Undefinables

Exploring universal truths through world languages.

What does the word curglaff mean?

Curglaff

(Scottish) The bracing, shocking, and/or invigorating feeling of suddenly entering cold water.

Illustration by Josef Minor

What does the word luftmensch mean?

Luftmensch

(Yiddish) Literally “air person,” this is someone more concerned with intellectual or creative pursuits than practical issues.

Illustration by Josef Minor

What does the word yilugnta mean?

Yilugnta ይሉኝታ

(Amharic) A feeling of obligation to consider and defer to the opinion of others.

Illustration by Josef Minor

Abstract collage of elderly couple walking through a gate"

Oubaitori 桜梅桃李

Oubaitori 桜梅桃李

(Japanese) The idea that people, like flowers, bloom in their own time and in their own individual ways.

Illustration by Josef Minor

Hiányérzet

Hiányérzet

(Hungarian) The sense that something, often undefined or unidentified, is lacking or missing.

Illustration by Josef Minor

Curcol

Curcol

(Indonesian) A specific kind of droning or rant, this is when someone uses even the most neutral topic as an excuse to tell a loosely related story about their misery.

Illustration by Aaron Lowell Denton

Pasikaustęs

Pasikaustęs

(Lithuanian) Literally, “the one who has put a horseshoe on themself,” this is someone with all the right skills to be successful.

Illustration by Aaron Lowell Denton

Han

Han

(Korean) Sorrow, resentment, or regret, possibly with a sense of patiently waiting or hoping for amelioration.

Illustration by Aaron Lowell Denton

Empalagar

Empalagar

(Spanish) To get sick from something that’s too sweet or rich in flavor.

Illustration by Aaron Lowell Denton

Tampo

Tampo

(Filipino) A slang term for withdrawing affection from a person when one’s feelings have been hurt — a nonconfrontational and nonverbal form of receding to signify upset.

Illustration by Aaron Lowell Denton

Koi No Yokan

Koi No Yokan

(Japanese) The feeling of meeting someone and knowing that it’s inevitable that you will fall in love with them.

Illustration by Aaron Lowell Denton

Hankiainen

Hankiainen

(Finnish) Around February, when the sun returns for short visits above the horizon again, it melts the top of the snow just enough to make it hard. When the snow is solid enough to walk on top of a meter of it without falling in, it is hankiainen.

Illustration by Aaron Lowell Denton