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OP Is there a word in English which is untranslatable?
The Welsh word hiraeth, the Portuguese word saudade, the Spanish word duende, the German word weltschmerz, Han in Chinese, and others, are considered untranslatable into another language. We can give an approximate translation. "Wistfulness"; "Nostalgia"; "Passion"; "Worldweariness"; "Bitterness". But to properly understand the elusive meanings of these words—understand them in the way that they are used by the native speakers of the language they belong to— you probably have to have lived in the culture in which they are used because the meanings are a unique part of the cultural psyche.
I'd really like to know if we have any words like this in English. But I can't think of a single candidate. Maybe it's impossible to identify these words in your own language.
Any ideas?
Last edited by Hydra; 12/10/06 01:47 PM.
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