If you could, please format it
WORD, DEFINITION
I want to add them to a flashcard deck for myself, I casually collect loanwords and have been getting turned on to trying out csv/flashcards lately haha
Feel free to do the same, if the format is followed you can just copy and paste it to a new line of the csv deck
Kalsarikännit
A Finnish word for getting drunk at home in your underwear with no intention of going out
UBUNTU, from Zulu.
Ubuntu is a concept in Bantu philosophy which is commonly translated as humanity or humaneness, but those are rough and don’t capture the nuance.
In a bunch of SciFi stories, a robot or alien joins a group of humans. The humans are initially wary of the alien/robot, but they spend time together, bond, and realize that they’re not really that different after all. A human says that, while their new friend might not be Homo sapiens, they’re definitely human.
Ubuntu captures that whole concept in one word. It refers to the subtle, ineffable qualities which “make us human”, as exemplified by our social bonds and how we interact with each other.
Portuguese:
Cafuné: the act of caressing someone’s hair.
Xodó: a name for one’s favorite someone (like a teacher’s favorite student, a grandma’s favorite grandson…)
Xará: someone who shares the same name as you.
Doch, from German and its main use is expresseing a positive statement in opposition to a prior negative one. For pronunciation, use Wiktionary.
So if you say: “you can’t win the game by cheating” and I say “Doch!” I express “yes I can!”. But neatly in one single word with one syllable, which is why it’s often used by children as single counter to something their parents say.
In Norwegian, “ja” (pronounced ya) means “yes” for positive questions, while “jo” (pronounced yoo) means “yes” in response to a negative question (contradicting a negative statement).
A fun thing about it is that it’s often pronounced on the inhale rather than the exhale.
I mean technically this exists to an extent in English. “You can’t touch this!” - “I can too.” (Every word is stressed). Or endless sandbox arguments along the lines of “Not!” - “Too!” - “Not!” - “Too!” - “Not!” - you get the idea. It’s more pronounced as a concept in Germanic languages that haven’t strayed as far away as English has but they still have it.
I wonder about this sometimes because you can append “huh” to an English affirmative to make it into that meaning, as in “yes-huh”. The questions I’ve been asking myself is whether such a phrase is one word or two. Is it the same word as “yes”? But even still, it’s not allowed to be used by anyone wishing to appear mature or professional, so it doesn’t exist in every lect of English, which I suppose makes it less of an “English” word as such.
Swedish has the word “jo” which means the same as “doch” here, but it’s different in that it doesn’t also mean “but”. I feel like it’s most often followed up by a clarification of the supposed truth rather than left as a single word. Picturing it by itself has me feeling frustrated like the speaker is only answering as shortly as possible and otherwise ignoring me.
Interesting, thanks for your perspective!
I would say if you only say Doch! as answer in German, it’s more kind of a stubborn, planting your feet in the ground, “come at me” response instead of ignoring.
Zeitgeist
Rendezvous
Iceberg
Ireland has craic (pronounced like crack). It means fun, but less like a child having fun playing, more like an adult enjoying spending time with friends.
Someone can be good craic. They are fun to be around. Having craic is having a good time. “What’s the craic?” Can mean “how are you?”. In this context, it’s more like, asking for a fun story, but it’s usually rhetorical.
And now I understand the scene in Derry Girls when the call Claire a craic killer…
The looks I get when I ask about someones craic…
Backpfeiffengesicht, a face you want to slap or is for various reasons in need of a slap
German?
Naturally.
Perfect!
相合傘, means two people sharing one umbrella.
相合傘 has a strong romantic implication, stemming in part from a play on words. The first two characters are pronounced あい (ai), the same as the word 愛 (ai, “love”), and thus the connotation is that both people under the umbrella are in love.
How is it prononced/romanized?
あいあいがさ
Aiaigasa
It sounds like a play on ‘love’. I see why this trope is often used in Japanese media.
Yup! I think it’s definitely a play on love (愛, pronounced あい/ai)
schadenfreude/skadeglad, Pleasure from another’s downfall
Schadenfreude is counted as an english word as well now, if that matters.
Doesnt but thank you for caveat
Skadeglad, if they want something easier to pronounce for an English speaker. But tbh I don’t know if these kinds of compound words should count at all.
Considering thst schadenfreude is a commonish word in English now… I just assumed it was the inspiration for this
There’s a few “words” in this thread that I feel are stretching the concept. “Köksbord” is written as one word, but it literally means “kitchen’s table”. A “bookshelf” and a “book shelf” are not different things.
I feel like “skadeglad” is a bit more in the spirit of things though because the combination of the words implies a more complex idea. It could be misinterpreted as meaning sadistic by just a literal reading. More like “every day” vs “everyday.”
Added
Good thing the Germans are awake rn. Thats where all the answers for this question lie.
Im sure all languages can teach us something. It doesnt have to be the compound ones, like Hyygae is good
Cwtch (pronounced like your are going to say cook, but replace the k with tch. It is a welsh word, essentially meaning “to make small”. Not as in shrinking, but in various instances like: A covering or shelter, the small space under the staircase, a hug or cuddle (because you are making the space between you small), and it also means when you like someone because you have a small space in your heart for them.
So the connotations are typically of being closed around and conforting.
So you’d use it in these ways:
- your boots are over in the cwtch
- come here love and give your nan a lovely cwtch
- Bryn has a cwtch for Rhiannon
I’ve found that this is a cousin of the word “couch” (as in the furniture) in English. Their ancestor referred to a bed or nest.
Yeah I can see how that evolved from the common influence of Latin, since romans invaded Wales. There are other Welsh words that are definitely from Latin (as was the French version.)
English - French - Welsh
Monday - Lundi - Dydd Llun
Window - fenêtre - Ffenestr
Takalluf: polite hesitation or excessive formality.
So your guests being formal or reserved are told there is no need for takalluf.
Fanaa: Used in both a spiritual and romantic sense. In Sufism, it means the annihilation of the self or ego, a total breaking free from the material world to achieve union with the divine. In romance, it implies a total surrender or losing oneself completely in the beloved.
Its very commonly used in poetry, particularly Sufi.
Also a very beautiful sound to the word. Urdu is honestly a very beautiful sounding language.
Kenjataimu is the japanese word for post-nut clarity.
Fyi, that’s literally “wise person time” - “taimu” being the English word “time”, so you’d be re-importing that one.
I’ve never been Muslim or spoken Arabic, but I’ve adopted inshallah. It means hopefully or with any luck
The English equivalent would be “God willing” and in Dutch, a lovely archaic phrase: “Zo de Heere wil en wij leven”
It means “if Allah wills it”, so similar to “God willing”.
