Lost In Translation: Words Foreigners Wish Existed In English
Reddit user Don_Pickleball asked: 'What is a word that exists in your native language that is sorely missed in English?'
The great thing about foreign languages is that each language has its own expressions and words that don't necessarily have translations in other languages.
My mother tongue is an Indian language called Telugu.
In Telugu, we have several words and phrases that don't exist in English, even though I wish they did.
One example is the word 'gaadida guddu.' Literally, it means 'a donkey's egg,' but the word is usually used to denote nonsense.
Essentially, when someone says, 'gaadida guddu,' they are saying something is 'as believable as a donkey's egg' (which means it's unbelievable since donkeys don't lay eggs)!
Redditors know lots of words and phrases in foreign languages that don't exist in English and are eager to share.
It all started when Redditor Don_Pickleball asked:
"What is a word that exists in your native language that is sorely missed in English?"
A Feeling
"In German we have the word 'Geborgenheit' which describes a very specific feeling of feeling cozy and safe and protected. Like you would feel when you're around loved ones sitting around a fire or when the person you love holds you under the warm covers when it's raining outside. I tried to explain this to someone the other day and when we googled the translation- it came up with 'cozyness' which really doesn't pay justice to what it actually means."
– Else1
"“Saudade” it has a similar meaning to “miss you” but we have a direct translation for that “senti sua falta”, saudade has more of an emotional feel to it, it’s really hard to explain, it’s deeper than simply missing someone Btw I’m Brazilian so the language is Portuguese"
– peddy_D
"Gigil? It's when something's so cute you get this sort of feeling of violence? I don't think I'm explaining it right. Kilig is also a similar feeling, but that one is for love; something's so romantic it gives you goosebumps? Or makes you giddy."
– ClickGrayson
Expanding My Vocabulary
"And we have "verschlimmbessern" if you try to fix something but actually make it worse than it was before."
– Chili919
"I need this word in my life."
"Send help...."
– elmonstro12345
Categories
"I miss roles in friendship distinguished in Polish. “Kolega” is a friend who you like spending time with. Partying or chilling. You socialise and have a good time. “Przyjaciel” is a friend whom you don’t need to keep in touch or have a good time. But when some bad thing is happening, you know you can call him."
– CodNo503
Similar Words, Different Meanings
"I remember being in Prague and seeing something along the lines of "Pozor, Polizia voruye" which meant 'attention, the police is looking' but in Russian/Ukrainian it sounds exactly like you'd say 'Shame, the police is stealing'"
– SignificantAssociate
"“Bom dia” means good morning in your language."
""Bom dia” means bomb him in mine."
"We are not the same."
– borazine
A Beautiful Sight
"There is a Japanese term “Komorebi”, for which no English translation exists. It roughly translates as “the scattered light that filters through when sunlight shines through trees.""
"I love how some languages are able to describe such beautiful moments in life."
– tipsy_jana
Grateful For Existence
"Backpfeifengesicht. "A face in need of a fist""
"I'm not a violent person but I appreciate that this word exists."
– No_Tamanegi
I've Felt That!
"Definitely not my native language, but I love --"
""Kuchisabishii“ is a Japanese term which directly translates to 'lonely mouth; when you're not hungry, but you eat because your mouth is lonely."
– MOS95B
The Right Clothes
"Kalsarikännit in Finnish. Literally "underwear drunk" , or more spesifically, "long john drunk.""
"Meaning deliberately getting drunk alone at home in your underpants with zero plans of meeting anyone or going out. I think other nations do this as well, but don't have a word for it."
"Delightfully relaxing and therapeutic at times, slightly concerning if done excessively."
"At best a wonderful opportunity to touch base with your self, your life and your deepest thoughts and feelings. And/or watch that one cheesy comedy from 1992 you love but can't get any of your friends to watch with you because they have standards."
"At worst you wake up to an unholy mess accompanied by a killer headache, cheese all over the bed, cryptic messages on ripped up pieces of pizza box cardboard written by you to you all over the kitchen, and have nobody to blame than yourself."
"I've seen it translated somewhere as "pants drunk", but actual pants are much too fancy attire for this. For full experience you need to wear your most comfortable, decades old long johns that have holes and a weird stain that somehow never comes off in the wash."
– Fit_Share_6147
I Want To Say It!
