Title
One of the most difficult words to translate…
Description
As simple as it seems, it’s often impossible to accurately translate the word «you» without knowing a lot more about the situation where it’s being said. Krystian Aparta describes the specific reasons why it can be difficult, citing examples from many different languages. [Directed by Avi Ofer, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Wonder Boy Audio]. *
Which is the hardest word to translate in this sentence?
Do you know where the pep rally is?
«Know» is easy to translate. «Pep rally» doesn’t have a direct analog in a lot of languages and cultures, but can be approximated. But the hardest word there is actually one of the smallest: «you.» As simple as it seems, it’s often impossible to accurately translate «you» without knowing a lot more about the situation where it’s being said. To start with, how familiar are you with the person you’re talking to? Many cultures have different levels of formality. A close friend, someone much older or much younger, a stranger, a boss. These all may be slightly different «you’s.» In many languages, the pronoun reflects these differences through what’s known as the T–V distinction. In French, for example, you would say «tu» when talking to your friend at school, but «vous» when addressing your teacher. Even English once had something similar. Remember the old-timey «thou?» Ironically, it was actually the informal pronoun for people you’re close with, while «you» was the formal and polite version. That distinction was lost when the English decided to just be polite all the time. But the difficulty in translating «you» doesn’t end there. In languages like Hausa or Korana, the «you» form depends on the listener’s gender. In many more, it depends on whether they are one or many, such as with German «Du» or «ihr.» Even in English, some dialects use words like «y’all» or «youse» the same way. Some plural forms, like the French «vous» and Russian «Вы» are also used for a single person to show that the addressee is that much more important, much like the royal «we.» And a few languages even have a specific form for addressing exactly two people, like Slovenian «vidva.» If that wasn’t complicated enough, formality, number, and gender can all come into play at the same time. In Spanish, «tú» is unisex informal singular, «usted» is unisex formal singular, «vosotros» is masculine informal plural, «vosotras» is feminine informal plural, and «ustedes» is the unisex formal plural. Phew! After all that, it may come as a relief that some languages often leave out the second person pronoun. In languages like Romanian and Portuguese, the pronoun can be dropped from sentences because it’s clearly implied by the way the verbs are conjugated. And in languages like Korean, Thai, and Chinese, pronouns can be dropped without any grammatical hints. Speakers often would rather have the listener guess the pronoun from context than use the wrong one and risk being seen as rude. So if you’re ever working as a translator and come across this sentence without any context: «You and you, no, not you, you, your job is to translate ‘you’ for yourselves» … Well, good luck. And to the volunteer community who will be translating this video into multiple languages: Sorry about that!
OER Category
UMSL OER Adopted
This OER at UMSL
Prof. Allard — Foreign Language 2100
Recommended Citation
Aparta, Krystian and TED-Ed, «One of the most difficult words to translate…» (2016). Open Educational Resources Collection. 14.
Available at:
https://irl.umsl.edu/oer/14
This document is currently not available here.
DOWNLOADS
Since November 30, 2019
COinS
alucard
Draculas, Ranked
We’ve counted all the counts and put together a high-stakes ranking of the best and the worst.
JUICY
Inside Rupert Murdoch’s Succession Drama
With the $1.6 billion Dominion lawsuit threatening to hobble Fox News, the ink on his divorce to Jerry Hall still wet, and his broken engagement to Ann Lesley Smith even fresher, it’s been a chaotic 12 months for the 92-year-old conservative media baron. As Fox and family insiders tell it, this could just be the beginning.
THE BOSS
Chris Tucker Was Waiting For This
The comedian became a megastar with «Rush Hour» and then seemed to disappear from the spotlight, re-emerging every couple of years or so. Now after the longest sabbatical of his career, the actor is coming up for Ben Affleck’s «Air.»
MIXED EMOTIONS
The Reality Of The Butt Lift Is Complicated
13 hours ago
Will you be happier with a lifted butt? This New Yorker mini-doc follows a real patient to see her experience. (Warning: Depictions of surgery, nudity and body image issues.)
terf wars
The Internet Reacts To Max, HBO Max’s New Name
14 hours ago
Warner Bros. Discovery held a big press conference to announce several new projects and a new direction for their streaming service Max, formerly known as HBO Max. Twitter did not take this news lightly.
dream a little dream
These Tricks Can Help You Control Your Dreams
19 hours ago
Lucid dreaming is a technique that allows you to realize you’re in a dream — and, with a bit of practise, you can learn to control what happens there.
brb booking a trip
Some Of The Best Cheap Luxury Hotels Around The World
13 hours ago
Luxury hotels offer indulgent stays, but often cost several hundred to thousands of dollars a night. However with careful planning, it’s possible to find five-star hotels around the world for far less.
BUT WHY
Who Is This $1,400 Gamer Phone Even For?
15 hours ago
This powerful phone runs mobile games well without getting hot, but it’s not clear who’s even in the market for this device. ROG might have made a phone for nobody.
failing fudds
Why Is Fuddruckers Struggling?
19 hours ago
The restaurant chain, known for serving «The World’s Greatest Hamburgers,» isn’t doing so well these days.
Advertise
Terms
Privacy Notice
© Copyright 2023 Digg All Rights Reserved.
Digg is an independent, advertiser-supported website and may receive compensation for some links to products and services throughout this website.
Opinions expressed on this site are the author’s alone, not those of a third-party entity, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed.
Offers may be subject to change without notice. Read our disclaimer.
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!
Liraz Postan
Liraz is an International SEO and Content Expert with over 13 years of experience.
Many English words don’t have neat, single-word equivalents in other languages. Translating “serendipity,” for instance, often requires some explanation to fully express the concept. Learn which English words are surprisingly tough to translate.
Text version
-ish
Is the adjective you’re using too strong? Soften its precision with this handy suffix.
Auto-tuned
If a singer is auto-tuned, some people might not call them a singer—all their off-key wailing has been digitally corrected.
Bromance
A bromance is a close but non-sexual relationship between men. Although men have friends in other cultures too, few have coined a term for it.
Cheesy
The awkwardness of a cheesy situation is known around the world, but no foreign word captures it as well as English’s «cheesy.»
Facepalm
Show your exasperation in English by facepalming—slapping your palm to your face.
Fair / Fairness
This concept is not unique—it’s common to all cultures. But non-English words just don’t seem to convey the same nuance.
Free
«Free» is too versatile to be easily translatable. From «at no cost» to «available» to «lacking» (when a suffix), it is highly contextual.
Gobbledygook
If you’re confronted with a text convoluted to the point of incomprehensibility, this wacky-looking word is perfect to describe it.
Kitsch
Only English speakers and Germans, from whom the word originated, can so concisely describe pretentious, outdated, tacky, or inferior art.
Multitasking
Though this word may not seem special, most languages just translate it as «doing multiple things at once.»
Pimp
Need a handy slang verb to describe decorating something or prettying yourself up? English has you covered.
Serendipity
A lucky find, a happy accident, a fortunate coincidence—there are many ways to express this idea, but «serendipity» covers it all in one simple word.
Spam
Unwanted, unsolicited emails are spam. The word has even evolved to describe repeatedly posting the same text to an online forum.
Tough
Since «tough» incorporates the meaning of both «difficult» and «physically hard,» finding an equivalent in another language is, well, tough.
Trade-off
If you have to give something up to receive something, it’s a trade-off. You’ve weighed the pros and cons and have made this decision. Other languages can’t describe this so precisely.
Y’all’d’ve
In casual English, the four-word phrase «you all would have» can be shortened to the two syllable «y’all’d’ve.» «You all would have» is translatable, but «y’all’d’ve» is special.
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