The Spanish word for to remember: «recordar».
«Re» means «again».
«Cordar» comes from «cor», the latin word for «heart».
«Recordar», to remember, means «to go through your heart again».
Isn’t that just the most beautiful thing you’ve ever read?
EDIT: I’ve always found etymology super interesting, so I felt like talking about a very famous Spanish chant: «olé».
Centuries ago, in the deserts of North Africa, people would gather to dance for hours, every dancer flawlessly executing their movements. Every once in a while, though, a dancer’s performance would be something out of this world. Something magical, something that no human could possibly do. Then, everyone around would chant «Allah, Allah, Allah». God, God, God, as that individual was no longer human, they had transcended onto something greater, the performance of someone divine. Allah, Allah, Allah. God, God, God.
Fast forward a few centuries, and the Moors had invaded Southern Spain, where they continued doing this tradition. Over the centuries, and long after they were kicked out of the country, this chant evolved, becoming the current «olé». In Spain you can hear this chant in flamenco or bullfighting –the latter being, in my opinion, the worst thing about my culture–, when the flamenco dancer or the bullfighter has done something out of this world, something magical, something that no human could possibly do. Olé. Allah. God. A glimpse of the divine.
Photo: Dan Lurie, Cognitive Creative
Many English words come from other languages, but this list highlights some of our favorites from non-Romance languages — i.e. they don’t trace back to Latin — that sound almost the same in the original.
Language of Origin:
Japanese
About the Word:
Karaoke, the beloved/hated entertainment that involves non-professional singers performing without live bands, has a poetic-sounding origin: «empty orchestra.»
It comes from the Japanese kara («empty») + ōke, short for ōkesutora («orchestra»).
That same kara also appears in karate: «empty» + te («hand»).
Karaoke became popular in Japan among businessmen in the late 1970s, and gained widespread popularity in the U.S. in the late 1980s.
Like a bad karaoke singer, Labor leader Anthony Albanese only seems to know the words to the Abba song Money, Money, Money.
— (letter to ed.), The Daily Telegraph (Surry Hills, Aus.), 10 Oct. 2020
MORE: 17 English Words that Come From Japanese
Language of Origin:
Scottish Gaelic
About the Word:
Kerfuffle means «disturbance or fuss,» often describing a situation that’s received more attention than it deserves.
«Fuffle» was first used in Scottish English, as early as the 16th century, as a verb meaning «to dishevel.» The addition of the prefix «car-» (possibly derived from a Scottish Gaelic word meaning «wrong» or «awkward») barely changed the word’s meaning. In the 19th century «carfuffle» became a noun, and in the mid-20th century it was embraced by a broader population of English speakers and standardized to «kerfuffle.»
There really seems to be this huge kerfuffle as far as surprises from the water company, she said.
— Sarah Elms, The Blade (Toledo, OH), 21 May 2021
Language of Origin:
Yiddish
About the Word:
Chutzpah comes from the Yiddish khutspe, meaning «impudence.»
In American English, chutzpah describes a particular kind of nerve, or gall. It refers to the supreme self-confidence that allows a person to do or say things that may seem shocking to others.
In one classic illustration of the concept, a man convicted of killing his parents asks the court for mercy because he’s an orphan. That’s chutzpah!
Thank you for being here. So I got to say, it takes some serious chutzpah to say, yeah, let’s do a remake of, like the most beloved baseball film in history. Why did you take this on?
— All Things Considered (transcript with Daniel Estrin & Abbi Jacobson), 6 Aug. 2022
MORE: 11 English Words from Yiddish
Language of Origin:
Chinese
About the Word:
To «kowtow» is to agree too easily or eagerly to do what someone else wants you to do, or to obey someone with power in a way that seems weak.
It comes from the Chinese kòutóu — kòu («to knock») plus tóu («head») — and originally referred to kneeling and touching one’s head to the ground as a salute or act of worship to a revered authority.
