One of the many great things about languages worldwide is the sizeable number of words for which there is no real English translation. Often they tell us about concepts and ideas that we are missing out on in the anglophone world.
As the northern hemisphere heads abroad in the coming holiday season, here are a few to be looking out for:
SPAIN: sobremesa
You may have witnessed the ritual, knowingly or not, while on the hunt for a coffee or a cold beer towards the end of another long Spanish afternoon.
Sitting clumped around tables inside restaurants or spilling out on to their terrazas, are friends, families and colleagues, preserved in the post-prandial moment like replete insects in amber.
Lunch – and it is more usually lunch than dinner – will long since have yielded to the important act of the sobremesa, that languid time when food gives way to hours of talking, drinking and joking. Coffee and digestivos will have been taken, or perhaps the large gin and tonic that follows a meal rather than precedes it here.
The sobremesa is a digestive period that allows for the slow settling of food, gossip, ideas and conversations. It is also a sybaritic time; a recognition that there is more to life than working long hours and that few pleasures are greater than sharing a table and then chatting nonsense for a hefty portion of what remains of the day.
The world may not have been put completely to rights by the end of the sobremesa, but it will seem a calmer, more benign place.
Ask Mariano Rajoy. At the end of May, as it became clear that he was going to be turfed out of office in a no-confidence vote, the then-prime minister did something very Spanish: he and his close circle retreated to a private room in a smart Madrid restaurant. Lunch was followed by a seven-hour sobremesa, and, reportedly, a couple of bottles of whisky.
After all, what does the loss of a premiership matter after a fine meal, a good cigar and some booze-soaked reminiscing? ¡Salud! Sam Jones in Madrid
PORTUGAL: esperto/esperta
It feels almost counterintuitive to have to explain what esperto/esperta means, a Portuguese word without true parallel in the English dictionary.
There are words that come close, that encapsulate something of the spirit of this word – and the word itself is spirited. On the ball, quick-witted, with-it, canny, having common sense, intuitive, someone who gets things done: these all help shade in the space occupied by esperto.
I grew up in Portugal and have always felt an undercurrent of admiration, almost affection, for the espertas.
A Brazilian friend, Tatiana, though, warns of a negative sense. Someone esperto can, she says, use his or her instincts to take advantage of others; to trap or fool them into trouble.
Sometimes it’s easier to understand something by what it is not. Esperta is definitely not slow, dim, unimaginative. If these characteristics were on a spectrum, esperto would be at one end, with “plodding” at the other.
If you understand it, you probably are. Juliette Jowit
ITALY: bella figura
Before celebrating a confirmation in Sicily last year, my aunt breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her British niece was dressed appropriately enough so as not to make a bad impression in front of the extended family.
I was also relieved, as it meant I had not inflicted the curse of the brutta figura, which literally translates as bad figure, on my family.
In pretty much all areas of life, whether it be in the way people dress, how they behave, how well their homes are kept or how impeccably a cake is presented and a gift wrapped, Italians strive to achieve the bella figura, or beautiful figure.
Such importance is placed on keeping up appearances and the finer detail that for unwitting foreigners there’s a sense of being sized up in everything you do, even going as far as to what you eat and drink and at what time of the day you indulge in such activities.
“What matters is not what you do but how you appear,” said an Italian friend, likening it to posting the perfect photograph on social media. It’s a tactic that enables people to get promoted at work and politicians to win over admirers while giving the impression that they are achieving something.
“I call it ‘selfie and spot’,” the friend said. “For example, the politician takes a selfie against a beautiful backdrop, posts it on Facebook with a promise to do something, but then doesn’t follow it through. With a good selfie and a good spot, you can survive an entire career without doing anything.” Angela Giuffrida in Rome
GERMANY: Feierabend
One of the most misleading, but also most enduring, myths about German culture is that it values hard work over a good siesta. Northern Europeans, the legend goes, have a “Protestant work ethic” that means they get the job done even if it means staying in the office late into the night, while the southern Europeans wave it off with a mañana, mañana.
Anyone who sincerely believes that to be the case has never tried to call a German office at one minute past five. When German workers say Ich mach’ Feierabend (“I am calling it a day”), it rarely carries an apologetic undertone but usually comes with the confidence of someone claiming an ancient right.
Dating back to the 16th century, the term Feierabend, or “celebration evening”, used to denote the evening before a public holiday, but has come to refer to the free time between leaving the office and bedtime on any working day.
The key to understanding Feierabend is that it isn’t time for going to the cinema or gym, but time for doing nothing. In 1880, the cultural historian Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl described the concept as “an atmosphere of carefree wellbeing, of deep inner reconciliation, of the pure and clear quiet of the evening”.
Germany’s adherence to the Feierabend rulebook can frustrate when you are trying to make a work call on a Friday afternoon or buy an aspirin from a pharmacy on a Sunday (Sundays being a 24-hour celebration evening).
But as a philosophy, it underpins the proudest achievements of the German labour movement and may just explain why the country has some of the highest productivity levels in Europe: to truly cherish the evening, you make sure you get the job done before five o’clock. Philip Oltermann in Berlin
FINLAND: sisu
Sisu is an untranslatable Finnish term that blends resilience, tenacity, persistence, determination, perseverance and sustained, rather than momentary, courage: the psychological strength to ensure that regardless of the cost or the consequences, what has to be done will be done.
It originates from the word sisus, meaning “intestines” or “guts”; Daniel Juslenius, author of the first Finnish-language dictionary in 1745, defined sisucunda as the place in the body where strong emotions live. In a harsh environment and with powerful neighbours, it was what a young nation needed.
Sisu is what, in 1939-40, allowed an army of 350,000 Finns to twice fight off Soviet forces three times their number, inflicting losses five times heavier than those they sustained.
More prosaically, it has helped Finns get through a lot of long, lonely, dark and freezing winters, building in the process one of the wealthiest, safest, most stable and best-governed countries in the world. It is not all good, of course. Sisu can lead to stubbornness, a refusal to take advice, an inability to admit weakness, a lack of compassion.
It has become a bit of cliché in Finland – a brand name for trucks and strongly-flavoured sweets. Research shows it holds little appeal to the young. But ask a Finn to define the national character, and it’s the word most still reach for. Jon Henley
IRAN: Ta’arof
Ta’arof is a Persian word that has no English equivalent, referring to the art of etiquette ubiquitous in everyday Iranian life.
“You go first,” says Mr A as he meets Mr B at the doorstep, as they try to enter a building. “No, it’s not possible, you go first,” Mr B insists in response. Ta’arof dictates a ritual that may see them both waiting for a couple of unnecessary minutes before one steps forward to enter.
It is an etiquette that is seen almost in all aspects of Iranian life, from hosts insisting on guests taking more food from the table, to the exchanges in the bazaar. “How much is this carpet?” asks Ms A after choosing her favourite in the shop. “It’s worthless, you can just take it,” responds the seller, quite disingenuously.
Although Ms A in reality cannot take the carpet out of the shop without paying for it, the seller might insist up to three times that she should just do that, until the amount of the price is finally mentioned.
The awkward exchanges may have originated out of politeness; ultimately, they may work to the seller’s favour, as the buyer feels a certain obligation to respond to such deference with a purchase, even if the final price is more than she expected.
Another example: you are walking with a friend and you end up doing Ta’arof, asking him to come to yours for lunch, even though you don’t have anything prepared and you don’t really want him to accept.
The friend insists out of Ta’arof that he wouldn’t come because he knows you’re tired and doesn’t want to be a burden, even though deep down he really wants to have lunch at your place.
“Oh, don’t Ta’arof,” you say in a Ta’arof asking your friend not to Ta’arof. He ends up accepting your reluctant Ta’arof. You’re a bit irked, but you’ll have to be all smiles. Not all Taa’rofs are insincere; some are, some aren’t. You’d Ta’arof even if you badly want something, saying you don’t want it; you’d Ta’arof if you really hate something, pretending you want it. Saeed Kamali Dehghan
RUSSIA: тоска (toska)
Leave it to Russia to serve up the melancholy: toska translates as yearning or ennui. Except it doesn’t, because no English word can accurately reflect all the shades of the word, to paraphrase Vladimir Nabokov.
What can toska (pronounced tahs-kah) mean? Spiritual anguish, a deep pining, perhaps the product of nostalgia or love-sickness, toska is depression plus longing, an unbearable feeling that you need to escape but lack the hope or energy to do so.
Visually to me, toska conjures up an endless field of birch on the edge of St Petersburg, in the dead of winter when the clouds never part, and it’s only light for five hours a day anyway.
Toska is the stuff of great literature. Evgeny Onegin, the foundational Russian novel-in-verse about superfluous men, unrequited love and duels? Loads of toska.
Anton Chekhov wrote an entire short story called Toska about a cabman who recently lost his son and searches for someone to talk to about his grief. He ends up talking to his horse. All that broodiness in the great (and not-so-great) Russian novels? You get the picture.
