41+ Brilliant Words in Other Languages We Desperately Need in English

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When you compare languages, you quickly find words whose meaning does not line up neatly with a single English word.

People often call these words “untranslatable”, but that is only shorthand. English can explain every idea here. It may just need a phrase, or it may miss some of the original word’s associations.

That is one of my favourite parts of language learning. A new word can give you a more precise way to notice an experience you already know.

Here are 41 words and phrases from other languages that English usually has to paraphrase. Literal glosses are included as memory aids, not as complete definitions.

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.

5 Words and Phrases in Other Languages That Just Make Sense

1. Anteayer (Spanish): “The day before yesterday”

English needs four words for the same idea. Spanish also has antes de ayer, which means the same thing.

2. Ti voglio bene (Italian), te quiero (Spanish) and ich hab dich lieb (German)

All three express affection, but their range changes with the relationship and region. Italian ti voglio bene is common with family and friends as well as partners. Spanish te quiero can be deeply romantic, while German ich hab dich lieb often sounds tender or affectionate. None is a fixed rung on a universal scale below “I love you”.

3. Estadounidense (Spanish): “From the United States”

This adjective and noun names a person or thing from the United States specifically. Spanish also uses americano with several meanings, including “from the Americas” and, in some contexts, “from the United States”.

4. Gigil (Tagalog)

Gigil describes a tense, trembling reaction to strong restrained emotion. It is often the urge to squeeze something irresistibly cute, but anger can produce gigil too.

5. Ser and estar (Spanish): two verbs for “to be”

These verbs help Spanish speakers frame different kinds of being. The photo below uses the deliberately blunt line No eres gordo, estás gordo to present weight as a current state rather than an identifying characteristic.

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The familiar “permanent versus temporary” shortcut is not a complete rule. Occupations use ser even when they change, for example, and locations use estar even when they are permanent. I explain the fuller pattern in my guide to ser versus estar.

8 Terms From Around the World With Bizarre Literal Translations

Literal translations can make a word memorable. Just remember that the full meaning comes from how speakers use it.

1. L’esprit de l’escalier (French): “Staircase wit”

This is the perfect reply that comes to you too late, when the conversation is over and you are already leaving. I love the image of finally thinking of it on the staircase.

2. Bloggbävning (Swedish): “Blog quake”

Sweden’s Language Council included this playful term in its 2008 new-word list for a topic that many blogs suddenly discuss at once. It is an interesting dated neologism, not necessarily an everyday word today.

3. 加油 / jiāyóu (Mandarin Chinese): “Add oil”

Say this to encourage someone: “Come on!”, “Keep going!” or “You can do it!” can all fit, depending on the moment.

4. 吃苦 / chīkǔ (Mandarin Chinese): “Eat bitterness”

This means enduring hardship or being able to bear difficult conditions.

5. Hygge (Danish)

Hygge is a pleasant, safe and relaxed atmosphere, or the enjoyment of that atmosphere. Cosiness is close, but does not cover every use.

6. Flipperförälder (Swedish): “Pinball parent”

This 2011 Swedish neologism describes a parent who lets children go out and find their own way, bouncing through experience like a pinball. It was coined as a contrast with curlingförälder, a parent who clears obstacles ahead of a child.

7. Cwtch, also written cwtsh (Welsh)

Depending on the region and context, this can be a cuddle or hug, or a small cubby or snug place. The warm emotional associations often carried by the word are part of why a bare translation feels incomplete.

8. Glaswen (Welsh)

A glaswen is a forced or insincere smile or grin.

15 Actions We Wish Were Easier to Describe in English

These verbs, nouns and phrases compress familiar actions or habits into a surprisingly small space.

1. Cambiar el chip (Spanish): “Change the chip”

This means changing your mindset, attitude or way of approaching something.

2. 撒娇 / sājiāo (Mandarin Chinese)

To act cute, coy or a little spoiled with someone whose affection you rely on, often while asking for attention or a favour.

3. Politikerlede (Danish)

Weariness, aversion or disgust directed at politicians and politics.

4. Bagstiv (Danish)

Still somewhat drunk the morning or day after drinking.

5. Verschlimmbessern (German)

To make something worse while trying to improve it.

6. Fremdschämen (German)

To feel embarrassment or shame on someone else’s behalf because of their behaviour.