In traditional China, this ritual was performed by commoners making requests to the local magistrate, by the emperor to the shrine of Confucius, or by foreign representatives appearing before the emperor to establish trade relations.
In the late 18th century, some Western nations resisted performing the ritual, which acknowledged the Chinese emperor as the «son of heaven.»
The noun arrived in English in the early 1800s, and within a few decades had taken on the «fawn» or «suck up» verb meaning we use today.
Mr. Raut had called Mr. Shinde’s Delhi visits “a blow to the State’s pride” while stating that it was humiliating that a Shiv Sena leader had to “kowtow to the Centre” whereas in the past BJP leaders (including Mr. Shah) had had to come down to ‘Matoshree’ (the Thackerays’ private residence in Mumbai).
— The Hindu (Chennai, Ind.), 5 Aug. 2022
Language of Origin:
German
About the Word:
The German Schaden means «damage»; Freude means «joy»; the compound Schadenfreude means «enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.»
As the Schadenfreude song from Avenue Q puts it: «And when I see how sad you are / It sort of makes me… / Happy!»
It’s been a rough few weeks for influencers. Which is not a sentence that’s going to inspire sympathy in the hearts of many, given that the best part of influencer culture is the sweet, sweet schadenfreude we all get when we watch their digital downfall.
— Verity Johnson, The Press (Christchurch, NZ), 3 Jul. 2020
MORE: Other Untranslatable German Words
Language of Origin:
Russian
About the Word:
Nowadays, apparatchik is generally used as a mild insult for a blindly devoted official, follower, or member of an organization, such as a corporation or political party.
For example, an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times described a London mayoral candidate as, «a lifelong left-wing activist, a local government apparatchik, a consummate manipulator of subcommittees and votes of confidence.»
Originally the word referred specifically to a Communist official or agent. It comes from the Russian apparat meaning «party machine» — and for much of the 20th century specifically «the political machine of the Communist party» — + -chik, an agent suffix.
Then, 11 days after Pavlov’s fatal plunge, Dmitry Lisoviolik, another high-level apparatchik in the party’s financial affairs — this time the international department — did the same.
— Richard Pendlebury, The Daily Mail (London, Eng.), 5 Aug. 2022
MORE: 10 Words from Russian
Language of Origin:
Tagalog
About the Word:
Boondocks (and boonies) both mean «a rural area,» particularly one considered backward, dull, or unsophisticated.
In Tagalog, the language that is the base for Filipino, an official language of the Philippines, bundok means «mountains.» Following the Philippine Revolution of 1898, the occupying American military forces adopted «boondocks» and broadened its meaning to refer to the wild and rural country they found there.
In a long lifetime of reading, I don’t ever recall a more disastrous vacation than the one truecrime podcaster Anna McDonald arranges for her convoluted blended family and her partner, Fin Cohen, and his girlfriend. They are in the boondocks with no decent roads, the internet is out and the weather is godawful.
— Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Can.), 6 Aug. 2022
Language of Origin:
Malay
About the Word:
This all-American condiment started out as a spicy, fermented fish sauce in Malaysia.
That version, known as kěchap, made its way first to Europe and then to the New World, where tomatoes eventually became the defining ingredient.
Elsewhere, ketchup retains an earlier identity. Traditional English ketchup, for example, is a pureed seasoning based on mushrooms, unripe walnuts, or oysters.
I thought about smearing ketchup on the envelope, but I didn’t want the United States postal inspectors charging me with sending biohazards through the mail.
—1 Norris Burkes, Springfield News-Leader (Springfield, MO), 8 Sept. 2018
Language of Origin:
Hindi
About the Word:
A juggernaut is something (such as a force, campaign, or movement) that is huge and powerful and can’t be stopped.
The word rolled into English from Hindi with a fairly terrifying image.