So why choose toska for this list of positivity? Because if the Russian soul s the place where great emotions reside, then toska pays the rent. Without toska there cannot be delirious happiness, endless heartfelt conversations at 4am at the kitchen table, boundless generosity at obvious personal expense.
Toska is a sign that your emotions go beyond logic and that you are really, truly living your emotions. Perhaps you’ve felt toska and you didn’t realise it, but it’s a good thing: it means you’ve got a little bit of the Russian soul in you. Andrew Roth in Moscow
JAPAN: shoganai
As inhabitants of an archipelago that is regularly struck by earthquakes and tsunamis, and – as recent events have tragically demonstrated – floods and landslides, it is little wonder that the Japanese have a well-developed sense of fatalism. Any verbal reflection on humans’ powerlessness to control nature’s most destructive forces often elicit the phrase shoganai.
The expression, meaning, “it can’t be helped,” is Japan’s catchall response to any situation, large or small, over which people believe they have no influence. A more voguish translation might be “it is what it is”. A French person would immediately recognise it as a version of “c’est la vie”.
It could be heard, delivered with deep reflection, amid the rubble of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and, in resigned tones, after Japan’s agonising exit from the World Cup in Russia.
Shoganai, and its synonym shikata ga nai, are verbal coping mechanisms that apply equally to unwelcome developments in everyday life, from getting struck in a traffic jam to having to spend Friday evening at the office.
With its roots in the Zen Buddhist belief that suffering is a natural part of life, it could perhaps be described as Japan’s version of the serenity prayer – a personal and communal recognition that, on occasion, passive acceptance of an unfortunate truth is far easier than trying to deny it.
But resigning oneself to one’s fate with a muttered “shoganai” has its drawbacks. Some observers of Japanese culture note that it is too often applied in situations in which humans have more influence than they think.
For much of the seven decades since the end of the second world war, there has been a general acceptance of the dominance of the conservative Liberal Democratic party, even among liberal voters. Some have pointed to its role in allowing the rise of Japanese militarism in the first half of the 20th century.
Shikata ga nai is, then, partly to blame for weaknesses at the heart of Japan’s democracy, allowing one party to dominate even, as is the case today, when it is mired in scandal.
In a country with few energy resources of its own, nuclear power was for decades the beneficiary of the shoganai mindset, one that accepted the construction of dozens of nuclear reactors along the coastline as a necessary evil.
It took Fukushima to prove that Japan’s lauded sense of fatalism can sometimes be downright dangerous. Justin McCurry in Tokyo
NETHERLANDS: polderen
Het poldermodel and its associated verb, polderen, derive from the Dutch habit of working together to reclaim parts of their country from the sea. Since the Middle Ages, everyone on the same polder, regardless of religion, politics, class and local rivalries, has had to cooperate in maintaining the complex but vital system of windmills and dykes that kept their land dry.
The term, which has been defined as “pragmatic cooperation despite differences”, has been used since the mid-1970s to describe the kind of consensus political decision-making common in the Netherlands, which has been governed by coalitions for over a century, since no single party has ever held a majority.
In policymaking, the concept is exemplified by a Dutch institution known as the Social-Economic Council, a tripartite forum in which government, employers’ federations and unions air their differences, generally reaching consensus on issues such as wage restraint, working hours, job creation and productivity.
In politics, Dutch governments – the latest, a coalition between four parties with widely different views, took a record 208 days to hammer out – are the embodiment of the poldermodel, which has come in for increasing criticism, particularly from the radical right, since the financial crisis of 2008.
Politicians such as Thierry Baudet of the nativist, right-wing Forum for Democracy argue the poldermodel has led to a “political cartel” in which endless compromise has robbed the major parties of all distinguishing features and left them incapable of taking essential decisions. Jon Henley
CHINA: tiáo 条
How do we categorise or classify things, thereby imagining them as one thing and not another? Unlike French or German, gender does not provide categories in Chinese, which groups things by something else entirely: shape.
Tiáo is one of at least 140 classifiers and measure words in the Chinese language. It’s a measure word for long-narrow-shape things. For example, bed sheets, fish, ships, bars of soap, cartons of cigarettes, avenues, trousers, dragons, rivers.
These measure words embrace the ways in which shape imprints itself upon us, while playfully noticing the relationships between all things. The measure word kē 颗 (kernel) is used for small, roundish things, or objects that appear small: pearls, teeth, bullets and seeds, as well as distant stars and satellites.
Gēn 根, for thin-slender objects, will appear before needles, bananas, fried chicken legs, lollipops, chopsticks, guitar strings and matches, among a thousand other things. “Flower-like” objects gather under the word duo 朵: bunches of flowers, clouds, mushrooms and ears.
It’s endlessly fascinating to me how we attempt to group anything or anyone together, and how formations change. Philosopher Wang Lianqing charts how tiáo was first applied to objects we can pick up by hand (belts, branches, string) and then expanded outward (streets, rivers, mountain ranges).
And finally tiáo extended metaphorically. News and events are also classified with tiáo, perhaps because news was written in long vertical lines, and events, as the 7th-century scholar Yan Shigu wrote, arrive in lists “one by one, as (arranging) long-shaped twigs”.
Onwards the idea broadened, so that an idea or opinion is also “long-shaped news,” and in the 14th century, tiáo was used for spirit, which was imagined as straight, high and lofty. In language, another geometry is at work, gathering recurrences through time and space. Madeleine Thien
What is your favourite word, concept or idea in the country you live in? Let us know in the comments, or at theupside@theguardian.com
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Are you a logophile (a lover of words)? Do you hoard words? Are you a word nerd? Do you believe in epeolatry (the worship of words)? Then you’re in the right place. This list of unusual and beautiful words with deep meanings will not only enrich your vocabulary but also allow you to perceive the world differently.
Words are powerful. They have a way of transforming people and their lives. Words inspire, stir, challenge, move, touch, and intrigue us.
Words are beautiful. What makes a word beautiful and pretty? Well, a fine blend of sound and meaning makes a word beautiful. The pleasantness of the word’s sound is called eutony.
So aesthetically pleasing words are not only pretty sounding words but have a beautiful meaning as well.
Did you know there’s a word that has no one meaning? It’s Eglaf. It can be used in place of any other word and describes many things.
I’ve compiled a list of unusual words with beautiful meanings that stir my mind and soul. Apart from my favorite beautiful English words, the list has foreign words with beautiful meanings that I learned during my years of travels to different countries. Most of them are simply untranslatable into English but perfectly translate hard-to-be-expressed-in-words emotions.
Read More: 100 Unique and Creative Travel Words with Beautiful Meanings
Want to add mellifluous, invigorating, heartfelt, and the most beautiful words in the world to your vocabulary? Arm yourself with these unique words in different languages and thank me later 🙂 Let’s get going with these prettiest words!
#1 Mellifluous (adj.)
Pronunciation: muh-li-floo-uhs
Origin: Latin
Definition: A sound that’s pleasing and sweet to hear
#2 Apricity (n.)
Pronunciation: a-PRIS-i-tee
Origin: Latin
Definition: The warmth of the sun in winter
#3 Rakuyou (n.)
Pronunciation: ra-ku-yo
Origin: Japanese (落葉 )
Definition: Golden fallen or shedded leaves
Now that we are talking about our favorite season (Autumn), how can we not talk about the beautiful East Coast Fall Destinations? Nothing is more autumnal than going for a stroll with crisp golden fallen or shredded leaves beneath your feet!
#4 Retrouvailles (n.)
Pronunciation: ruh-troov-eye
Origin: French
Definition: The happiness of meeting again after a long time
#5 Hitoritabi (n.)
Origin: Japanese
Definition: Traveling alone, solitary journey
#6 Luftmensch (n.)
Pronunciation: LOOFT-mensh
Origin: Yiddish
Definition: An impractical dreamer, literally an air person, someone with her head in the clouds
#7 Raconteur (n.)
Pronunciation: ra-kawn-tuh
Origin: French
Definition: A talented storyteller who’s able to spin amusing tales from everyday tales; A person who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way
#8 Sirimiri (n.)
Pronunciation: si-ri-mi-ri
Origin: Spanish
Definition: A light rain; A fine drizzle; Stronger than mist but less than a shower
#9 Rimjhim (n.)
Pronunciation: rim-jhim
Origin: Sanskrit
Definition: The pitter-patter of a light drizzle
#10 Petrichor (n.)
Pronunciation: PET-ri-kuhr
Origin: Greek
Definition: The mild and pleasant smell or scent of earth associated with the first rain after a dry spell
Suggested Read: 14 Beautiful Norwegian Words We Need in English Now!
#11 Morii (n.)
Pronunciation:
Origin: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
Definition: The desire to capture a fleeting moment
#12 Fernweh (n.)
Pronunciation: FEIRN-veyh
Origin: German
Definition: An ache for distant places; A strong desire to travel to far off places; Being homesick for a place you’ve never been; A longing for unseen places even stronger than wanderlust
Read More: Travel Quotes to Inspire Wanderlust
#13 Resfeber (n.)
