12 "Untranslatable" Words from Around the World

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  • Опубликовано: 3 апр 2019
  • Learn some uniquely helpful words that only exist in other languages!
    This video features our amazing volunteer TED Translators. Learn more about their work and help us subtitle and translate TED Talks here: www.ted.com/translate

Комментарии • 62

  • @GarrettEderer
    @GarrettEderer 4 года назад +11

    Also Korean: 답답하다 and 정
    답답하다 is a verb that Koreans use quite often but is difficult to translate. It, from my understanding, is used mostly in situations where one feels frustrated or vexed in some sort of way, or like they can't do something. It is a word to kind of describe the feeling of their chest during that moment.
    정 From my understanding is a very old word that denotes a strong connection between people. It can be family or someone else, but I think it usually between people of the same culture of Korea. However I was given money before leaving Korea, because some of them considered me as some sort of family even though we were not. They described this as 정.

  • @murillomesmo8189
    @murillomesmo8189 2 года назад +6

    funny that the word "Sobremesa" also exists in portuguese, but here it means dessert

  • @portuguesewithmaria
    @portuguesewithmaria 2 года назад +8

    It's so not true that "saudade" is a unique word without any equivalent in other languages that it almost sounds funny to hear such a thing. Saudade is "чежња" in Serbian language and there's a whole cultural concept around that idea just like it's a key motive in fado music.

  • @carolafleischhauer1611
    @carolafleischhauer1611 5 лет назад +28

    i liked the Japanese one best...so relaxind
    in my language it would be sth like "Luft schnappen"

  • @K-TheLetter
    @K-TheLetter 3 года назад +3

    Kalsarikänni in Finnish means to get drunk (alone) at home in your underwear with no intention of going out.

  • @Waokele7
    @Waokele7 5 лет назад +11

    "Sobremesa" is "lingering"
    There are a lot of Spanish important words that do not have an equivalent word for in English such as; "falta" "faltan 15 para las 4:00"

    • @aranrosario4681
      @aranrosario4681 4 года назад

      «there are 15 [minutes (?)] left at 4:00» is not a literal translation, but subtitles do that

    • @gabrielabatista6016
      @gabrielabatista6016 3 года назад +4

      Not really related but I find this word funny, because on Portuguese sobremesa means dessert (like, the sweets after the main meal, not the biome)

    • @chilli_421
      @chilli_421 Год назад

      "Sobremesa" is dessert in Portuguese

  • @u4gugkjjso2hge64
    @u4gugkjjso2hge64 2 года назад +2

    1:47 in Finland we call it "Hipsuttaminen"

  • @vikrammaharjan8835
    @vikrammaharjan8835 3 года назад +11

    Interesting! We too have many such words in NEWARI in Nepal. One among them is "MAKOOSI." This is a word that refers to the taste of White Rice, or Maize/Corn, or Yam. Is there any equivalent English word for this Taste? Plz help me, if anyone knows.

    • @klinxium8627
      @klinxium8627 2 года назад

      no

    • @RuataLungchuang
      @RuataLungchuang 2 года назад

      Umami in Japanese and English , Hang in Mizo.

    • @alexanderboukal5332
      @alexanderboukal5332 2 года назад

      @@klinxium8627 What about starch? Starch seems like the English equivalent of makoosi mentioned by @Vikram Maharjan.

    • @alexanderboukal5332
      @alexanderboukal5332 2 года назад

      @VikramMaharjan Makoosi in Newari; starch in English.

  • @user-jz1xu1gn6t
    @user-jz1xu1gn6t 2 года назад +1

    "切ない”should be one

  • @SargonofQueens
    @SargonofQueens 3 года назад +1

    Shin Lin yu is so easy. Just forest bathing in English and 森林浴in Chinese

  • @luigiprovencher8888
    @luigiprovencher8888 2 года назад +1

    Does anyone know how to translate ancient words?

  • @Eaglejorge
    @Eaglejorge 5 лет назад +7

    Saudade options = anoranza, nostalgia, soledad.

  • @rafaelgalindo4794
    @rafaelgalindo4794 3 года назад +2

    Sobremesa in portuguese means dessert

  • @idkatthispoint-s9s
    @idkatthispoint-s9s Год назад +1

    0:28 I think that can be translated into Nostalgia...

    • @chilli_421
      @chilli_421 Год назад

      Not quite. Nostalgia oftentimes alludes to a sense of sentimentality for the unattainable, foregone past. Saudade is an ambiguous yearn for something other than the present. I would say they are akin per se rathern than the same concept.

  • @oscaralberto6835
    @oscaralberto6835 2 года назад +2

    Cafuné -> Spanish: Hacer piojitos

  • @amelmir3647
    @amelmir3647 5 лет назад +12

    beautiful, thank you

  • @SuperWMYB
    @SuperWMYB 5 лет назад +5

    I'm disappointed that the Swedish word fika wasn't included

    • @thieny4203
      @thieny4203 4 года назад +1

      Wut iz the meaning of those words

    • @samuelmaingi6365
      @samuelmaingi6365 3 года назад

      @@thieny4203 Its hard to explain the whole "fika culture" that we have here in Sweden, but the word fika essentially translates to casual meet up that includes a hot beverage like tea or coffee, and often times a pastry. For example if you bump into an old friend, you can plan "to grab a fika" at your favourite café down town and catch up. But you can also "ta en fikapaus" which means "taking a fika pause" during work/school and sit and endulge on some pastries or have a quick cup of coffee or tea.
      On the other hand, the word "lagom" means when something is "just that right amount" or "just a reasonable amount". For example you could say "jag tänkte dra ut ikväll och supa sönder mig rejält, men jag tror att jag ska ta det lungt och bara dricka en *lagom* mängd ikväll" which translates to " I was planning on going out tonight and get really drunk, but i think that i will take it easy tonight and drink just a reasonable amount"

  • @Waokele7
    @Waokele7 5 лет назад +1

    " Saudade" already exists in English as "homesick" or "I miss...."