It comes from Jagannāth (Hindi for «Lord of the World»), the title of the Hindu god Vishnu. According to some exaggerated but widespread reports dating back to the 14th century, during parades in India, devotees of Vishnu would sacrifice themselves by being crushed beneath the wheels of carriages carrying images of Vishnu.
After the massive crossover eruptions of the 1960s—most famously that of Berry Gordy’s Motown Records, but also the Southern soul juggernauts of Memphis and Muscle Shoals—by the end of that decade American pop had again become increasingly segregated.
— Jack Hamilton, Black Camera (Bloomington, Ind.), Fall 2022
MORE: 10 Words From Hindi & Urdu
Language of Origin:
Arabic
About the Word:
Hazard dates to the time of the Crusaders and involves a game of chance.
According to the most likely theory, the original hazard («al-zahr,» in Arabic) was a die. Players would roll the dice and bet on the outcome.
English got the word from French. In English, hazard eventually came to name any chance, risk, or source of danger.
And, perhaps the best thing of all, I wasn’t caught up in that last minute Christmas shopping rush where disappointment can be a major hazard.
— Southern Highland News, (Bowral, Aus.), 8 Aug. 2022
MORE: 8 Common Words from Arabic
Every language boasts words that are one of a kind. While certain ones are easier to pronounce, others might make a foreigner sound like Pink Panther trying to buy a dam-burrr-gheur. Some, though, are charming because they are oddly specific. For instance, the Japanese word for a lonely mouth (kuchisabishii) or the Finnish one describing a person drinking in his underwear in just several syllables (kalsarikännit).
Here at Bored Panda, we have gathered some of these fascinating linguistic gems for you to read. Shared by the r/AskReddit community members, they might be something you want to add to your vocabulary.
If you enjoy learning about unique terminology, don’t miss the chance to browse the list of times people were confused by the English language for some more entertaining content about languages.
Komorebi (木漏れ日)
Japanese for sunlight that shines through trees. I like the sound of the word but also the fact that a word for such a concept exists in the first place.
Bratfahrer , JOHN TOWNER Report
According to Ethnologue, there are currently over seven thousand languages, however, more than half of the world’s population only use 23 of them. Sadly, as much as 40% of the languages are spoken by less than a thousand people, which puts them on the endangered list.
Data from 2022 shows that out of the 23 languages, the most popular one is English, followed by Mandarin Chinese. The third on the list is Hindi, then Spanish, and French taking fifth place by a thread, as Standard Arabic is left a close sixth.
In some countries, citizens speak more than one language. This is true for some countries in Europe, such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, or Belgium, and beyond—South Africa and India, for instance. But one of them stands out from the rest. The country with the most languages is Papua New Guinea with an astonishing number of nearly 850.
Home to such a variety of speech, the country has a population of fewer than 9.5 million people. A large part of it comprises indigenous groups, some of which have less than a thousand people speaking their mother tongue. Unfortunately, that puts these exceptional languages in danger of disappearing.
kalsarikännit — originating in Finland, in which the drinker consumes alcoholic drinks at home, dressed in as little clothing as possible, mainly in underwear with no intention of going out.
evendronesflyaway , Matheus Frade Report
It is a phrase not a word, but in Italian, to say «I love you», you usually say «ti voglio bene», which literally means «I want well for you». In english «love» means so many different things and I feel like this idea «I want well for you» encapsulates what love really means.
mr_taco_man , micheile dot com Report
Papua New Guinea alone has 35 times more languages than there are official ones in the European Union. However, Europe has more than the 24 official ones that can be seen on the EU documents.
The continent is home to roughly 200 languages, ranging from well-known English, Spanish, and French, to the less widely-represented ones, such as Basque, Gaelic, or Flemish. Based on the number of native speakers, the most popular one in Europe is Russian, followed by German, French, and Italian. English takes fifth place for the number of native speakers, however, it is the golden prize winner when it comes to learning a second language.