Pronunciation: RACE-fay-ber
Origin: Swedish
Definition: The restless race of the traveler’s heart before the journey begins, when anxiety and anticipation are tangled together; A travel fever that can manifest as an illness
Related Read: Beautiful Swedish Words
#14 Nefelibata (n.)
Pronunciation: ne-fe-lE-‘ba-ta
Origin: Portuguese
Definition: Literally translates to “cloud-walker”; Colloquially “daydreamer”; One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams; One who does not obey the conventions of society, literature, or art.
#15 Smultronställe (n.)
Pronunciation: “smUl-tron-‘stel-e
Origin: Swedish
Definition: Literally “place of wild strawberries” a special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation; A personal idyll free from stress or sadness.
#16 Dustsceawung (n.)
Pronunciation: ‘dUst-shA-a-wung (DOOST-shay-ah-wung)
Origin: Old English
Definition: Literally “contemplation of the dust”; Reflection on former civilizations and people, and on the knowledge that all things will turn to dust
#17 Heliophilia (n.)
Pronunciation: hE-lE-O-‘fil-E-a
Origin: English
Definition: Desire to stay in the sun; Love of sunlight
#18 Nakakapagpabagabag (adj.)
Pronunciation: na-ka-ka-PAG-pa-ba-ga-bag
Origin: Tagalog (Filipino)
Definition: Worrisome
PS: It’s hard to pronounce for the native speakers too so don’t worry if you can’t 🙂 Such a variety of pretty words in other languages.
#19 Brontide (n.)
Pronunciation: bron-tahyd
Origin: Greek
Definition: The low rumble of distant thunder
#20 Aesthete (n.)
Pronunciation: “es-THEt (ess-THEET)
Origin: Greek
Definition: Someone who cultivates an unusually high sensitivity to beauty, as in art or nature
#21 Sophrosyne (n.)
Pronunciation: sō-fros′i-nē (suh-FROS-uh-nee)
Origin: Greek
Definition: Soundness of mind, characterized by moderation, self-control, and prudence
#22 Elysian (adj.)
Pronunciation: uh-li-zee-uhn
Origin: Greek
Definition: Beautiful or creative; Divinely inspired; Peaceful and perfect
#23 Mångata (n.)
Pronunciation: moon-gah-ta
Origin: Swedish
Definition: The glimmering roadlike reflection of the moon on the water
#24 Koi no yokan (n.)
Pronunciation: koy-noh-yo-kin
Origin: Japanese
Definition: Literally translates to “premonition of love”; The extraordinary sense one has upon first meeting someone that they will one day fall in love
#25 Abditory (n.)
Origin: Latin
Definition: A place into which you can disappear; A hiding place
#26 Flawsome (adj.)
Pronunciation: flaw-suhm
Origin: coined by the supermodel, Tyra Banks in their show ANTM (America’s Next Top Model)
Definition: an individual who embraces their quirks and flaws and knows they are awesome regardless
#27 Datsuzoku (n.)
Pronunciation: thatza-zoku
Origin: Japanese
Definition: An escape from your everyday routine
#28 Rame (adj.)
Pronunciation: raim
Origin: BalineseDefinition: Something that’s both chaotic and joyful at the same time
#29 Vacilando (v.)
Origin: Spanish
Definition: To wander or travel with the knowledge that the journey is more important than the destination
#30 Lehitkalev (v.)
Origin: Hebrew
Definition: Literally “to dog it”; To put up with a lower standard of uncomfortable conditions of living or travel
#31 Komorebi (n.)
Pronunciation: KOH-MOH-REHB-i
Origin: Japanese
Definition: The effect of sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees; The interplay of the aesthetics between the light and the leaves when sunlight shines through trees
#32 Metanoia (n.)
Pronunciation: meh-tah-NOY-ah
Origin: Greek
Definition: The journey of changing one’s mind, heart, self, or way of life; Spiritual conversation
#33 Peregrinate (v.)
Pronunciation: PAIR-uh-gruh-nayt
Origin: Latin
Definition: To travel or wander from place to place
#34 Perambulate (v.)
Pronunciation: puh-ram-byoo-leit
Origin: Latin
Definition: to walk or travel through or around a place or area, especially for pleasure and in a leisurely way
#35 Peripatetic (n.)
Pronunciation: peh-ruh-puh-teh-tuhk
Origin: Greek
Definition: One who walks about; A nomad; An itinerant
#36 Shinrin-yoku (n.)
Pronunciation: shindin-yoku
Origin: Japanese
Definition: To go deep into the woods for its restorative benefits; The Japanese way of forest bathing as nature therapy for peace of mind, restful sleep, and physical health
#37 Shinrabansho (n.)
Pronunciation: shi-nra-banshoo
Origin: Japanese
Definition: Literally translates to “All nature”; everything that exists in the universe
#38 Flâneur (n.)
Pronunciation: flah-neur
Origin: French
Definition: Someone who saunters or ambles around aimlessly but enjoyably observing life and his surroundings
#39 Gadabout (n.)
Pronunciation: gad-uh-bout
Origin: Middle English
Definition: A person who travels often or to many different places, especially for pleasure
#40 Hiraeth (n.)
Pronunciation: heer-eye-th
Origin: Welsh
Definition: A homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; The nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past
#41 Toska (n.)
Pronunciation: tuh-skah
Origin: Russian
Definition: The ache of the soul; Longing with nothing to long for
#42 Dépaysement (n.)
Pronunciation: depeizmɑ̃
Origin: French
Definition: Change of scene, disorientation, culture shock; Feeling that comes from being away from your own home country, in a foreign land, surrounded by strangers; The sense of being a fish out of water
#43 Dès vu (n.)
Origin: French
Definition: Literally translates to ” seen as soon as”; The awareness that this will become a memory
#44 Rasāsvāda (n.)
Pronunciation: ra-sas-vah-da
Origin: Sanskrit
Definition: Literally translates to appreciating the taste and flavor of juice; Perception of pleasure; The taste of bliss in the absence of all thoughts
#45 Cynefin (n.)
Pronunciation: ku-nev-in
Origin: Welsh
Definition: Literally translates to “habitat”; A place or the time when we instinctively belong or feel most connected; The artist Kyffin Williams described it as a relationship: the place of your birth and of your upbringing, the environment in which you live and to which you are naturally acclimatized
#46 Safarnama (n.)
Pronunciation: su-fur-nama
Origin: Persian
Definition: Travelogue; An account of the travels
We have a safarnama. Do you?
#47 Saudade (n.)
Pronunciation: ‘sau-“da-dE
Origin: Portuguese
Definition: “the love that remains” even after someone is gone; a nostalgic or melancholic longing to be near again to something or someone that is distant, or that has been loved and then lost
#48 Yūgen (n.)
Pronunciation: yoo-gehn
Origin: Japanese
Definition: A profound and mysterious sense of the beauty and awareness of the universe that triggers a deep emotional response
#49 Wabi-Sabi (n.)
Pronunciation: wah-bee-sah-bee
Origin: Japanese
Definition: A Japanese concept and art of imperfect beauty; The discovery of beauty within the imperfections of life and art; the acceptance of the cycle of life and death
#50 Ukiyo (n.)
Pronunciation: u-key-yo
Origin: Japanese
Definition: Literally translates to “the floating world”; Living in the moment, detached from the bothers of life
#51 Ikigai (n.)
Pronunciation: ee-kee-guy
Origin: Japanese
Definition: A Japanese concept literally translates to “a reason for being”; ‘a reason to get up in the morning’, to enjoy the meaning of life – passion, purpose, something one lives for
#52 Apprivoise (adj.)
Pronunciation: ap-privoise
Origin: French
Definition: Literally translates to “to tame”; To form a bond with one another; to become known to each other through small moments
We are half-way through these best words. Are you also loving these beautiful foreign words?
#53 Wu wei (n.)
Pronunciation: woo-wey
Origin: Chinese
Definition: A Chinese concept and art of conscious non-action; literally translates to “inexertion”, “inaction”, or “effortless action”, or “action without action”; To embrace the flow instead of an effort to achieve a result; A deliberate and principled decision to do nothing for a reason
#54 Còsagach (n.)
Pronunciation: coze-a-goch
Origin: Scottish Gaelic
Definition: Scottish hygge; A feeling of being snug, sheltered, and warm, inspired by fluffy rugs, cozy fires, outdoor hot tubs, and wood-burning stoves; Finding comfort in life’s simple pleasures
#55 Lagom (adv.)
Pronunciation: la-gum
Origin: Swedish
Definition: Translates to “in moderation”, “in balance”, “perfectly-simple”, “just enough”, and “suitable”; The Swedish concept of having just the right amount; not too much, not too little, just right
#56 Gigil (n.)
Pronunciation: GHEE-gheel
Origin: Filipino
Definition: The overwhelming urge to squeeze or pinch something that’s irresistibly cute and adorable
#57 Ataraxia (n.)
Pronunciation: at-uh-rak-see-uh
Origin: Greek
Definition: A state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; Tranquility or untroubled mind
#58 Musafir (n.)
