People Share Their All-Time Favorite Words In A Foreign Language

"Goodbye" signs in various language seen at Disneyland's "it's a small world" attraction
JACQUELINE BRANDWAYN/Unsplash

All languages have certain words that roll so beautifully off the tongue.

It's no wonder why listening to vocal arias from operas and oratorios–which are typically in languages other than English–can be such a satisfying experience.

Examples coming to mind that are pleasant to the ear include, "Un Bel Di Vedremo" from the Italian opera Madame Butterfly and "Au fond du temple saint"–a duet from the French opera, Les pêcheurs de perles.

Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor candela1200 asked:

"What is your favorite word in a foreign language?"

People found these words fun to say.

Not Always, But...

"Tokidoki - 'sometimes' in Japanese, just really fun to say lol"

– rogue_rocketeer_

It Flutters

"Papillon. Means butterfly in french and its fun to say."

– kk1289

Der Emergency Vehicle

"Krankenwagen"

"German for ambulance."

– 8thFurno

A Childhood Memory

"When I was a kid, the first Xbox 360 game I ever got was a Spanish copy of Halo 3 (I don't speak Spanish). At the beginning of the campaign, the characters keep saying 'careful' over and over again. Because of this, 'cuidado' has become one of my favorite Spanish words, and the voice they used has become my default voice to say other Spanish words. My other favorite has to be 'resbaloso'. A large, exaggerated r roll and a boisterous tone just makes this one of the most fun words to say in any language."

– AdriftMusic

A Favorite Pasttime

"Winkel. It means 'shop' in Dutch."

– MrRonObvious

These words are not compliments.

Those Darn Kids

"Gowniaki - polish for 'Sh*tling' in reference of annoying kids."

– BmMjO

Referring To Contemptible People

"Pendejo."

– Broccoli_Vivid

Like The F-Bomb

“'Tabarnak!' I love how, instead of being bodily-function based like English swear words, French Canadian sacres are mostly related to Catholicism. This one is my favourite as it’s the rough equivalent of the versatile 'f''k' swear in English, so many uses."

– jerrys153

You may want to sound these out slowly.

Well, We've Tried

"Verschlimmbesserung - German noun for an attempted improvement that only makes things worse."

– JR_0507

The Translation Doesn't Track

"Meerschweinchen, it’s German for Guinea Pigs, I like it because it literally means 'little sea pigs'. Which makes no sense."

– AdvantageBig568

What An Inebriate Would Say

"kalsarikännit - originating in Finland, in which the drinker consumes alcoholic drinks at home, dressed in as little clothing as possible, mainly in underwear with no intention of going out."

– evendronesflyaway

My favorite word or phrase really, is "Oh la, la, c'est cher"–which means, "Oh my, it's expensive," in French.

It was one of the first phrases I learned in middle school when I started taking French as an elective.

When I went home and shared with my mom what I learned, she was so amused by how the alarming phrase sounded. She couldn't stop laughing.

This led to her constantly asking me to repeat it whenever we were in the presence of her friends, and I milked it.

This is one of my treasured memories of my mother.

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