"My native language is a Native American language called Comanche and isn't a written language but the word sounds like "chaw-tamaw-tey-quat" and it basically is a socially acceptable way to say "I'm done speaking.""
– SCP-33005
"That's fantastic, I'd get so much use out of that."
– HeidiKrups
Baby Bear
"Lagom (swedish)"
"It means not bad, and not too good. Just an average between. A very neutral word."
"For example, when you wash your hands, the water should be lagom hot. Not cold, not scalding hot. Just lagom."
– Live_Rock3302
Who Doesn't Do This?
"Japanese has loads of words that require entire sentences to explain in English. My favorite of all time is tachiyomi, which means "standing at a newsstand reading something without any intention of paying for it.""
– the2belo
I do this all the time, with novels at the bookstore.
Nice to know there's a word for it in some language!
As with any language, English has a wide variety of dialects.
Pronunciations in one region—even within a single country—can vary.
But then there are those creative pronunciations that are just wrong—no matter the region or country.
Redditor nichtwarum asked:
"Which word have you proudly mispronounced for the longest time?"
Like Water?
"My husband pronounces condescending as 'condensending' and it drives me crazy."
"I've told him how it's pronounced a couple of times, but he still keeps saying it."
"I feel like I'm being condescending if I keep correcting him..."
- truryufhvcgdtre
Oh myyy...
"Armadildo."
- Back2Bach
"Armored dildo."
- blamethepunx
"I pronounce it this way the first time just to make the person question what I said. Then I say 'armadillo, what did you think I said?'."
"The follow up has yet to not be extremely satisfying. I hold those precious moments of embarrassed confusion and kinky realization in memory for when I really need a laugh."
- Fallacy_Spotted
Saucy
"Worcestershire."
"This word is physically painful attempting to say."
- Microscopiccheese
"I heard someone call it 'wash your sister' sauce, and I haven’t attempted any other pronunciation since."
- BoofingPalcohol
Chickens?
"Military coup."
"Pronounced it as 'coop' several times during a national debate competition, then got corrected in the middle of the debate by the judge."
"Opposing team laughed at me lol, but we still won."
- Substantial-Chef-198
GiphyDon't get us started on gif.
"Meme, pronouncing it me-me."
- batangtaft
"Had a manager who called any gif or anything sent to the group chat a 'me-me'."
"Loved him, best boss I’ve ever had, and I didn’t have it in me to correct him."
- geoffissiffoeg
Just say weiner dog.
"Dachshund."
"Always thought it was dash-hound until college. Not sure how I missed that lesson in german class."
- sonicaxura
"We had Dachshunds (Jake and Elwood). All the time, people would come up and say 'oh I love dash-hounds' and we would 'yes Dax-unds are great'."
"We would go back and forth discussing dash-hounds and dax-unds as if both sides were not pronouncing it differently."
- stuck_in_traffic
GiphyWeek...
"I used to say the phrase 'Play it by year' but in reality it was 'Play it by ear' which makes a lot more sense."
- Garden_of_Pillows
No, Vyvyan.
"For years, my family has pronounced those things you use to look at far-off objects as 'binoc-a-lears'."
"That's all very well as a family joke, but when you actually say the word out in public by mistake, it's excruciating."
"It has to be said in a whiney voice as per Ade Edmondson in The Young Ones, when he wants to know why he can't use some 'real binoc-a-lears'."
- Rsoles
GiphyAnd potpourri?
"Sachet, I always said it satch-it."
"Even now I feel like I'm just saying sashay and the world is trying to trick me."
- Pale-Procedure895
Rhymes with Pampers.
"For my whole life I thought diaper had an M in it, diamper."
"I still call it a diamper."
"Side note, was playing a party steam game you play with your phones and I realized I'd been wrong forever when my answer 'diamper' got made fun of horrendously..."
- feistiestmango
GiphyApt error
"It took me way too long to realize it’s Alzheimer’s and not Old Timers."
- feistiestmango
Hooked on phonics
"Horse doovers [for hors d'oeuvres]. Yes I am an animal."
- txarbuilder
"I'm only slightly more sophisticated than you, I knew it was fancy and called them oars-du-vores."
- zandyman
GiphyActually...
"I pronounced 'quinoa' as 'kin-oh-ah' for the longest time...in public."
- atltop5150
"If it makes you feel any better, in South America, where quinoa mostly comes from, we pronounce it like you used to!"
"The emphasis is on the O, as in ki-nO-ah."