Pronunciation: musa-fir
Origin: Arabic
Definition: Traveler
Here’s a list of amazing places to visit around the world for a traveler (Musafir) in you!
#59 Wayfarer (n.)
Pronunciation: wey-fair-er
Origin: English
Definition: Someone who travels, especially on foot
#60 Absquatulate (v.)
Pronunciation: ab-skwoch-uh-leyt
Origin: North American English
Definition: To leave without saying goodbye; Leave abruptly
#61 Wanderlust (n.)
Pronunciation: won-der-luhst
Origin: German
Definition: A strong, innate desire to travel and explore the world
Suggested Read: 40 Inspiring Quotes about Family Travel
#62 Utepils (n.)
Pronunciation: OOH-ta-pilz
Origin: Norwegian
Definition: Literally translates to “outdoors lager”; To sit outside enjoying a beer on a sunny day
Fancy a beer outside? What’s better than enjoying one under the Midnight Sun in the Finnish Lapland?
#63 Ballagàrraidh (n.)
Pronunciation: bal-la-ga-rye
Origin: coined by The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows inspired by the Scottish Gaelic word – balla gàrraidh
Definition: Literally translates to the “garden wall”; The awareness that you are not at home in the wilderness
#64 Acatalepsy (n.)
Pronunciation: ey-kat-l-ep-see
Origin: Greek
Definition: The impossibility of comprehending the universe; The incomprehensibility of things; The belief that human knowledge can never have true certainty
#65 Waldeinsamkeit (n.)
Pronunciation: VALD-eye-n-zam-kite
Origin: German
Definition: Forest solitude; The feeling of being alone in the woods
#66 Cockaigne (n.)
Pronunciation: kaw-KAYN
Origin: French
Definition: Literally translates to “the land of plenty”; An imaginary or a fabled land of luxury and idleness
#67 Sonder (v.)
Pronunciation: sohn-dehrr
Origin: coined by John Koeing of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows inspired by German and French word – sonder
Definition: The realization that each passerby has a life as vivid and complex as your own
#68 Boketto (v.)
Pronunciation: bo-ke-tto
Origin: Japanese
Definition: The act of gazing vacantly into the distance without a thought
#69 Sprachgefühl (n.)
Pronunciation: SHPRAHKH-guh-fuel
Origin: German
Definition: The character and spirit of a language; An intuitive sense of the rule and rhythm of language
#70 Solivagant (n.)
Pronunciation: “sO-li-‘vA-gant
Origin: Latin
Definition: A solitary wanderer; Someone who wanders alone
#71 Sehnsucht (n.)
Pronunciation: zEn-‘zUkt
Origin: German
Definition: A wistful longing or indescribable yearning in the heart for we know not what
#72 Serendipity (n.)
Pronunciation: seh-ruhn-DI-puh-tee
Origin: English
Definition: To find something good without looking for it; To discover something beautiful by chance or accidentally
#73 Mudita (n.)
Pronunciation: Muw-DIY-Taa
Origin: Sanskrit
Definition: Literally translates to “pure joy”; Sympathetic, vicarious joy; Taking delight in the happiness, success, and well-being of others
#74 Tsundoku (n.)
Pronunciation: tsoon-DOH-koo
Origin: Japanese
Definition: The art of buying books and leaving them unread, often piled together with other unread books; Book hoarding
#75 Voorpret (n.)
Pronunciation: VOR – pret
Origin: Dutch
Definition: Pre-fun; The sense of enjoyment felt before party or event takes place; joy or pleasure ahead and in anticipation of the actual fun event
#76 Meraki (v.)
Pronunciation: may-rah-kee
Origin: Greek
Definition: To do something with soul, creativity, or love; to leave a piece and essence of yourself in your work
#77 Hanyauku (v.)
Pronunciation: ha-ahn-yoh-kuu
Origin: Kwangali (Namibia)
Definition: To walk on tiptoes across hot sand
#78 Jazba (n.)
Pronunciation: jaẕ-bā
Origin: Arabic
Definition: Strong desire or passion or emotion or sentiment
#79 Drapetomania (n.)
Pronunciation: drap-et-O-mAn-E-a
Origin: Greek
Definition: An overwhelming urge to run away
#80 Querencia (n.)
Pronunciation: kweeuh-ruhn-see-uh
Origin: Spanish
Definition: A place where you are your most authentic self; A place from which your strength of character is drawn, where you feel safe, where you feel at home
#81 Quaquaversal (adj.)
Pronunciation: kwey-kwuh-VUR-suh l
Origin: Latin
Definition: Moving or happening in every direction instantaneously towards a center
#82 Heimweh (n.)
Pronunciation: heim·veyh
Origin: German
Definition: Homesickness; Longing for home; Nostalgia
#83 Heimat (n.)
Pronunciation: hai-mat
Origin: German
Definition: A place that you can call home; A sense of belongingness, acceptance, safety, and connection to the homeland.
#84 Dérive (n.)
Pronunciation: dih-rih-vee
Origin: French
Definition: Literally translates to “drift”; A spontaneous and unplanned journey where the traveler leaves their life behind for a time to let the spirit of landscape and architecture attract and move them
Does this ever happen to you? I felt that drift when I visited the Vis island in Croatia.
#85 Photophile (n.)
Pronunciation: pho-to-phile
Origin: English
Definition: Derived from the biological term “photophilic” for an organism that thrives in full light, it means a person who loves photography and light
#86 Ecophobia (n.)
Pronunciation: ih-ko-foh-bee-uh
Origin: English
Definition: A fear or dislike of one’s home
#87 Numinous (adj.)
Pronunciation: ‘nU-mi-nus
Origin: Latin
Definition: Literally translates to “divinity”; Describing an experience (mostly spiritual) that makes you fearful yet fascinated, awed yet attracted – the powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired
#88 Schwellenangst (n.)
Pronunciation: ‘shwel-en-ahngst
Origin: German
Definition: Fear of crossing a threshold to begin a new chapter; Fear of new things
#89 Strikhedonia (n.)
Pronunciation: “strik-he-‘dOn-E-a
Origin: Greek
Definition: The pleasure of being able to say “to hell with it”
#90 Vagary (n.)
Pronunciation: vuh-gair-ee, vey-guh-ree
Origin: Latin
Definition: An unpredictable instance, a wandering journey; A whimsical, wild, unusual idea, desire, or action
#91 Livsnjutare (n.)
Pronunciation: lives-noo-tuhreh
Origin: Swedish
Definition: Literally meaning, “enjoyer of life”, This describes someone who loves life deeply and lives it to the extreme
#92 Commuovere (v.)
Pronunciation: com-muò-ve-re
Origin: Italian
Definition: To stir, to touch, to move to tears; To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that moved you to tears
#93 Abendrot (n.)
Pronunctaion: A-bend-rot
Origin: German
Definition: Literally translates to “evening red”; The color of the sky while the sun is setting
#94 Serein (n.)
Pronunciation: suh-RAN
Origin: French
Definition: The fine, light rain that falls from a clear sky in the twilight hours after sunset or in the early hours of the night; Evening serenity
Read More: Sunset Quotes and Sunset Captions for Instagram
#95 Erlebnisse (n.)
Pronunciation: Ar-‘lEb-nis-e (ayr-LEEB-nis-eh)
Origin: German
Definition: The experiences, positive or negative, that we feel most deeply, and through which we truly live; Not mere experiences, but EXPERIENCES
#96 Astrophile (n.)
Pronunciation: as-trophile
Origin: English
Definition: A person who loves stars
Are you Astrophile? Then, you must take this epic stargazing road trip in Colorado!
#97 Psithurism (n.)
Pronunciation: sith-your-ism
Origin: English
Definition: The sound of the leaves rustling as the wind blows through the trees
#98 Trouvaille (n.)
Pronunciation: trU-‘vI
Origin: French
Definition: A chance encounter with something wonderful
#99 Hygge (n.)
Pronunciation: hue-guh
Origin: Danish
Definition: The warm feeling you get while enjoying the company of great friends and all life has to offer
Discover and experience the Danish concept of Hygge in Copenhagen! Hey, and also take a look at the beautiful Danish words!
#100 Onism (n.)
Origin: Danish
Definition: The awareness of how little of the world you’ll experience; The frustration of being stuck in just one body that inhabits only one place at a time
#101 Rückkehrunruhe (n.)
Pronuciation: rück·keh·run·ru·he, Rukeerenruhee
The feeling of returning home after an immersive trip only to find it fading rapidly from your awareness
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows defines – the feeling of returning home after an immersive trip only to find it fading rapidly from your awareness—to the extent you have to keep reminding yourself that it happened at all, even though it felt so vivid just days ago—which makes you wish you could smoothly cross-dissolve back into everyday life, or just hold the shutter open indefinitely and let one scene become superimposed on the next, so all your days would run together and you’d never have to call cut.
#102 Vemödalen (n.)
Pronunciation: ve·mö·da·len
Origin: Swedish
Definition: The fear that everything has already been done
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows defines – The frustration of photographing something amazing when thousands of identical photos already exist—the same sunset, same waterfall, same curve of a hip, same closeup of an eye—which can turn a unique subject into something hollow and pulpy and cheap, like a mass-produced piece of furniture you happen to have assembled yourself.