English is currently the lingua franca of the world, however, knowing other languages can open a lot of doors as well. You can get better acquainted with certain cultures as it enables you to communicate with the locals. It can also be useful at work or going through lists of funny foreign words, some of which might be familiar if you’re bilingual or multilingual. Recent data shows that around 43% of the world’s population is bilingual.
kuchisabishii (Japanese). Kuchi means mouth and sabishii means lonely. Kuchisabishii means you’re longing to put something on your mouth — essentially the feeling you have when you eat something (or chew on your nails or pencil) because your mouth feels bored.
redsterXVI , Farhad Ibrahimzade Report
«wihajster» (pronounced: vee-hay-ster) in Polish, which is a placeholder, when you don’t know what some object is or what it does. It comes from German «wie heißt er?» (“what’s it called?”).
ArtemisAndromeda Report
Some languages are considered easier to learn than others. Among the most difficult ones, you might often see Mandarin, Arabic, or Korean. These tongue-twisting systems of words feature a distinctive set of rules or other subtleties that make grasping them quite a quest.
For instance, Mandarin is a tonal language, which means it relies heavily on intonation. The same sound usually has four different transcriptions and meanings, depending on how the voice is used. Arabic is no easier as it usually features four different ways of writing every letter and reads from right to left, unlike most of the other languages. Korean is a challenge on its own as it is an isolate, meaning it does not belong to any larger family of languages.
Myötähäpeä
That’s Finish for secondhand embarrassment. My native language doesn’t have the word for it so I use myotahapea instead.
Horace_The_Mute Report
Yalla in Arabic means hurry up let’s go or right now depending how you use it
Ntayeh , Gigi Report
There are believed to be around 142 language families in the world. Some of the most popular ones include Niger-Congo (which has 1536 languages), Austronesian (with 1225), Trans New-Guinea (with 476), Sino-Tibetan (456), Indo-European (447 languages), and Afro-Asiatic (369).
Ikigai — lit. The Fruit of Life (in Japanese).
It is the philosophy of how to live a good life, it’s elements and how to exercise them.
ImpeachedPeach , David Marcu Report
*Lebensmüde* — Lebensmüde is a compound noun made up of the words Leben (life) and müde (tired). It, therefore, translates to ‘life tired’ and describes the feeling of being tired or weary.
Black_Crow_Dog Report
A smaller family of languages—known as Dravidian—boasts 24 of them, one of which is considered to be one of the oldest languages still spoken today. It is called Tamil and is used by over 85 million native speakers, mostly in India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. Other ancient languages used to this day include but are not limited to Sanskrit, Hebrew, Egyptian, and Greek.
My favorite word or phrase really, is «Oh la, la, c’est cher»–which means, «Oh my, it’s expensive,» in French. It was one of the first phrases I learned in middle school when I started taking French as an elective. When I went home and shared with my mom what I learned, she was so amused by how the alarming phrase sounded. She couldn’t stop laughing.T his led to her constantly asking me to repeat it whenever we were in the presence of her friends, and I milked it. This is one of my treasured memories of my mother.
unknow Report
“Tabarnak!” I love how, instead of being bodily-function based like English swear words, French Canadian sacres are mostly related to Catholicism. This one is my favourite as it’s the rough equivalent of the versatile “f**k” swear in English, so many uses.
jerrys153 Report
Even though unique languages are something to be cherished, there is a way to connect with the rest of the world using only one foreign one. Created by a Polish doctor Ludwig L. Zamenhof back in 1887, Esperanto is a universal language, which is politically and socially neutral. It does not belong to any country or ethnicity, and is believed to be easy to learn due to its uncomplicated structure and straightforward phonetics. According to Esperanto.net, there are roughly two million speakers in the world.
oiseaux
its french for «birds» and none of it is pronounced the way it looks like it should
QueenAmpharos Report
Another unique language enabling more people to communicate is sign language. Based on physical movements, such as hand gestures, grimaces, and pointing, it allows people to carry out a conversation when it’s not possible to do so verbally. There are around 300 sign languages worldwide, as they differ depending on the country or region where they are used.