- whiskercheeks
GiphyHere's the T
"Often. I didn't know you should actually pronounce the 't'."
"I said offen for an awfully long time, well I was taught that way, I still mispronounce it very often."
- raemi134
Zapped
"Champagne. In honour of Zapp Brannigan."
- TomCBC
"Good old sham-pag-nee."
- That_Cosmic_Chealien
"I started doing this with guacamole for the same reason, but have done it so often that I forget to un-butcher it when not with my friends…"
"I have embarrassed myself a couple times at restaurants haha."
- El_Frencho
GiphyHorrifying
"Macabre."
"I pronounced it ‘mah-cuh-bee’ forever like an idiot."
"I thought it was one of two ways to pronounce it, depending on the sentence. I was wrong."
- snarlyelder
A bit of mischief
"I used to say 'mischievious' instead of 'mischievous' (misCHivəs)."
- kikiiie
"The incorrect pronunciation of that one is so common that it’s almost become an acceptable alternate pronunciation, in my opinion."
- ToBeReadOutLoud
Chop, chop
"I don’t know but when I was a kid, 'helicopters' were 'hopter-copters'."
- ApollosOwl
"I called them 'helichopters'."
- yoiliketopramen
upside down spinning GIFGiphyIsn't it ironic?
"Ironically 'mispronunciation'."
"I used to say 'mis-pro-NOUN-ciation'."
- AerobaticDiamond
So, do you or someone you know have any words you proudly mispronounce?
Share them in the comments.
Wordsmiths Weigh In On Which Obscure Words They Wish Were Used More
English is an ever-evolving language, with new words coming to be and old words falling out of fashion all the time.
Some older words are actually quite useful or fun, though, and could have a place in the modern language.
Reddit user emkatherine asked:
“In the English language, what's an old-fashioned or obscure word you wish were used more often?"
“Overmorrow/ereyesterday just easier to say than the day after/before tomorrow/yesterday. l still use these terms in Dutch (overmorgen/eergisteren).”
“I wonder why the English stopped.”
-cantbakemistake
“Quibble: a slight objection or criticism of a trivial matter.”
-FintheFig
“Clement, which means mild and is most often used as an adjective to describe weather. We use ‘inclement weather’ all the time, so why not ’clement weather?’”
-atreeofnight
“Perambulate ~ Walking for pleasure”
-KnotKarma
”I use this and my girlfriend rolls her eyes.“
“I take the cat on his morning perambulations.”
-Emergency-Hope-1088
“Boondoggle. Something that is a waste of time, but has the appearance of being practical.”
-aloha_skye
“Boondoggle is super common in American politics. I don't know if it's used elsewhere. Politically, it's often used to describe an expensive project that is presented as being for the public good but is actually a favor to a particular donor or a way to filter government funds to the contractor that builds it.”
-TheRevEO
“Gobsmacked, I thinks it's more common in the Commonwealth but not in America.”
-soline
“‘Common in the commonwealth’ tickled me a tad.”
-OverunityMachine
“Defenestration—the act of throwing something or someone out of a window.”
-TimeTraveler3056
“If I could throw in an Old English word I wish we used?”
“Bōchord or maybe bochord : library, collection of books, essentially book + hoard.”
-KarmaKitty4-3
“Aglet. That's what the end of a shoelace is called but I never hear it being used.”
-orangeheatt
“Swell. It has such a endearing charm to it.”
"’Mmm this chicken is swell!’”
"’I had a swell time with you last night’"
-fallencabanel
These words may have fallen out of fashion in much of the world, but there’s no reason we can’t bring them back.
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Language is a beautiful thing.... especially when used properly. The amount of words people aren't aware of is staggering ( (or "vertiginous"). There is a vast amount of knowledge that is dying to be read and used. So go out and pick yourself up a thesaurus and dictionary and do some reading and learning. You can begin with this piece...
Redditor u/Mandoe20 wanted to discuss some verbiage that is far too unknown. The more you know, the more you can share. The question was.....
What are some English words that not a lot of people know of?
be better...
Meliorism (so unknown my keyboard is trying to say it's a misspelled word)
"the belief that the world can be made better by human effort"
I'm sorry to say that I'm afraid the world may not be amelioratable.
Ameliorate - to make better 😃.
Exisitng.
Extant: the opposite of extinct; still in existence.
