Hardest word in english to translate

Inspired by a comment by a Listverse contributor on a recent list dealing with Untranslatable words, I decided to submit my first official Listverse list on words that represent concepts which are hard to translate from English into other languages. The fact that there’s hundreds of words that are only found in English shouldn’t surprise you at all. The Oxford English Dictionary lists over 250,000 distinct words, not including many technical or slang terms, making English one of the richest languages (if not the richest) in terms of vocabulary. Below some examples of words that represent a challenge when attempting translation. Many of them now serve as loanwords to other languages.

Before all our Multilingual folks start complaining, allow me to clarify that I’m referring to the transitive verb (not the noun): “pimp”, which roughly means “to decorate” or “to gussy up”. This verb was made popular by T.V shows like: Pimp My Ride. Although this term was to pay homage to hip-hop culture and its connection to street culture, it has now entered common, and even mainstream, commercial use. The Spanish slang “Pompear”, used in a few Latin-American countries, evolved as a direct derivation with a close meaning.

We are all familiar with those unnatural, robot-pitched voices coming out of singers over the last 10 years or so. So much so that we’ve coined a term for it (unlike most languages). This adjective describes a “singer” whose off-key inaccuracies, and out of tune mistakes, have been digitally disguised so that it appears to perform perfectly. Because it is a relatively new term the adjective is pretty much untranslatable.

This term describes a situation in which one must lose some quality in exchange for another quality. It involves a decision in which a person fully understands the advantages and disadvantages of each choice. The term is particularly difficult to translate into any language without using over 5 words or explicitly explaining a scenario.

It is unlikely that you don’t know the definition of spam, but here it goes anyway. Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. No other language has a single, non-derivate word for this concept, in fact the word spam itself is in common use in most languages as a loanword. Spam is, of course, also a term for a canned meat. Delicious.

Here is a kind of a retro-term that is no longer in common use. Coined in the 90’s, this term describes a very intimate but non-sexual relationship between two (or more) men. In many cultures, including American, Bromance is mistaken for homosexuality and therefore no other culture has coined a term to describe this unusual relationship. Although the term can be described in most languages, no language other than English has a word for it.

This popular term describes the gesture of slapping the palm of one’s hand to the face, in a show of exasperation. The term is in common use in the English language, but, surprisingly, no other language seems to have an original term for this fairly common act.

Kitsch defines any art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. The term is also used in a more free manner when referring to any art that is pretentious, outdated or in bad taste. With the single exception of German (from whence it comes to English) the term is untranslatable into any language.

This word is defined as any text containing jargon, or especially convoluted English, that results in it being excessively hard to understand, or even incomprehensible. The term was coined in 1944, by former US Representative Maury Maverick (pictured above). Even for professional literature translators this word represents a challenge.

Serendipity is any discovery that’s unexpected yet fortunate. You can also call it a lucky find, coincidence or accident. The word has been voted as one of the ten English words that were hardest to translate in June 2004, by a British translation company. However, due to its sociological use, the word has been exported into many other languages.

A googly (a term in the game of cricket) is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. The googly is a major weapon in the arsenal of a leg spin bowler, and can be one of the bowler’s most effective wicket-taking balls. It is used infrequently, because its effectiveness comes mostly from its surprise value. The term is so exclusive to the English language that the Wikipedia article about is not available in any other language. If it were to be translated to a language like, perhaps, Spanish the word would come out like: “Tiro de Cricket curvado hecho por un tirador con la derecha.” or Curved Cricket shot made by a bowler with its right hand.

A survey was carried out in 2004 of linguists around the globe, to determine what phrases, terms, expressions, and so on were the most difficult when it comes to translation.

A survey was carried out in 2004 of linguists around the globe, to determine what phrases, terms, expressions, and so on were the most difficult when it comes to translation.

• Why is it that certain terms are so difficult to translate?
• Is there a cultural factor that determines our language?
• Do all words have an equivalent in other languages?

We know that, sometimes, a certain term in one culture can’t exist in another, simply because this concept does not culturally exist in the other.

Below we’ve listed some of the more complex terms translators face in their everyday translation tasks –

• Interestingly, the hardest word in the world to translate is Ilunga. This word belongs to the Luba-Kasai or Tshiluba language, which is spoken by more than 6 million speakers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So, what does Ilunga mean? It’s the ability to forgive a person for an offence or abuse the first time, to tolerate it the second time, but never a third!
• Radioukacz: This is a Polish word which refers to someone who worked as a telegraph and acted for the resistance movement in Soviet Russia.
• Shlimazl refers to a person who is chronically unlucky: it’s a term from the Yiddish language.
• Naa: This is a Japanese term that’s used to agree with someone or to emphasize statements. It’s only used in the Kansai area.
• Gezellig is an adjective in the Dutch language, designating a pleasant, homey, or warm place.
• Selathirupavar: This word comes from the Tamil language: it designates a specific type of truancy.
• Altahmam is an Arabic word: it describes a deep sadness.
• Pochemuchka is a Russian word. It describes a person who asks too many questions.
• Saudade refers to a kind of nostalgia. It’s a Portuguese word.
• Klloshar: This is an Albanian word, describing a man who is a loser.

