17 Weird Words From Around the World

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I’ve always enjoyed weird words. They can show how languages package meaning, imagery and register in different ways.

But “untranslatable” is usually an exaggeration. A word may lack one neat English equivalent, yet still be explainable in a phrase. Context also decides whether it sounds affectionate, old-fashioned, insulting or ordinary.

This refreshed list has 17 supported examples. Three viral entries from the original article were removed because their claimed forms and meanings could not be verified.

For another tour of distinctive vocabulary, watch me share words for love from several languages:

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

1. Arachibutyrophobia: A Rare English Coinage

Arachibutyrophobia is a humorous, rarely used label for fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. It is not a recognised clinical diagnosis.

The coinage combines Arachis, the peanut genus, Greek boutyron, “butter”, and phobos, “fear”. Its scientific appearance is part of the joke.

2. Frappadingue: An Informal French Word

In informal French, frappadingue describes someone who is completely crazy or wildly eccentric. It blends frappé and dingue, two informal words that can also mean “crazy”.

It can sound playful among friends, but it can also be dismissive. Treat it as colourful slang rather than a neutral mental-health term.

3. Tartle: A Scots Word for Hesitation

In Scots, tartle means a moment of hesitation when you are uncertain whether you recognise a person or thing.

It describes that brief uncertainty in recognition, rather than the act of totally forgetting a name.

4. Chutzpah: A Yiddish Word Used in English

Chutzpah, pronounced roughly “CHUTZ-puh” or “choots-PAH”, comes through Yiddish khutspe (חוצפּה), ultimately from Hebrew חֻצְפָּה. Its meanings include “insolence” and “audacity”.

In English, chutzpah can be admiring, meaning nerve or boldness, or disapproving, meaning gall or insolence. Context determines which sense is intended.

5. Fifone: An Italian Word for a Fearful Person

In colloquial Italian, fifone, feminine fifona, means a very fearful person, roughly “scaredy-cat”. It comes from fifa, “fear”.

6. Ohrwurm: German for a Catchy Tune

In German, Ohrwurm means a catchy tune that gets stuck in your head.

Its literal parts are Ohr, “ear”, and Wurm, “worm”. English has borrowed the direct translation “earworm”.

7. Quijotesco/a: Spanish for Quixotic

In Spanish, quijotesco, feminine quijotesca, means “quixotic”: idealistic, impractical or inspired by Don Quijote.

The adjective comes from the title character of Miguel de Cervantes’s novel. In one famous episode, he attacks windmills because he believes they are giants. That scene sits behind the familiar sense of impractical idealism.

8. Jayus: Indonesian Slang for a Bad Joke

In Indonesian informal usage, jayus is an unfunny or badly delivered joke. The failure itself may be amusing, but laughter is not part of the basic definition.

9. Irusu: Japanese for Pretending Not to Be Home

Japanese irusu (居留守) means pretending to be out when you are actually at home, often to avoid an unexpected caller or visitor.

10. Mamihlapinatapai: A Yaghan Word for a Shared Look

Mamihlapinatapai is a Yaghan word for a look shared by two people, each hoping the other will begin something that both want but neither wants to start. It need not be romantic.

The viral spelling mamihlapinatapei is wrong; the attested form ends in -tapai.

11. Kummerspeck: A German Word About Emotional Eating

Kummerspeck, literally “grief bacon”, is a colloquial German term for weight gain associated with emotional eating, often called “comfort eating” in English.

It does not name a particular food, and it is not a diagnosis or a judgement about anyone’s body.

12. Tingo: A Rapa Nui Word with a Viral False Gloss

The Rapa Nui verb tingo means “to extract or haul as much as possible”. The popular claim that it specifically means borrowing items one by one until a friend’s house is empty is not supported by the Rapa Nui dictionary.

13. Ya’aburnee: A Levantine Arabic Expression

Ya’aburnee is a transliteration of a Levantine Arabic expression, not a standardised single word. In affectionate use, it conveys “may you bury me”, a wish to die before a loved one rather than live without them.

Because spelling and pronunciation vary across dialects and transliteration systems, learn the local form from a trusted speaker before using it.

14. Kyōiku mama: A Loaded Japanese Label

In Japanese, kyōiku mama (教育ママ) is a sometimes critical label for a mother who is intensely invested in her child’s educational achievement. Literally, it is “education mother”.

The term describes a stereotype rather than a neutral description of Japanese mothers, so it should not be used to generalise about parenting in Japan.

15. Yaourter: French for Singing Approximate Lyrics

In French music talk, chanter en yaourt means singing approximate, meaningless syllables in place of foreign-language lyrics. Here yaourt is an informal noun for that kind of vocal gibberish.

Yaourter is an informal verb meaning “to sing in yaourt”; it is less common than the expression chanter en yaourt.

16. Backpfeifengesicht: A German Insult

Backpfeifengesicht roughly translates to “a face in need of a slap”. It is an insult for someone who looks insolent or irritating, not an invitation to hit them.

French has a close equivalent: tête à claques, literally “a head for slaps”, for a person considered especially irritating. For more expressive compounds, see this list of unusual German words.

17. Toodle-pip: A Playful British Goodbye

Toodle-pip is a dated, playful British farewell, usually written with a hyphen. Toodle-oo is a related variant.

Its origin is uncertain. Some accounts connect related forms with French à tout à l’heure, but that etymology is disputed and should not be presented as fact.

Check the Context Before You Use a Weird Word

An unusual goodbye is a fitting way to wrap up: toodle-pip until the next post.

Vocabulary lists are starting points, not proof. Check a word’s source, region and register before using it, especially when its definition sounds too perfect to be true.

For more examples of meanings that take a phrase to explain, explore these words English could borrow.