Kunst.
To an English ear, it sounds distinctly uncultured but it means ‘art’
There’s a heck of a lot of Deutsche in this list.
TabbyOverlord Report
As if learning certain languages wasn’t difficult enough, they often comprise dialects that vary depending on the region as well. And dealing with some of them might be quite a pickle. For example, you might think you know British English, but talking to someone with a Geordie dialect can throw you off guard nevertheless. Such instances might require a minute or two (or an hour, to be fair) to get accustomed to the slightly different version.
Defining the number of dialects is not an easy task to do as some of them might be considered languages on their own. However, Chinese, for instance, is believed to have eight different ones, while Arabic boasts over 25 dialects.
Lebensabschnittpartner = Lover or Partner *lit. The Person I am with Today*
Estrella = Star
積ん読 = Acquiring books and letting them pile up unread
Sadimal Report
Languages are fascinating in so many ways. What seems like a simple form of communication is actually so complex and intricate, it might take ages to learn one. Even then, can you ever really say you know a language? Whether it’s our mother tongue or a foreign concept we’re trying to grasp, both might feature certain words we are still unfamiliar with. And, without a shade of doubt, all languages have words that are worth adding to this list.
chèri
which translates to “darling” in english. idk why i love that term so much it sounds so sexy omg
a1rxx , Shea Rouda Report
When I was a kid, the first Xbox 360 game I ever got was a Spanish copy of Halo 3 (I don’t speak Spanish). At the beginning of the campaign, the characters keep saying «careful» over and over again. Because of this, «cuidado» has become one of my favorite Spanish words, and the voice they used has become my default voice to say other Spanish words. My other favorite has to be «resbaloso». A large, exaggerated r roll and a boisterous tone just makes this one of the most fun words to say in any language.
AdriftMusic Report
English
*Serendipity*
D’harawal (an Australian Aboriginal language)
*Wurunin* (joy)
Spanish
*Cucaracha* (cockroack) — because of the song
Italian
*Dolcemente* (gently)
German
*Gemütlichkeit* (cosiness and contentment)*
**Updated below*
French
*Soixante-dix* (seventy)
Turkish
*Kesinlikle!* (exactly!)
Indonesian
*Terima kasih* (thanks)
Singlish
*Can* (both a question and a statement)
Arabic
*Wallah Wallah* (I swear!)
Russian
*я машина!* ‘Ya mashina!’ [(I’m the Machine!)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paG1-lPtIXA)
-qqqwwweeerrrtttyyy- Report
Cacahuete means peanut in French. I like saying it;)
happyme321 Report
Note: this post originally had 38 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
My favorite word in Hebrew is “wine” [yain] because of the way it is written in Hebrew alphabet:
יין
The first time I saw it I did not realize it was actually a word…
My favorite word in Arabic is “Libya”, also because the way it is written:
ليبيا
One can read it backwards and forwards…
My favorite word in Chinese is “turtle” (gūi) written in the traditional character set:
龜
(Make sure to use a magnifying glass to examine it.) This character is a “radical” i.e. it is a carrier of meaning or sound to other complex characters but cannot be decomposed itself into smaller pieces. I learned once how to write it, only to forget it the next day. If someone is interested in writing the «turtle» radical here is an animated guide:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_213
So far it was all about writing.
My favorite words in Czech (that’s the language I currently learn on Duolingo) are all three- or four letter words spelled without vowels. Examples: vlk (wolf), prst (finger). Try to pronounce them…
My favorite words in Polish are żółw (turtle) and łódź (boat). Why? Because of the spelling and pronunciation: if you drop the diacritics and pronounce the words that way, they will become unintelligible to a native speaker. In particular, the latter word – łódź — happens to be the name of the third largest city in Poland. It is being notoriously misspelled. I feel sorry for the citizens of Łódź (= Łodzianie).