Upvoted for not being a BS ten-syllable word no one would ever use. This could easily show up conversation, but it doesn't.
$$$
Monies, most people don't believe it's an actual word.
I could be wrong, but I think "monies" might be to plural for amounts of money.
So:
There is the money you owe me for the building supplies.
There is the money you owe me for the building work.
There is the money you owe me for other expenses.
Together, these are the monies owed.
The Setting.
GiphyCrepuscule: The time of day immediately following sunset.
Cats. Cats are crepuscular.
Sprinkles....
Sprent. Although, to be fair, it is a word derived from Middle English, so it is pretty archaic.
It means to spray or sprinkle. My gran always used it to describe fat spitting off meat cooking on a grill. I'm not sure where she picked it up, I'm 99% certain that she wasn't around in the 14th century.
Whispers....
GiphySuserration-the whispering, rushing sound that nature can make, like a brook running over rocks. To me, it's the distant sound of wind in the trees as the gust comes closer, closer, until it hits—all sound and motion.
Years and Years......
Sesquicentennial: 150 years from the founding of something.
Sesquicentennial means literally one and a half centennials, and I just like that so much. And there's sesquipedalianism which is a fondness for words that are a foot and a half long!
A lot of Canadians know this one since we celebrated ours three years ago.
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Non-Americans Are Calling Out All The Things Americans 'Love To Say' and They're Totally On Point
GettyImages, @JordyBeasley/Twitter
As blended cultures in the United States, we tend to butcher the English language in casual conversation and don't think twice about it.
We continue on speaking our "American-English" until an overly-observant foreigner points out our unique manner of speaking.
Sadly, they are so right.
How dare judgy non-Americans break our stride by making us self-conscious!
But we won't go down like that. Like, we're Americans and we totally persist, m'kay?
A Buzzfeed article highlighted old and new observations from the grammar police who pointed out our peculiar use of colloquialisms heard from sea to shining sea.
In response, some of the commenters agreed about proper English usage while others passionately defended our unique expressions.
Here are some examples of what people around the world are telling us Americans "like to say" and the hilarious responses that followed.
How many of these are you guilty of?
We love to emphasize things by verbally saying the punctuation mark.
Why do Americans love to say 'period' at the end of arguements as if it's like a mic drop or something— ya gal al (@ya gal al) 1561913770.0
@_QueenAlex Same reason anyone does anything. Because we can— LordHeadass (@LordHeadass) 1561938362.0
This statement applies towards expressing things are going swimmingly.
americans love to say “you’re good”— gabbylaur2n #2 (@gabbylaur2n #2) 1551342314.0
@gabbyl4uren actually, it means, “You haven’t completely lost my respect with your big mouth. Shut up now before you do.”— Kimberly Arnold (@Kimberly Arnold) 1562968246.0
Those with selective hearing are guilty of saying this when something bears repeating.
Americans love to say "wait, what?" and make start your story again instead of apologising for not listening or simply keeping quiet— THE BRAH DAWG (@THE BRAH DAWG) 1560859368.0
@brah_dawg It’s an expression of disbelief, not an expression of “I wasn’t listening”— Isaac Price (@Isaac Price) 1562964559.0
Who's buying?
Americans love saying “It’s a free country!”— Hey Buzzfeed, I am American (@Hey Buzzfeed, I am American) 1559626440.0
@BluntBuckeye Because we don’t have a king or a queen. Unless in drag.— MacMarine4 (@MacMarine4) 1562958239.0
Ex-squeeze me?
I bacon powder?
americans love to say ‘excuse me’ when someone’s in the way and it’s SO passive aggressive 😂😂— Jordan Beasley (@Jordan Beasley) 1539097483.0
to clarify; you’re supposed to engage in the very British (and totally not passive aggressive 😉) act of waiting, tu… https://t.co/8hJb0UYyan— Jordan Beasley (@Jordan Beasley) 1562967155.0
@JordyBeasley I’m American and this is what I do when people are in the way! https://t.co/3OEYidnVoo— The Equestrian (@The Equestrian) 1562958567.0
Irish they were more clear about this.
Why do Americans love saying that they're Irish when 1) the only link they have to Ireland is that their great-grea… https://t.co/eaaH70qm4z— Connor (@Connor) 1552818520.0
There's quite a few angry kids in my mentions now so just to clarify: I'm not interested in your ancestry, and it's… https://t.co/dMcyx9WhHb— Connor (@Connor) 1562965408.0
@arpeggpalegg LOL at all those people. “Actually someone in my family’s last name is O’Brien and I like beer and th… https://t.co/EsOQpsR1ky— not jim (@not jim) 1562985220.0
Level of annoyance varies by tonal pitch.