#103 Kopfkino (n.)
Pronunciation: kopf·ki·noOrigin: German
Definition: Literally translates to “head cinema”; It’s the act of playing out an entire scenario in your mind
#104 Quaintrelle (n.)
Pronunciation: quAn-‘trel
Origin: Middle English
Definition: A woman who emphasizes a life of passion expressed through personal style, leisurely pastimes, charm, and cultivation of life’s pleasures
#105 Pulchritudinous (adj.)
Pronunciation: pul-kruh-TOO-di-nuhs
Origin: English
Definition: Beyond beautiful; A person of breathtaking, heartbreaking beauty
#106 Yoko meshi (n.)
Pronunciation: yoh–koh mesh-ee
Origin: Japanese
Definition: Literally translates to “a meal eaten sideways”; It’s a beautiful and untranslatable word that describes the stress of speaking a foreign language.
#107 Selcouth (adj.)
Pronunciation: sel′ko̅o̅th′
Origin: Old English
Definition: Unfamiliar, rare, and strange, yet marvelous and wondrous; The way we feel the sense of wonder and amazement when we see and experience something new and unusual whilst traveling
The selcouth beauty of Plitvice Lakes National Park left us awestruck!
#108 Monachopsis (n.)
Pronunciation: mona-chop-sis, MON-a-Cop-sis
Origin: Greek
Definition: The subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place, not fitting in
#109 Eudaimonia (n.)
Pronunciation: U-de-‘mOn-E
Origin: Greek
Definition: Literally translates to “human flourishing;” A contented state of being happy, healthy, and prosperous; The way we feel while traveling
#110 Natsukashii (adj.)
Pronunciation: nats-ka-‘shE, nahtzkah-SHEE
Origin: Japanese (懐かしい )
Definition: Feeling nostalgic; Bringing back happy memories of the past
#111 Coddiwomple (v.)
Pronunciation: KAHD-ee-wahm-puhl
Origin: English slang
Definition: To travel purposefully towards an unknown or vague destination
#112 Novaturient (adj.)
Pronunciation: nuh-vuh-nyoo-tree-uhnt
Origin: Latin
Definition: Desiring or seeking powerful change in one’s life, behavior, or a certain situation
#113 Eleutheromania (n.)
Pronunciation: el-U-“ther-O-‘mAn-E-a
Origin: Greek
Definition: An intense and irresistible desire for freedom
#114 Eunoia (n.)
Pronunciation: yoo-noy-iea
Origin: Greek
Definition: Beautiful thinking; A well mind
Out of the beautiful words in English, Did you know Eunoia is the shortest English word containing all five main vowel graphemes?
#115 Sturmfrei (adj.)
Pronuciation: stirm-fra
Origin: Germany
Definition: Literally translates to “storm-free”; the freedom of being alone and being able to do what your heart desires
#116 Nemophilist (n.)
Pronunciation: ne-‘mo-fe-list
Origin: Greek
Definition: One who loves the beauty and solitude of forest; a haunter of the woods
Do you identify yourself as a Nemophilist? You must then plan a trip to one of the best national parks in the world.
#117 Halcyon (adj.)
Pronunciation: hal-see-uhn
Origin: Greek
Definition: A period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful
#118 Thalassophile (n.)
Pronunciation: thal-uh-suh-fīl
Origin: Greek
Definition: A lover of the sea or ocean
You aren’t a thalassophile if you haven’t visited Greece, Croatia, and Sri Lanka 🙂
#119 Fika (n.)Pronunciation: fee-ka
Origin: Swedish
Definition: Almost like a ritual in Swedish culture, it’s sharing a cup coffee (or tea) and cake with friends or colleagues
#120 Ogooglebar (adj.)
Pronunciation:
Origin: Swedish
Definition: Ungoogleable, someone or something that doesn’t show up in Google search results
#121 Gluggaveður (n.)
Pronunciation: glook-ah-vay-ther
Origin: Icelandic
Definition: Literally translates to “window-weather,” the type of weather that is best appreciated indoors
#122 Arbejdsglæde (n.)
Pronunciation: ah-bites-gleh-the
Origin: Danish
Definition: Literally translates to “happiness at work,” when your work is a source of joy and happiness
#123 Vorfreude (n.)
Pronunciation: vor-freude
Origin: German
Definition: The joyful, intense anticipation that comes from imagining future pleasures
#124 Brumous (adj.)
Pronunciation: bru·mous
Origin: Literary English
Definition: Of gray skies and winter days, filled with heavy clouds or fog
Craving cozy feel of a brumous day (no pun intended)? Head to one of the best winter destinations in the USA. Europe on mind? No problem. We even have a list of the best winter destinations in Europe for you.
#125 Hodophile (adj.)
Pronunciation: how-doh-phile
Origin: Greek
Definition: The one who loves to travel; A traveler with a special affinity for roads
You Might Like: The Ultimate List of Road Quotes for Road Trippers
#126 Ubuntu (n.)
Pronunciation: oo-buhn-too
Origin: Nguni, South African
Definition: Literally translates to “humanity”; It’s the belief that we all are defined by our compassion and humanity towards others
#127 Nunchi (n.)
Pronunciation: noon-chee
Origin: Korean
Definition: Literally translates to “eye-measure”; It’s a subtle art and ability to listen and gauge others’ moods and react appropriately
#128 Arcane (adj.)
Pronunciation: aa-kein
Origin: Latin
Definition: Secret, Mysterious, Understood by few
#129 Kaulayaw (n.)
Pronunciation: kauli-haw
Origin: Filipino or Tagalog
Definition: Intimate or close companion or friend
#130 Kos (n.)
Pronunciation: coosh
Origin: Norwegian
Definition: Danish hygge; coziness; all things warm and cozy; it can simply mean enjoying a cup of coffee with a freshly baked cinnamon bun or having a good time with family and friends or reading a good book or snuggling in a blanket while it’s snowing outside or anything that makes you feel purely happy.
Goes without saying, Norway is the best place to discover and experience the Norwegian Hygge.
#131 Ebullience (n.)
Pronunciation: uh·buh·lee·uhns
Origin: Latin
Definition: The quality of being bubbly, enthusiastic, and exuberant
#132 Goya (n.)
Pronunciation: go-yaa
Origin: Urdu (گویا)
Definition: As if; A momentary suspension of disbelief that occurs when fantasy is so realistic that it temporarily becomes reality, usually associated with a story very well told; a story that feels like reality
#133 Camhanaich (n.)
Pronunciation: kav’-an-ach
Origin: Scots-Gaelic
Definition: Early morning twilight; the half-light of dawn or dusk
Read More: The Best Sunrise Quotes and Sunrise Captions for Instagram
#134 Kawaakari (n.)
Pronunciation: ka-wa-a-ka-rE
Origin: Japanese
Definition: The glow of a river or stream in darkness or dusk, the gleaming surface of a shadowed river
#135 Mysa (n.)
Pronunciation: MEE-sah
Origin: Swedish, Icelandic
Definition: The feeling of comfort and protection; a time dedicated to coziness
#136 Ineffable (adj.)
Pronunciation: uh-NEH-fuh-bl
Origin: Late Middle English
Definition: Incapable of being expressed in words
#137 Nefarious (adj.)
Pronunciation: nuh-FEUH-ree-uhs
Origin: Latin
Definition: Wicked, Despicable, Villainous, Evil, Sinful
#138 Somnambulist (n.)
Pronunciation: som-nam-byuh-listOrigin: French
Definition: A sleepwalker, a person who walks around while they are asleep
#139 Akrasia (n.)
Pronunciation: uh-KRAY-zhuh
Origin: Greek
Definition: Lack of self-control or the state of acting against one’s better judgment
#140 Zephyr (n.)
Pronunciation: ZEH-fuh
Origin: Old English
Definition: A breeze from the west; a gentle breeze
#141 Hanan (n.)
Pronunciation: hana-n
Origin: Arabic
Definition: Compassion and Kindness
#142 Szerelem (n.)
Pronunciation: sze -re -lem
Origin: Hungarian
Definition: Romantic love
#143 Revontulet (n.)
Pronunciation: Re-von-tu-let
Origin: Finnish
Definition: Literally translates to Fox Fires; Aurora Borealis; Northern Lights
#144 Yötön yö (n.)
Pronunciation: Yoton-yo
Origin: Finnish
Definition: Nightless night; Midnight Sun
The summer in Finland is magical. The sun doesn’t go down at all in the northern region of Finland. It’s when you can see the magical Yötön yö.
#145 Elvágyódás (n.)
Pronunciation: El-vagyo-dash
Origin: Hungarian
Definition: The desire to get away from where you currently are; Aching for what is far away
#146 Sonrisa (n.)
Pronunciation: Sohn-ree-sah
Origin: Spanish
Definition: Smile
#147 Weltschmerz (n.)