This is obviously not a complete list, and there are many words in other languages that have no equivalent in any language. A good example of this is that the Eskimos have many terms to describe the various shades of white snow; but for most of us it’s just white.

So, as translators, is our job just translation, or is interpretation a part of it as well?

Looking for professional translation services? Contact us today!

There’s a running debate among translators about what word is hardest to translate. Obviously, the challenges vary from language to language, with languages that have less in common creating more elusive word to word translations. Let’s acknowledge that determining the hardest word to translate is more of a game than any sort of realistic exercise. That said, here are a few contenders that make the hypothetical list.Jayus is an Indonesian word that conveys the awkward humor behind a joke delivered so badly that you can’t help but laugh. In English, we sarcastically say, “That’s so funny I forgot to laugh.”

• Tartle is a Scottish word for the hesitation one feels when introducing people but having forgotten someone’s name.
• Prozvonit is a Czech word for “dropped call” but it refers to a mobile phone user who calls, lets the phone ring once then hangs up. The person who was called then dials the caller, saving the caller the cost of the call.
• Saudade is a Portuguese word for longing for someone or something that someone has loved and lost. It is stronger than the sense of the English nostalgia. (A Spanish word, duende, is considered difficult for similar reasons. Learn the exact story, here.)
• Cafune is a Brazilian Portuguese verb for running your fingers through someone’s hair tenderly. The Danish word Hyggelig literally translates as “cozy,” but the modern connotation has more to do with how Danes see themselves.

One of the hardest English words to translate into other tongues is gobbledygook, meaning “jargon-filled language that is difficult to read, maybe intentionally confusing.” It’s based on the onomatopoeic sound of a turkey’s gobble. Given the confusion that language learning students face when deciphering new words that would be a handy word to have available to describe what a poor translation looks like.

Can you think of any other words that would be difficult to translate into English? Let us know.

* Special thanks to Maria and Manny at Alta Language Services www.altalang.com

The world’s most difficult word to translate loses much in translation

In an article published by the BBC on June 22, 2004, “ilunga” was deemed the world’s most difficult word to translate. According to the article by Oliver Conway, “ilunga” topped a list compiled by 1,000 linguists as the “hardest word to translate.” It was reported that “ilunga,” which comes from the Tshiluba language, spoken in south-eastern Congo, means “a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time”.

The survey was conducted by Today Translations, which emphasized, while the ilunga’s definition can be found in the dictionary, the difficulty in translation comes from its cultural connotations and usage.

BUT WAIT, there is a problem.

According to an article in Wikipedia: There is no independent evidence supporting Today Translations’ claim that “ilunga” is in fact the world’s most difficult word to translate.  In fact ilunga is apparently a reasonably common family name in the DR Congo, and it has nothing to do with a conditionally forgiving person. Furthermore, according to Wikipedia, the translation company failed to respond to inquiries regarding the survey, made by the same reporter. Also, according to an entry in Nation Master Encyclopedia, not all of the words on Today Translations’ list were even legitimate. Some of them turned out to be mistakes and hoaxes.   

In my opinion, the category the “most untranslatable word” is on its face problematic to begin with.  It appears the article infers that these words are the hardest to translate into English, but there is no specific mention of this. Despite the 226,000 hits for “ilunga” from my July 19, 2008, Google search (many of which represent blogs recycling the original BBC article), it seems Today Translations’ linguistics need better translators. It also appears the BBC could have done a better job deciphering fact from fiction.

 Even so, the list “The ten foreign words voted hardest to translate,”  is fun to consider, so here it is:

1. Ilunga [Tshiluba word for a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time; to tolerate it a second time; but never a third time. Note: Tshiluba is a Bantu language spoken in south-eastern Congo, and Zaire]

2. Shlimazl [Yiddish for a chronically unlucky person]

3. Radioukacz [Polish for a person who worked as a telegraphist for the resistance movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain]

4. Naa [Japanese word only used in the Kansai area of Japan, to emphasise statements or agree with someone]

5. Altahmam  [Arabic for a kind of deep sadness]

6. Gezellig [Dutch for cosy]

7. Saudade [Portuguese for a certain type of longing]

8. Selathirupavar  [Tamil for a certain type of truancy]

9. Pochemuchka [Russian for a person who asks a lot of questions]

10. Klloshar [Albanian for loser]