Words without translation. Words that cannot be translated. Untranslatable. Or for which there is no equivalent word in another language. We can define them. But do not combine them with another in our language. And the fact is that the translation of words or their interpretation is not so simple. During nuances are lostdouble meanings.
Various examples. Ubuntu, from the African Zulu language. Popularized by the Linux distribution of the same name, it means something along the lines of “humanity towards others.” Respect, take care of others.” makewith what word Castilian, can we put it together without losing the nuance that the word evokes? Another example. Iktsuarpok, from the Inuit. It serves to refer to “the feeling of anticipation that makes you keep looking outside to see if anyone is coming.” Do we have an equivalent word in Spanish?
There are many more examples. And, of course, in our language there are words without translation. Some are so obvious to us that we forget that they have no equivalent in other languages and must be defined in a few words. How to “reveal” Link to word translates it as “be unable to sleep“or”be unable to sleep”, but there is not a single word that captures the same meaning. More examples of Spanish words without translation: early morning, friolero, chingada (very typical in Mexico), consuegro, cloying or mandylon (popular in Colombia).
House of words without translation
Where to collect words without translation? There are books on the subject. One of the most famous is called Lost in translation, “Lost in translation.” According to the list he makes, he was one of the most read. The newspaper “New York Times. Its author is Ella Francis Sanders, an Englishwoman, an occasional writer and illustrator. Another similar book otherworldly, Kelsey Garrity-Riley. Also illustrated, he collects curious words from different parts of the globe and tries to identify them through illustrations.
There are also many on the Internet untranslatable lists of words. A collection of them can be found at Junoia, a website built in just 24 hours and filled with suggestions from anyone with an untranslatable word. Its author is Steph Smith, who professionally defines herself as “growth marketer, writer and independent producer“.
And among his projects is this curious page that collects words without translation. Over 500 words As long as it grows. untranslatable words in over 70 languages such as Spanish, German, English, Greek, Galician, Chinese, or other more exotic or unknown languages such as Yiddish, Swahili, Tamil or Welsh.
you can check Junoia with complete calm. It has no ads and is very simple. In addition to the default list of recently added words, you can search for a specific word or filter the results by language or label. Every word defined in Englishindicates what language it comes from and turns on the sound to find out how it is pronounced.
The beauty of untranslatable words
I wonder the word Junoia giving the name of this compilation is also an untranslatable word. It comes from ancient Greek. Steph Smith, who is responsible for the page on which this article appeared, defines it as “good thinking or beautiful thinking“. Literal translation: “a healthy mind or a beautiful thought.” But there is not a single word catch its full meaning. It’s over. Wikipedia there are entries for this word in English, Swedish and Tagalog only. And his definition is “the benevolence that the speaker cultivates between himself and his audience.”
More curiosities of this word. Eunoia is one of the shortest English words containing all five vowels. Too bad we can’t use it on word. Try instead with Aihuea. This is a taxonomic genus used to catalog some fossil sponges from the Cretaceous period.
Return to untranslatable words or words without translation. If you know words of this type in your language or in other languages, you can use this link to add them to your Junoia. You only need to specify the word, the definition in English, the language it belongs to, and tag it to give more clues about its meaning.
And finally, even more untranslatable words that you will find in Junoia. Russian monogamous (in Cyrillic, monogamous). Google translate translates it to us as monogamous, which is one of its meanings. But it can also serve to name those who they had only one love in their life. What is the equivalent for this definition in other languages? Another example. Finnish word haxaa. It means “lack of enthusiasm to do something”, but we cannot translate it exactly as unmotivated or lazy. One more example. Word exulosis. Although it is cataloged as English, it has no definitive origin. Possibly Latin or Ancient Greek. Its definition is feeling of disappointment when you try to explain an experience or an idea, but no one understands it, so you decide to stop talking about it.
Source: Hiper Textual