And finally one of my other favorite words is the name of the Greek god Zeus. Even though it is spelled the same way in languages like English, German, Dutch or Polish, its pronunciation is so different that it is really hard to catch in a conversation without previous training…
The majority of the people I have exchanged emails and comments with on this blog are not just translators of one language pair, but polyglots who love and appreciate many languages. As such, we all have an affinity for words we learn in other languages that express things much more succinctly than any word in our mother tongues. For me:
“ajeno” (Spanish) – definition: something that doesn’t belong to you or you are not a part of.
I can’t describe exactly why I love this word…perhaps it’s the mere simplicity of the idea that has no direct corollary in English. Yet it is so understandable as one word. Come on, English…get with the program!
“eenheidsworst” (Dutch) – definition: a uniform, unimaginative piece of ground meat forced into a piece of sausage, when describing mass movements, such as pop culture.
I think this is right. It’s something similar. I don’t speak Dutch but was introduced to this word by an acquaintance. Sure, it’s long in the German/Dutch tradition, but a fantastic idea nonetheless.
“gedogen” (Dutch) – definition: to make something a crime with no plans on punishing those who break the rule.
How delightfully European…
“Schadenfreude” (German) – definition: finding pleasure in others’ pain (or “dolor ajeno” in Spanish!).
Everyone’s first big German word. It has been overused recently in English, but that does not take away from its brilliance as a concept.
“Razbliuto” (Russian) – The feeling one person has for another when they used to love him or her, but no longer do.
I just wanted to get in touch with the tortured Romantic poet deep inside of me…in Russian.
Please post your own favorite words in any language below., fellow language lovers!
Visiting different countries and experiencing local culture, food, and sights is a great thing and the reason that we collect miles and points (most of us, anyway!). But, what about the language?
Favorite Word to Learn in Any Language
I like to learn a few words in any language of a country I am about to visit even though English is widely spoken in many countries. For me, it is more than just about basic survival in some situations – it is also to show a little respect and try to speak a little in the tongue of the country I am in. So, what is my favorite word to learn in any language?
If you had one word to learn in any language, which word would you want it to be? Of course, there are some great ones like “hello” and “thank you.” “Bathroom” would probably make it pretty high on the list too! But, my favorite word to learn in any language is not one of those – it is simply “Excuse me.”
Excuse Me???
I know, you are saying “that is two words!” Yes, in English it is two words but the translation in other languages is often only one word so I think we can safely say word. 🙂
Why is “excuse me” my favorite word to learn? Sure, it is a way to be polite and apologize when I do something wrong (which can be easy to do in foreign countries if you do not understand the manners and customs!) but it is for another reason that I like to learn that word as well.
Do You Understand What They Are Saying?
Inevitably, you will be among a group of people in some country at some point in time and you will know they are talking about you. Sometimes, it might even be the police or security officers. I have this happen many times where people will start talking about me in their native tongue, assuming (since I had been speaking English anyway) that I do not know the language they are speaking in. It is hysterical and sometimes quite revealing to walk up to them or just to speak to them and say in their language “excuse me.” It will instantly tell you if they have been talking about you in a negative way or a nice one.
It can also be a good way to see if the police are having some issue with you. No one wants to ask you if you do speak the language since it might give away that they thought you didn’t understand them so they will often lower their voices more or, more often than not, just walk away or let you walk away.
Out of all the times I have used this, it has been very interesting to see what happens when people are talking about you and they think (correctly!) that you do not understand what they are saying. Of course, the primary purpose to use that word should be if you have interrupted/disturbed/etc the individual but it is nice that it can work this way also. 🙂
What is your favorite word to learn in another language?
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About the author
Charlie has been an avid traveler and runner for many years. He has run in marathons around the world for less than it would cost to travel to the next town — all as a result of collecting and using miles and points. Over the years, he has flown hundreds of thousands of miles and collected millions of miles and points.
Now he uses this experience and knowledge to help others through Running with Miles.