Pronuciation: velt-shmerts
Origin: German
Definition: Literally translates to translates to “world weariness” or “world pain”; It’s a melancholic feeling that comes from the realization that the material world can’t ever comfort the emotional and mental desires
#148 Sadiq (n.)
Pronunciation: Saa-duhk
Origin: Arabic
Definition: Friend; Companion; True; Faithful; Veracious; Sincere; Honest; Loyal
#149 Forelsket (adj.)
Pronunciation: for-el-skit
Origin: Danish
Definition: Being madly in love – an ineffable euphoria experienced when one’s enamored with someone
#150 Ruhaniyat (n.)
Pronunciation: Ruu-haa-niyat
Origin: Arabic
Definition: Soulfulness; Spiritualism
#151 Sarang (n.)
Pronunciation: sa-rang
Origin: Korean
Definition: Love
I’m sure with so many new words added to your vocabulary, it’d be a cinch to describe your emotions, your life, or just you. Over to you now. Which one of these words do you identify with the most? Would you like to add your favorite word to the list? Share with us in the comments section below.
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One of the greatest pleasures of learning a new language is discovering its unsuspected peculiarities. And while language learners can do with less-detailed grammar and conjugation, they certainly enjoy new, unusual vocabulary and beautiful-sounding words. The following words do just that — some sound so lovely they could be repeated over and over for a hefty dose of ASMR goodness while others have such a poetic definition they’re heartwarming. Expand your vocabulary with the following 23 cool words, which are, in our opinion, some of the most beautiful words in the world.
1. Spookasem (Afrikaans)
While the term translates directly as “ghost’s breath” (spook means “ghost” and asem means “breath”) spookasem is used by Afrikaans speakers to refer to cotton candy. It’s much more beautiful than what the spun sugar confection that will rot your teeth deserves.
2. Kaamos (Finnish)
Kaamos is the Finnish word for “polar night,” a period of darkness that lasts more than 24 hours and a phenomenon that happens within the polar circles. But kaamos also holds a more emotional meaning as it is used to describe a feeling of longing for sunshine and a lack of enthusiasm that comes with little daylight.
3. Hiraeth (Welsh)
Hiraeth is a Welsh word that not only sounds beautiful but also has an elegant and poetic meaning. According to BBC Travel, “it combines elements of homesickness, nostalgia and longing. Interlaced, however, is the subtle acknowledgment of an irretrievable loss — a unique blend of place, time and people that can never be recreated.”
4. Hanyauku (Rukwangali)
Rukwangali, a Bantu language centered primarily in Namibia, has this word for “tiptoeing across hot sand.”
5. Mellifluous (English)
The smooth, flowy “mellifluous” might have one of the most apt definitions of any English word: It means “a sound that is pleasing to hear.” Honorable mention to the similarly onomatopoeic words “euphonic,” “symphonious,” and “sonorous.”
6. Nakakapagpabagabag (Tagalog)
Nakakapagpabagabag is the coolest word. It cures what it defines: It translates to “something that creates anxiety or uneasiness,” but there’s no way anyone can try saying it without feeling anything but delight and amusement afterward.
7. Kæreste (Danish)
The lovely sounding Danish word for “dearest” or, more commonly, “girlfriend/boyfriend.”
8. Cryptoscopophilia (English)
The desire to look into the windows of homes as you walk past them.
9. Rimjhim (Hindi)
A cool word that described the gentle sound of rain tapping against a surface.
10. Komorebi (Japanese)
Komorebi is a beautiful word, but its definition is even better: “The light filtering through the trees.”
11. Fernweh (German)
Fernweh is a German word that is used to describe the feeling of missing a place you’ve never been. If you have never experienced this, you might after looking at the most breathtaking rental homes in Northern Norway near fjords and mountains.
12. Ubuntu (Zulu)
A Zulu term that, aside from sounding beautiful, represents a philosophy of common humanity and conveys the idea that community is essential to society. It’s part of the phrase “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” which literally translates as “I am because we are.” The term was used by US President Barack Obama in 2018 in a speech in South Africa in celebration of Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday.
13. Mångata (Swedish)
The reflection of the moon on the water.
14. Dauwtrappen (Dutch)
Dauwtrappen literally translates as “dew treading” and refers to the feeling of walking barefoot on dew-covered morning grass.
15. Acaronar (Catalan)
In Catalan, the word acaronar means to gently pull someone closer to you.
16. Abendrot (German)
In German, abendrot directly translates to “evening red” and refers to the sunset.
17. Torpe (Filipino)
In Tagalog, torpe means to adore someone but be too shy to pursue them romantically. This meaning of torpe is a modern evolution of the term, which initially just meant “shy.” Note that torpe can also mean “stupid,” so be careful of the context in which you hear or use this word.
18. Chuchoter (French)
The French word for “whisper,” chuchoter manages to be beautiful and onomatopoetic. It’s the perfect word if you’re into the tingling sensations of ASMR.
19. Gjensynsglede (Swedish)
While gjensynsglede is a hard-to-pronounce Swedish word, its delightful meaning makes up for its overload of consonants. According to the hilariously intellectual British panel show Quite Interesting, gjensynsglede means “the joy of meeting up with someone you haven’t seen a while.” And in 2021, it’s fair to say that we all crave gjensynsglede.
20. Mono-no aware (Japanese)
According to BBC Culture and Mari Fujimoto in her book Ikigai and Other Japanese Words to Live by, mono-no aware describes the impermanent nature of beauty and “the quietly elated, bittersweet feeling of having been witness to the dazzling circus of life — knowing that none of it can last.”
21. Tu’burni (Arabic)
Tu’burni literally translates as “bury me.” It refers to the desire to die before the person you love so you never have to live without them.
22. Tárvotur (Icelandic)
“Wet with tears.”
23. Mir (Russian)
Mir is a short and beautiful word that holds two very different, yet equally important, meanings in modern Russian: “World” and “Peace.”
The two meanings become very significant in the context of the Soviet/Russian Mir Space Station, which launched in 1986 in the middle of the Cold War and orbited the Earth for almost 15 years. Some also believe that the two identical words may have led to the mistranslation of the title of Tolstoy’s famous novel “War and Peace,” which supposedly could just as well have been “War and the World.”
Collins Dictionary explains that it was also the term used to describe “a village commune of peasant farmers in pre-revolutionary Russia,” which is now obsolete.
A version of this article about the most beautiful words was previously published on December 4, 2015, and was updated on February 19, 2021, with more information.
More like this
I’m passionate about language, so I set out on a quest to find the most beautiful words in the world.
It was an arduous journey, but I’m pleased with the result, and I hope that you’ll be too. The words you find below don’t all belong to the English language, far from it.
It’s essential to learn from foreign cultures that developed words and concepts not translatable to your native tongue. These arcane pieces of lexicon will allow you to see the world differently, quickly learn a new language, kick start your writing career, and change your mind in unforeseen ways.
But the goal of creating this collection was not only to find rare specimens with deep meanings. Rather, it was to find the most mellifluous tones that satisfy the concept of phonaesthetics.
Definition: Phonaesthetics is the study of beauty and pleasantness associated with the sounds of certain words or parts of words.
“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.” – Patrick Rothfuss
Explore the most beautiful words in the world:
1. Toska (Russian)
Russian word roughly translated as “sadness, melancholia, lugubriousness.”
According to Vladimir Nabokov: “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause.”
2. Papillon (French)
A word for butterfly, borrowed from Latin pāpiliō. It’s also an informal expression for a parking ticket or a flighty genius who’s all over the place. It reminds me of one of my favorite French movies: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon)
3. Komorebi (Japanese)
It can be translated as “sunlight streaming through the leaves of the trees.” It reflects the Japanese soul that longs for the beauty of nature. It’s also a great ingredient of haiku (a traditional short poem):
Sunlight filters through the dense foliage. My face welcomes it, my hand gripping the balcony railing.
4. Hanan (Arabic)
Compassion, kindness, warm-heartedness. It’s also a popular name throughout the Arab world. Munir Bashir, the great Iraqui oud player, described this word through music in a tune performed with his son Omar.
5. Kama (Sanskrit)
It’s a word for “desire, wish, longing.” It’s usually associated with carnal pleasure but actually goes deeper than that. It can refer to any kind of desire, passion, longing, or pleasure of the senses. It’s also related to aesthetics, affection, love, and enjoyment of life. In the Indian tradition, it’s one of the four goals of human life.
According to an old scripture:
Man consists of desire (kama),
As his desire is, so is his determination,
As his determination is, so is his deed,
Whatever his deed is, that he attains.
Related content: 115 Advanced words in English
6. Szerelem (Hungarian)
It’s one of the most beautiful words for “love.” It’s also the title of one of the most touching Hungarian language songs, which served as a soundtrack for The English Patient.
Love, Love, Damned anguish, Why didn’t you bloom, in the top of trees?”
7. Elvágyódás (Hungarian)
It’s an “untranslatable” word that describes a desire to get away from where you are. It signals a deep longing for something else (even though you’re not entirely sure what it is). It’s a bit similar to “wanderlust,” but not exactly there. It’s more melancholic than that.
