Long live Nichita Stănescu! He invented “non-words”. Where we have no words to express a state, we have equivalent feelings. After all, a word is a state of mind, a fragment of feelings and ideas expressed. A word leaves a trace, like a breath, like a spirit; it is tied to people like a Pavlovian instinct that subtly describes the world around them. Today, the team at our translation office pulls hard-to-translate words out of the Hatter’s top hat. In a race against the clock through words, expressions and cultures, the White Rabbit meticulously checks his pocket watch. Before we take a puff from Mr. Caterpillar, let us set off on this tempting journey. It is interesting to feel the following words first-hand, and then we will realize that, even if we find no equivalent word in our own tongue, we have already experienced it instinctively:
- L’esprit de l’escalier (French) – the feeling you get after a conversation is over, when you realize everything you could have said.
- Waldeinsamkeit (German) – the feeling of solitude experienced by someone alone in a forest, very close to nature.
- Gadrii Nombor Shulen Jongu (Tibetan) – to give an answer that has nothing to do with the question.
- Litost (Czech) – the state of agony and torment created by the realization of one’s own misery.
- Culaccino (Italian) – the mark left on a table by a cold glass.
- Komorebi (Japanese) – the visual effect of sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees; the resulting play of light and shadow.
- Pana Poʻo (Hawaiian) – the act of scratching your head in an attempt to remember something you have forgotten.
- Pilkunnussija (Finnish) – a person who is obsessed with pointing out other people’s grammar and punctuation mistakes.
- Wabi-Sabi (Japanese) – a way of life based on finding beauty in imperfection and accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay.
- Cafuné (Portuguese) – the act of tenderly running your fingers through someone’s hair.
- Saudade (Portuguese) – one of the most beautiful words, it refers to the emotion of longing and pain you feel for something you had and lost but still love.
- Mångata (Swedish) – the glimmering reflection of the moon on water, resembling a wet road in the light.
- Kælling (Danish) – an ugly, unhappy woman who screams at her children.
- Iktsuarpok (Inuit) – to go outside again and again to check whether a guest has arrived.
- Neidbau (German) – a building of no value to its owner, built for the sole purpose of annoying the neighbors.
- Jayus (Indonesian) – a joke told so badly and so unfunny that you cannot help laughing.
- Kyoikumama (Japanese) – a mother who relentlessly pushes her child towards high academic achievement.
- Tartle (Scots) – the act of hesitating while introducing someone because you have forgotten their name.
- Myötähäpeä (Finnish) – the shame you feel for someone else when they make a fool of themselves without realizing it and you are a witness.