7. Mencolek (Indonesian)

To poke or tap someone lightly with a fingertip. Online lists sometimes add an elaborate opposite-shoulder prank to the definition, but that is not what the word itself specifies.

8. 積ん読 / tsundoku (Japanese)

The habit of buying books and leaving them piled up unread.

9. 頑張る / ganbaru (Japanese)

To persist, hold firm or do your best. Ganbarimasu (頑張ります) is its polite non-past form, often used to say “I’ll do my best”.

10. На авось / na avos' (Russian)

To do something while trusting to chance and hoping it will somehow work out.

11. Dar un toque (Spanish) and fare uno squillo (Italian)

Both can mean giving someone a quick call or contacting them briefly. They were also used for the once-common trick of letting a mobile phone ring once, so the missed call itself carried the message or prompted the other person to call back.

12. Nosh (Yiddish, also English)

To snack, or a snack. English borrowed the word from Yiddish, so this one is no longer truly missing from English.

13. Plotz (Yiddish, also English)

To burst or be overcome by strong emotion. Like nosh, it has entered English through Yiddish.

14. Béaláiste (Irish)

A drink taken to seal a bargain.

15. Uitwaaien (Dutch)

To go out in the wind, often for a walk, to clear your head and feel refreshed.

13 Amazing Phrases and Words in Other Languages to Describe People and Relationships

These words describe people, relationships and social situations. Their existence does not mean every speaker sees people the same way; they are tools available in a language, not rules about a culture.

They can also make good conversation prompts with a tutor. If you are considering one, read our Preply review; if it sounds right for you, you can try Preply.

1. Saudade (Portuguese)

A longing or affectionate memory for an absent person, place or time, often tinged with sadness. The plural saudades is common too, but saudade is the dictionary headword.

2. 缘分 / yuánfèn (Mandarin Chinese)

The fate or affinity that brings people together. It can describe romance, friendship or other encounters.

3. 夫妻相 / fūqīxiàng (Mandarin Chinese): “Husband-and-wife appearance”

A perceived resemblance between two partners, or the idea that their appearance makes them look suited as a couple. It is a social perception, not evidence that similar-looking people are more compatible.

4. 热闹 / rènào (Mandarin Chinese)

A lively, bustling or busy scene. It can describe the enjoyable activity of a crowd, though it does not always imply closeness between the people there.

5. Hils (Danish)

This is the imperative of hilse, “to greet”. In a phrase such as Hils Maria, it means “Say hello to Maria” or “Give Maria my regards”. It is not a noun for concern or caring.

6. Sitzpinkler (German): “A man who sits to pee”

The literal description is also the dictionary meaning. It can be used as a sexist insult implying weakness, so it is better recognised than copied.

7. Ubuntu (isiXhosa and isiZulu)

Humanity, human-heartedness or compassion, often with an emphasis on becoming fully human through our relationships with other people. A slogan such as “I am because we are” points toward the idea but is not a literal definition.

8. 〜によろしくお伝えください / … ni yoroshiku otsutae kudasai (Japanese)

“Please give my regards to …” This full phrase is clearer for passing on greetings than the highly flexible expression yoroshiku onegaishimasu on its own.

9. Мерзляк / merzlyak and мерзлячка / merzlyachka (Russian); friolento, friolenta, friolero and friolera (Spanish)

Informal words for a person who is very sensitive to cold. The forms shown account for grammatical gender; usage varies by region.

10. Почемучка / pochemuchka (Russian)

A humorous word for an inquisitive child who is always asking “why?”

11. Белоручка / beloruchka (Russian)

A disapproving word for someone who avoids physical, difficult or dirty work.

12. Luftmensch (Yiddish)

An impractical dreamer, especially someone with no settled occupation or reliable way to earn a living.

13. Schlimazel, also transliterated shlimazl (Yiddish)

A consistently unlucky person.

I Love Discovering Words in Other Languages!

For me, these hard-to-match expressions are one of the best parts of language learning. Finding a word for a familiar feeling can make you notice the experience more clearly, even when English already has a serviceable phrase for it.

If you enjoyed these, try my collection of weird words from around the world next.

Want a practical system for making new words stick? Vocab Vault shows you how to build and review vocabulary without spending hours on word lists.