Americans love saying “you guuuyss”— soniya 🍪 (@soniya 🍪) 1551033266.0
@sXOniya And actually if you’re from philly we just say you’s. That’s a thing. “What did you’s do last night?”— Ryan (@Ryan) 1562967879.0
What were they expecting?
americans love to say “we’re pregnant” when only one of them is pregnant— Hjönk (@Hjönk) 1539945935.0
@heartseekerjhin Becoming pregnant is a team effort, that requires both a man and a woman... the man impregnated th… https://t.co/flF0ZxSZZk— Sheet of Paper! (@Sheet of Paper!) 1562967609.0
In fast food joints, some of us start speaking before making a decision but fill the silence after the horse has left the gate.
Americans love to say "I'm gonna do theeeeeeee" instead of just ordering food like a regular person.— trash loser 👘 (@trash loser 👘) 1537455198.0
@trash_loser I’m American and that drives me crazy. It’s like nails on a chalkboard when I hear someone say that.— Larry Kocen (@Larry Kocen) 1562971346.0
This here is a dig.
Yup.
For some reason Americans love to say “yuuup” as a response. Thank you! “Yup” Take care! “Yup” Sorry!! “Yup.” Ya’ll… https://t.co/8o6Kj3IXtT— Neil (@Neil) 1537374816.0
@neilmuir22 We know what it means; it is regional/colloquial. Perhaps YOU need to broaden YOUR language comprehension skills.— Laurie Payne (@Laurie Payne) 1562960280.0
Guilty.
Americans love to say "super", "super this, super that, super, super, super." -_-— Jacques Kitenge (@Jacques Kitenge) 1407941698.0
@jacques_k23 SuperMan. SuperCuts. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! 😂— Doug Pearce (@Doug Pearce) 1562965241.0
@jacques_k23 That’s only on the west coast like California if you’re talking about people who use it like- “Omg I g… https://t.co/l7zlDRibwn— beth dublin (@beth dublin) 1563016844.0
This predates the use of emojis.
Americans love to say 'lmao'— 𝕂𝕦𝕕𝕫𝕒𝕚 (@𝕂𝕦𝕕𝕫𝕒𝕚) 1391795580.0
@kaycee_xchigs Nope. We type that. Only.— AmyBranson (@AmyBranson) 1562967191.0
We totes like to abbreviate things.
americans love to say veggies instead of vegetables and now you must also live with this cursed knowledge— gerard (@gerard) 1554371706.0
@legerrid And most English speakers, no matter which side of the Atlantic, have forgotten that vegetable is a 4-syl… https://t.co/M9iAGqLEKp— Theresa (@Theresa) 1562965353.0
It's like saying, "are you listening?"
Americans love to say ‘here’s the thing’— Jasmine (@Jasmine) 1546810534.0
@jas_brazier Because I’m about to tell you the crux of the matter— The Equestrian (@The Equestrian) 1562958413.0
@jas_brazier We’re giving you a heads-up in case you’re only half-listening to us as we are to you.— Just Kidding Jeez (@Just Kidding Jeez) 1562956304.0
Okay, like, some things are a regional thing.
Americans love to say “like”— Foolish Prophet (@Foolish Prophet) 1541550096.0
@megcarmodyy Horrible habit for sure.— Jeanette Shinsky (@Jeanette Shinsky) 1562969003.0
Get off my lawn.
Americans love to say ”that’s my property”— mik (@mik) 1532103259.0
@mmikkymik Because we like to own things— Josh Brunke (@Josh Brunke) 1562961647.0
Adjectives are hard.
Americans love to say that things are "addicting"— jack (@jack) 1525265009.0
@sadness_tweets Things are not addicting, they are addict’ive’— Melanie Richer (@Melanie Richer) 1562978239.0
You guuuys, here's the thing. It's a free country and we will continue speaking the way we do regardless of what y'all say. Yup. Period.
Anyway, you're good. LMAO.
If you need a definitive list of American-English sayings and slang, McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: The Most Up-to-Date Reference for the Nonstandard Usage, Popular Jargon, and Vulgarisms of Contempos is available here.