8. Ubuntu (Nguni Bantu)
Literally “humanity.” It’s a quality that includes the essential human virtues of compassion and humanity. It can be translated as “I am because we are” or “humanity towards others.” The concept was developed in Southern Africa in the 1950s by Jordan Kush Ngubane.
According to Desmond Tutu:
“A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.”
9. Haneul (Korean)
It’s a word meaning “sky, heaven, ether or sphere.” It’s a popular unisex name in Korea, which may be interpreted as an urging to “spread your dreams high like the sky.” Pretty neat, eh?
10. Sonrisa (Spanish)
I love this word because it sounds like the English “sunrise” but actually means “smile.” Somehow the two concepts are intertwined.
“La sonrisa cuesta menos que la electricidad y da más luz.” (The smile costs less than electricity and gives more light.) – Proverb
Related content: 50 Sophisticated Words in English (With Examples From Movies)
11. Ancymonek (Polish)
It’s an amusing word that can be translated as “slyboots,” “scamp,” or “chap.” It describes a person who’s plotting and scheming but simultaneously feigning complete innocence. It’s used mostly in relation to children.
12. Zindabad (Persian)
This word is present in many different languages, including Odia, Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, and Bengali. It’s used as a shout of encouragement and can be directly translated as “long live…”. It has a political connotation, but it has its place in everyday life.
13. Noor (Arabic)
It’s a charming word, also used as a unisex name in the Arab world. It means “light” or “Divine Light.” The word plays an essential role in the esoteric practices where it refers to inner illumination. It’s derived from Proto-Semitic “nūr,” which means “fire.”
14. Sadiq (Arabic)
It means “friend” or “colleague.” As everything in Arabic, it’s beautifully written (صَدِيق), especially when rendered by a skilled calligrapher.
15. Tamam (Turkish)
This is such a universal word. You’ll hear it dozens of times each day if you ever go into the heart of Istanbul. In the simplest terms, it means “okay,” but it’s used in many contexts. It’s borrowed from Arabic, in which it means “full” or “complete.” It came to Anatolia in the 12th century CE, in a book of poetry.
16. Achha (Hindi)
This is another universal word with many shades of meaning. You’ll hear it all the time if you travel to India. The literal meaning is “good,” but it can also signal surprise, as in “achha?” You can also use it to show that you understand something or as an exclamation mark (like hell yeah!). It all depends on the intonation!
17. Eonia (Greek)
It means “time immemorial” or “eternity.” You might have noticed that it’s very similar to the English word “eon” which first appeared in the 1640s from Late Latin “aeon.” In the past, the word also referred to as a “vital force.”
18. Felicidade (Portuguese)
It’s one of the best words for “happiness” I’ve ever heard. In a particular context, it can also mean “success” or “good luck.” You can even say “muitas felicidades,” which means “best wishes.” Don’t mix it up with English “felicide,” which means “killing of a cat.”
19. Carinho (Portuguese)
This word could be most closely translated as “fondness,” “affection,” or “endearment.” But in Portuguese, it’s used as a verb involving a physical action of caressing someone. You “give carinho” to others by hugging them or stroking their hair.
20. Passeggiata (Italian)
This mellifluous word means “walk” or “stroll.” You could say – “Andiamo per fare una passeggiata” (Let’s go for a walk). But it’s not just any walk. It’s more like a traditional evening stroll in the historical central piazza. It’s mostly done on Sunday evenings when everyone goes out in their best clothing.
21. Muhibbah (Malay)
It’s an important word meaning “friendship,” “living in harmony,” and it’s mostly used in the work context. It describes the feelings of camaraderie, tolerance, and understanding. Many nationalities are working together in Malaysia, so “muhibbah” is vital for a harmonious environment.
22. Bidadari (Malay)
It’s a word for “angel,” but figuratively, it can also mean “beautiful woman” or “goddess in heaven.” It comes from Sanskrit “vidyādharī,” where it means “fairy.” It’s a popular word you can find in the names of hotels, resorts, and shopping malls.
23. Saudade (Portuguese)
This is one of these non-translatable words that make your heart melt. It’s a feeling you have when you miss someone. It’s also a fundamental concept of Fado music. You can have “saudades” when you miss someone’s physical touch and presence. When you speak on the phone, you can say “que saudade!” which means that you miss them a lot.
24. Hiraeth (Welsh)
It’s a Welsh concept centered around longing for home. It can’t be directly translated, and it means more than just “missing something,” “yearning,” or “missing home.” It’s has a note of nostalgia to it, as it relates to the time of yore, that you can’t quite put your finger on. Bittersweet memories mixed with feelings of gratitude for times passed.
25. Purnama (Indonesian)
It’s a fantastic word meaning “full moon.” It originally comes from Sanskrit and has its equivalents in many other languages – Purnima (Bengali), Purnima (Hindi), Purnima (Kannada), Purnima (Marathi), Purnima (Tamil).
26. Flâner (French)
It’s a sneaky word related to strolling, hanging around, or dawdling. It’s used to describe aimless wandering through the streets of a large city (ideally Paris). A flaneur is a person who sits around in cafes for the whole day, observing people and paying no heed to time.
27. Firgun (Hebrew)
It’s a term and concept in the Israeli culture. It describes an unselfish delight or pride in the accomplishments of another person. It’s an empathetic joy you feel when something good has happened to or for another person. The antonym to this word is German “schadenfreude” – getting satisfaction from someone else’s failure.
28. Saha (Arabic)
It literally means “health,” “clear,” or “sober,” but it has a much deeper meaning in a cultural context. It’s used when you have a fit of coughing, and others say it to the effect of “bless you.” When you start a meal, you can also say “sahtein” (“two healths”) which can then be translated as “enjoy your meal.”
29. Goya (Urdu)
Here’s another untranslatable, but useful word. It’s a momentary suspension of disbelief that occurs when fantasy is so realistic that it temporarily becomes a reality. It’s usually associated with a story very well told. It’s “as if/as though” something was a reality. Goya is also the name of one of my favorite Spanish painters which only adds to the charm.
30. Allora (Italian)
If you’ve ever been to Italy, you must have heard this phrase hundreds of times as Italians are obsessed with it. Literally, it means “so, then, well.” It acts as a filler word used in conversation when you think things over. But it can also express impatience. Allora! (Come on!)
31. Auguri (Italian)
In simplest terms, it means “to wish,” but you can use it in many different situations. You can say it when wishing someone a happy birthday, congratulating them on something, during general celebrations, while offering best wishes or simply saying “all the best.” It’s deceptively similar to the beautiful English “augury” which has its roots in Latin “augurium” (“divination, the observation, and interpretation of omens”).
32. Aazaard (Flemish)
While it sounds similar to the English “hazard,” it has a different meaning. It describes a happy coincidence, for example, when you get a good deal on something, or you meet a person you haven’t seen a while.
33. Friolento (Spanish)
It’s a cute word describing someone who is overly sensitive to cold. It has a note of sarcasm in it because “frio” means “cold” and “lento” means “slow.” So theoretically it should describe someone resistant to cold, but it’s the other way around. Clever these Spaniards are.
34. Sobremesa (Spanish)
You really have to visit Spain to fully grasp the concept of “sobremesa.” It literally means “dessert” or “table cover,” but it can also refer to a prolonged after-dinner banter at a table. The Spanish love to order espressos after dinner (at 11:00 PM or even 12:00 PM) and then talk and smoke long into the night.
35. Thanatos (Greek)
It’s one of these mysterious words that slip of the tongue producing enchantment and awe. Thanatos means “death,” but it also describes a mythical figure which brings death about (like Grim Reaper). Christopher Hitchens once said: “In the war against Thanatos, if we must term it a war, the immediate loss of Eros is a huge initial sacrifice.”
36. Merak (Serbian)
It’s a fascinating word referring to a feeling of bliss and the sense of oneness with the universe that comes from the simplest of pleasures. It’s a Zen-like quality you get when you’re fully content with where you are and what you do – when the soul is settled.
37. Libellule (French)
It means “dragonfly.” If you want to turn it into true acoustic eargasm, you can say “libellule émeraude” (“emerald dragonfly”).
38. Tsundoku (Japanese)
That’s a bookworm’s favorite which describes the act of buying lots of books and never getting round to reading them. It’s a universal human activity, but it’s nice of the Japanese to come up with a word that that precisely describes it. It literally means “reading pile” and dates back to the Meiji era (1868–1912).
39. Boketto (Japanese)
It’s another poetic Japanese word that is hard to translate. It describes the idea of starting at the sky without a thought. When you stare vacantly into the sky, giving no thought to time, life, history, or anything else for that matter – you’re experiencing boketto.
40. Szept (Polish)
I like how this word meaning “whisper” has that “shhh” sound in it as if you’re already whispering.
41. Crimson (English)
Describing a deep and vivid red, this word lights up your imagination. It reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” and Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet.” The word comes from the Old Italian “carmesi,” but it has roots in Arabic and got into Europe because of silk clothes export.
