the brand name for the hot/cold travel bottles. Great work Erica.

[@gabitamiravideos]

When I was a child I decided to use “sintigo” (without you) as the appropriate antonym. I was disappointed it didn’t catch :-).

[@abqbobcat]

Then you also have "conmigo", which means "with me".

[@carultch]

@@gabitamiravideos English really could use a better word for without. I experience people commonly mistaking it for with, if they don't hear the second syllable. Con and sin are much easier to tell apart than with and without.

[@genisay]

The Japanese word 'sumimasen' seems to be a bit like mafan, in that one word can be used for a wide variety of things. In a really simple sense, it seems to translate most closely to 'excuse me', but it can be used for everything from being a polite apology to trying to pass someone when the street is crowded, to get the attention of someone in a cafe, to trying to catch the attention of a person who dropped their wallet.

[@iccager]

Hello, I am Chechen and I have a couple of words for you. It's unlikely that you would use them because some of them are hard to pronounce for English speakers, but thought I'd just share: 1) Singattam - the literal translation consists of two words: "Sa" - soul and "Gattam" - constriction. Semantic translation - a combined feeling of sadness, missing someone/something, and anxiety. It's like a feeling after breaking up with someone you loved 2) Täzhge - tricks that slow down business/work; 3) Petokha - avoiding meeting a person Just for fun: 1) Tsuberg - the one who has something to eat (your friend who always has snacks with him); 2) Ġakar - a man with long arms and short legs; 3) Kuts-haram - a person unworthy of his beautiful appearance (the word haram is Arabic);

[@genio2509]

As a Spanish speaker I often forget sobremesa means that and just use it as what goes on top of the table :D