Words the world couldn't translate
One a day — komorebi, saudade, hygge, and every feeling English left unnamed.
Love & Longing
Cafunéthe act of running one's fingers through someone's hairPortuguese
Firgunwholehearted joy in another's successHebrew
Hiraeth 🔊homesickness mixed with longing for a place that may not existWelsh
Kiligthe nervous flutter of excitement and anticipation in romanceFilipino
Mamihlapinatapaia look shared by two people, each wishing the other to initiate something neither wants to startYaghan
Sehnsucht 🔊yearning; a deep longing for something distant or unattainableGerman
Taraba state of emotional overwhelm induced by music or songArabic
Ya'aburneemay you bury meArabic
Melancholy
Han 🔊a deep, unresolved ache of the soul; collective sorrow and resentmentKorean
Hüzün 🔊sorrow, melancholy, or deep griefTurkish
Kummerspeck 🔊grief bacon; sorrow fatGerman
Litosta state of torment caused by sudden insight into one's own miseryCzech
Saudade 🔊a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for something absent or lostPortuguese
Toska 🔊a stabbing ache of the soul; longing without objectRussian
Weltschmerz 🔊world-pain; pain at the state of the worldGerman
Nature & Light
Friluftslivfree-air-lifeNorwegian
Gökottaearly morning bird-watching walkSwedish
Komorebi 🔊sunlight filtering through tree leavesJapanese
Mångatathe moon's path on waterSwedish
Shinrin-yoku 🔊forest bathingJapanese
Yakamoz 🔊moonlight reflecting on waterTurkish
Yūgenprofound grace lurking in shadowJapanese
Togetherness & Home
Cwtch 🔊a cuddle, hug, or safe hiding placeWelsh
Gezelligheid 🔊the quality of being cozy, congenial, and convivial all at onceDutch
Hygge 🔊coziness, warmth, and convivial contentmentDanish
Ilungaa person who is willing to forgive any betrayal or insult a first time, but never a secondTshiluba
Jeong 🔊deep emotional bond; feeling of connection and loyaltyKorean
Muditasympathetic joy; delight in others' happinessSanskrit
Myötähäpeävicarious shame; shame felt on behalf of anotherFinnish
Nunchieye measure; the ability to read a roomKorean
Querenciaa place where one feels safe and returns toSpanish
Sobremesa 🔊over the tableSpanish
Ubuntu 🔊a person is a person through other peopleZulu
Solitude & Wandering
Bokettogazing vacantly into the distanceJapanese
Dépaysement 🔊the state of being removed from one's country or familiar settingFrench
Fernweh 🔊distance-pain; far-acheGerman
Hanyaukuthe act of walking on tiptoe or moving stealthily through waterRukwangali
Merak 🔊a state of carefree contentment mixed with gentle melancholySerbian
Uitwaaien 🔊to blow out; to wind oneself outDutch
Waldeinsamkeit 🔊forest solitude; the feeling of being alone in the woodsGerman
Time & Impermanence
Estrenar 🔊to wear or use something for the first timeSpanish
Iktsuarpokthe feeling of anticipation while waiting for someoneInuktitut
Mono no awarethe pathos of thingsJapanese
Natsukashiinostalgic; longed-for; fondly rememberedJapanese
Torschlusspanik 🔊gate-closing panicGerman
Tretår 🔊three-thread or three-plySwedish
Wabi-sabi 🔊loneliness and transience; impermanence and imperfectionJapanese
Everyday Delight
Abbioccothe drowsiness that comes after eating a large mealItalian
Culaccinothe mark left by a wet glass on a tableItalian
Desenrascançothe act of getting unstuck or out of a tight spotPortuguese
Fika 🔊coffee break with pastry and socializingSwedish
Fremdschämen 🔊foreign shame; shame felt on behalf of someone elseGerman
Gigilthe urge to pinch or squeeze something cuteFilipino
Jayusa joke so poorly told that you laugh out of pityIndonesian
Jugaad 🔊a makeshift arrangement or hack; a quick fixHindi
Kefia state of high spirits, passion, and joyful abandonGreek
Lagom 🔊just the right amount; not too much, not too littleSwedish
Prozvonitto call through / to ring someone up intentionally and then hang upCzech
Sprezzatura 🔊a studied carelessness; the art of making the difficult look effortlessItalian
Tartleto hesitate when introducing someone whose name you've forgottenScots
Utepilsoutdoor beer enjoyed in sunshineNorwegian
Verschlimmbessern 🔊to make worse by trying to make betterGerman
Voorpret 🔊the pleasure of anticipationDutch
Inner Life
Dadirrideep listening; to listen with stillness and patienceNgangikurunggurr
Duende 🔊a goblin or mischievous spirit; the sudden grip of artistic possessionSpanish
Fingerspitzengefühl 🔊fingertip feelingGerman
Ikigai 🔊reason for being; worth of livingJapanese
Merakisoul, heart, or creative spirit poured into workGreek
Philotimolove of honorGreek
Pochemuchkaa person who asks 'why' all the timeRussian
Schadenfreude 🔊harm-joy; joy at another's misfortuneGerman
Sisu 🔊inner strength; guts; resilience in the face of adversityFinnish
Sitzfleischsitting flesh; the buttocks as a seat of enduranceGerman
Tsundoku 🔊pile up and read; a stack of unread booksJapanese
Zugzwang 🔊compulsion to move; move-constraintGerman