42. Kalsarikännit (Finnish)
Another magnificent word which we should import into English! It’s related to that moment when you’re going to get drunk home alone in your underwear – with no intention of going out. In Finland, it has been elevated to an official activity. Beer anyone?
43. Habseligkeiten (German)
Goethe Institute held a competition for Germany’s most beautiful word. Based on 22,000 entries, habseligkeiten was a clear winner. It means “belongings.” It’s not related to ownership or wealth, but rather to simple possessions, and it does it in a friendly way.
44. Limerence (English)
The state of being infatuated or obsessed with another person typically experienced involuntarily and characterized by a strong desire for reciprocation of one’s feelings but not primarily for a sexual relationship. Dorothy Tennov coined this word for her book “Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love.”
45. Schwellenangst (German)
It has “angst” in it so it must be something interesting, right? It describes a fear of, or aversion to, crossing a threshold or entering a place to begin a new chapter. I guess we all feel it from time to time.
46. Resfeber (Swedish)
It’s a word that must have come from the world of the Vikings. It refers to tangled feelings between fear and excitement before a journey begins. It literally means “travel fever.”
47. Querencia (Spanish)
It’s a word signaling a metaphysical concept. It comes from the verb “querer” which means “to desire.” “Querencia” can be translated as “fondness,” “homing instinct,” or “homeland.” Hemingway wrote in the Death in the Afternoon: “A querencia is a place the bull naturally wants to go to in the ring, a preferred locality… It is a place which develops in the course of the fight where the bull makes his home.”
48. Nefelibata (Portuguese)
It’s a word derived from Greek, meaning “one who walks the clouds” or “daydreamer.” You use it for a person who trudges individually, not caring about what others think (like a nonconformist). In the literature, it also describes a writer who does not follow the usual conventions.
49. Nostalgia (English)
A list of beautiful words couldn’t be complete without “nostalgia.” It’s a wistful desire to return in thought or fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or one’s family and friends. It’s a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. “I’d trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday,” said Kris Kristofferson.
50. Sonorous (English)
It comes from Latin “sonorus” (“resounding”), from “sonare” (“to sound, make a noise”). The pronunciation of a word fits the meaning perfectly as it describes someone or something capable of emitting a deep, resonant sound.
51. Ethereal (English)
How I love this word! It’s so lofty and fleeting and elven-like. It means “extremely delicate and light in a way that seems not to be of this world.” In the past, it used to refer to places “of the highest regions of the atmosphere.”
52. Atash (Farsi)
It’s a Persian word for “fire” which has a nice ring to it. It’s widely used in Persian poetry which often uses the concept of “the moth and the flame,” especially by poets like Farid ud-Din Attar. Being devoured by the flame refers to a metaphysical idea of getting closer to the divine.
53. Daryâ (Farsi)
Another outstanding Persian word meaning “river,” “ocean,” or “sea.” It’s also used when referring to any kind of vast expanse.
54. Firdaus (Arabic)
It means “paradise,” but it’s derived from an earlier word meaning “garden” or “enclosure.” Water is scarce in the Arab world, and hence, a paradise is often described as a lush garden abound in flowing water.
55. Niwemang (Kurdish)
It’s a beautiful word meaning “half-moon.” It’s also the title of one of my favorite Iranian movies.
56. Aisling (Irish)
It literally means “dream” or “vision.” It’s the name of a poetic genre where a poet is bestowed with a vision of a young and beautiful heavenly woman who prophesies changes of fortune for the Irish people. Aisling is also used as a feminine given name, now having many anglicized forms and variants like Ashling, Aislin, Aislinn and Aislene.
57. Spleodar (Irish)
It means “energy,” “exuberance,” “gameness,” “vivaciousness,” or “boisterousness.”
58. Suaimhneas (Irish)
It’s a word for “peace” and “tranquility.” It can also relate to calmness, composure, contentment, quietness, or repose.
59. Dobrodosli (Slovenian)
It’s a marvelous Slavic word for “welcome.” It’s comprised of two distinct words, “dobro” and “dosli,” and it can be literally translated as “you came in a good way.” It’s something you would want to hear after finishing a long trip.
60. Mir (Slovenian)
Short and punchy, “mir” is a Slovenian word for “peace,” “quiet,” and “tranquility.” It’s also the name of a Russian space station.
61. Huzun (Turkish)
It’s dark, but a beautiful word for “sadness,” “melancholy,” or “gloominess.” I was first introduced to it by the Turkish author, Orhan Pamuk. The word has Arab origins, but in modern Turkish, it denotes a sense of failure in life, lack of initiative, and a retreat into oneself.
62. Safderun (Turkish)
This word sounds like it was taken straight from “Arabian Nights.” It’s used to describe a person whose heart is so pure that they are often easily fooled. It could be translated as “gull.”
63. Namaste (Hindi)
It’s a word used as a customary greeting across India. It comes from Sanskrit where it meant “a reverential salutation.” But it can be translated as “I bow to the divine in you.” If you want to do it properly, you bow slightly and smile when saying it!
64. Jijivisha (Hindi)
It’s an untranslatable word that signifies an intense desire to live and continue living to the fullest in the highest sense of being.
65. Sundar (Hindi)
It’s an adjective meaning “beautiful.” In a broader sense, it also means attractive, beautiful, good, handsome, or nice.
66. Kvietok (Slovak)
This word has a nice ring to it, especially to a Slavic ear like mine. It means “flower.” It’s especially significant for Slovaks who love to give flower bouquets and grow magnificent gardens.
67. Geluksalig (Afrikaans)
It’s a word used to describe the highest form of happiness. It’s often used when referring to the hereafter joys of paradise.
68. Skitterend (Afrikaans)
It can be most accurately translated as “glistering” or “splendid.” It’s a mixture of Dutch words that literally mean “exuding light that seems alive.” How cool is that?
69. Dor (Romanian)
It’s a powerful, almost magical word that’s a bit hard to translate. In simple terms, it means “longing” or “to miss something.” It comes from the Latin word dolus, which means “pain” and is related to the Romanian word durere (also “pain”).
70. Balaur (Romanian)
It’s a straight-from-fantasy-like word for a “dragon” or “monster.” It has an uncertain origin, but it’s deeply connected to Romanian folklore. A Balaur is a large creature with fins, feet, and up to twelve serpent heads. It represents evil, and its name (rightfully so) was used in popular RPG games and fantasy novels.
71. Badkruka (Swedish)
It’s a funny but charming word for a person who’s afraid to go into the water. Swedes are surrounded by water (which is freezing cold). It’s only natural that some inhabitants of this Nordic land aren’t too eager to take a dip.
72. Dépaysement (French)
It can be literally translated as “to be uncountried.” It signifies disorientation or cultural shock we sometimes feel in a strange and foreign land.
73. Zapoi (Russian)
This word is used to describe several days of continuous drunkenness during which one withdraws from society. People often “dive into a zapoi” during the New Year’s season when Russians are thought to collectively drink 1.5bn liters of alcohol.
74. Gattara (Italian)
It’s an endearing word for “cat lady.” Gattaras are usually old devout cat lovers who feed alley cats or surround themselves with cats at home. Imagine an Italian version of the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons.
75. Trepverter (Yiddish)
It literally translates as “stepwords,” but actually means a witty comeback you think of only after it’s already too late. It’s this brilliant, but the late conclusion you think of when you can’t say it to anyone because you blew your chance.
76. Litost (Czech)
According to the famous writer Milan Kundera, this word is quite difficult to render in English. It signifies a state of being a singular entity in the face of overwhelming hopelessness and painfully evident helplessness. You could say it means “self-pity,” “sorrow,” or “regret,” but not quite.
77. Voorpret (Dutch)
Literally translated as “pre-fun” this word is terrific because it’s all about the excitement you feel right before an event you’ve been waiting for.
78. Tampo (Filipino)
It’s a “silent treatment” you get from a girl if you irritate her or renege on the promise you gave her. If you hurt somebody’s feelings, your significant other will withdraw his or her affection and force you to endure the pain of psychological separation. The closest English translation for “tampo” is “sulking.”
79. Tartle (Scottish)
It refers to that funny moment when you hesitate in recognizing a person or thing. You know them from somewhere, but at that moment you can’t recall from where. In this situation, you can say, “pardon my tartle!”
80. Kaapshljmurslis (Lithuanian)
This convoluted and wizardly word is used to describe the atmosphere in public transport during the rush hour. You’re cramped in a tube or a bus and can’t wait to get out of there. At this moment you’re experiencing the notorious kaapshljmurslis.
Did you get inspired by the exotic words above? The variety of lexis and meaning throughout different cultures is fascinating!
This list is by no means complete, so please oh, language lover share some of your favorite examples!
Rafal Reyzer
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What are the top words of the decade? I will give you one word for each year from 2010 to 2020. Some of these words were completely new, but many of them existed already and became used a lot more often in that year. Each of these words has continued to be used since the year it became popular! They are so common now that you might be surprised to realize that they are not even very old. Language is growing and adapting all the time.
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