    • @stefand.5932
      @stefand.5932 4 года назад +7

      There are nuances of it you can't translate, those are approximations

    • @guilhermetanaka8732
      @guilhermetanaka8732 4 года назад +1

      homesick is missing home, basically. Saudade is when you miss eating something, miss a person, a feeling or even your pet :)

    • @Catscratch241
      @Catscratch241 3 года назад +1

      @@guilhermetanaka8732 then it would be to reminisce, or to feel nostalgic.

    • @gabrielabatista6016
      @gabrielabatista6016 3 года назад +4

      @@Catscratch241 reminisce is quite close but not exactly the same, and "saudade" and nostalgia are different things entirely (we have nostalgia on Portuguese as well). "Saudade" is a feeling of missing something or someone, a longing for something or someone, or reminiscing something or someone you used to have in your life. It's hard to translate because you don't have an equivalent word '^' and it's not a clear one in meaning as well, you can have "saudade" of something you never knew or someone you never met. It's not "untranslatable", it's just that there isn't an equivalent word on most languages so it's hard to translate, because adapting it can make it loose some of the original meaning.

  • @nicolasvalenciacl
    @nicolasvalenciacl 4 года назад +3

    In Chile we have a synonym for cafuné: nanai

    • @jigsaww0man
      @jigsaww0man 3 года назад +2

      Hmm si, pero nanai viene del quechua. En Chile es un término adquirido, un préstamo lingüístico.

  • @mulbaybetul5924
    @mulbaybetul5924 3 года назад +1

    0:47 enderun değil mi ya?

  • @sagaralangeparamahita4186
    @sagaralangeparamahita4186 4 года назад +1

    0:43 in javanesse called blangkemen

  • @lunaxxx674
    @lunaxxx674 3 года назад +2

    I'm disappointed you didn't include the German word "doch"

  • @merlinfrederikwolff7826
    @merlinfrederikwolff7826 4 года назад +3

    I missed the German "Weltschmerz"...

    • @thieny4203
      @thieny4203 4 года назад

      What does this mean

    • @merlinfrederikwolff7826
      @merlinfrederikwolff7826 4 года назад +2

      @@thieny4203 It denotes a deep sadness about the inadequacy or imperfection of the world

    • @lunaxxx674
      @lunaxxx674 3 года назад

      Well no one in Germany uses that word so it doesnt matter

    • @merlinfrederikwolff7826
      @merlinfrederikwolff7826 3 года назад

      @@lunaxxx674 Well it's very specific for this one feeling. I use it to describe this feeling but nothing else, just like it's supposed to be

    • @lunaxxx674
      @lunaxxx674 3 года назад

      @@merlinfrederikwolff7826 are you German?

  • @Najahkeeper
    @Najahkeeper 5 лет назад +2

    thanks a lot

  • @ryuusuk33
    @ryuusuk33 5 лет назад +5

    Interesting ❤👏

  • @lunaticpetunia616
    @lunaticpetunia616 3 года назад +1

    0:51 It was thoughtful to construct an andaruni.

  • @SargonofQueens
    @SargonofQueens 3 года назад +1

    口寂しい、in Chinese, its 嘴饞

  • @youssefabbas8811
    @youssefabbas8811 4 года назад +1

    There's a lot of words in Arabic

  • @mimoso_7773
    @mimoso_7773 4 года назад +1

    As usual, not even 1 Turkish word... Surprised by that? Absolutely not (unfortunately) :(

  • @falnica
    @falnica 4 года назад +1

    You are giving the translations of the words!, they are not untranslatable!

    • @jigsaww0man
      @jigsaww0man 3 года назад +8

      A word will be called untranslatable when it doesn't have an exact equivalent between languages. The people in the video are not translating, they are explaining the meaning of the words. There are also nuances that can't be explained. Language and culture is a dichotomy inseparable.

    • @falnica
      @falnica 3 года назад

      @@jigsaww0man According to your definition every word would be untranslatable. Take spanish verbs for example can pack a lot of information, the word "úntesela" means "please, rub it all over yourself", the word "devolveríamoslo" means "we would give it back", and I can do this with every single verb in spanish, or french, or italian, or inuktitut... now, either there are millions of untranslatable words or... explaining the meaning of a word is the same as translating it. Choose whichever conclusion you want, but those are the only two

    • @zoomzike
      @zoomzike 3 года назад +2

      @@falnica This is probably why the title says "untranslatable" in quotes because it's not _literally_ untranslatable, but most people will get what it's trying to say

  • @radialdanil7410
    @radialdanil7410 3 года назад +3

    Im from Brazil 👍

  • @chanchalnishanth8117
    @chanchalnishanth8117 Год назад +1

    Most populous county in the world. Thousands of languages, not just dialects. Still not a single word from Indian languages. #Hinduphobia and #Indophobia of TED is nauseating!!

  • @lettuce258
    @lettuce258 4 года назад +1

    no romanian?