a list of untranslatable words ☕️

cafuné - brazilian portuguese: the act of running one’s fingers, gently but deeply, through someone else’s hair 積ん読 (tsundoku) - japanese: the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other such unread books 木漏れ日 (komorebi) - japanese: sunlight filtering through the trees mångata - swedish: the roadlike reflection of moonlight on water verklempt - yiddish: a person who is too emotional to speak liefdesverdriet - dutch: the heartache caused from an unrequited love and the mental pains one endures; the physical pain of depression fika - swedish/finnish: gathering together to talk and take a break from everyday routines, usually drinking coffee and eating pastries 幽玄 (yūgen) - japanese: an indescribable sentiment, can only be described as a painful awareness of the mysterious beauty and human suffering l'esprit de l'escalier - french: the moment one finally thinks of a witty remark, far too late, after the opportunity has passed kilig - tagalog: the feeling of butterflies in your stomach, usually when something romantic or cute takes place いるす (irusu) - japanese: pretending to be absent from home when someone is at the door habseligkeiten - german: personal belongings, small treasures and property, which define our happiness and sentiments nefelibata - portuguese: cloud walker; name given to the quixotic dreamers, they appear spacey, otherworldly, but intelligent σοφρωσύνη (sophrosyne) - greek: self-control, balance, wisdom & grace;virtue that follows the aphorisms “nothing in excess” & “know thyself" hiraeth - welsh: homesickness for a place which never even existed. Connotations of sadness, yearning, profound nostalgia and wistfulness torpe - tagalog: being too shy to pursue amorous desires waldeinsamkeit - german: the feeling of being alone in the woods litost - czech: the humiliated despair we feel when someone accidentally reminds us, trough their accomplishment, of our inadequacies dustsceawung - old english: contemplation of the fact that dust used to be other things - the walls of a city, a book, a great tree… duende - spanish: the spirit of evocation; the mysterious power a work of art has to deeply move a person gattara - italian: a woman, often old and lonely, who devotes herself to stray cats tоска - russian: a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause, a longing with nothing to long for, nostalgia φιλότιμο (philotimo) - greek: a complex array of virtues; expressed through acts of generosity & sacrifice w/o expecting anything in return gezellig - dutch: abstract sensation of individual well-being that one shares with others;cozy ambience, anything pleasant, homely, friendly