Hygge
Hygge is something we all want all the time – but seldom have. It is a Danish word meaning a “complete absence of anything annoying, irritating or emotionally overwhelming, and the presence of and pleasure from comforting, gentle and soothing things”. It is especially associated with Christmas time, grilling Danish sausage on long summer evenings and sitting around lit candles on a rainy night. What an amazing word!
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Ilunga
Ilunga is a Bantu word and, in 2004, it had the sole distinction of being chosen as the worlds most difficult word to translate. In Bantu it refers to a person willing to forgive abuse the first time, tolerate it the second but never a third time. Even trying to think of an English word that closely resembles the meaning of this hurts my brain so I won’t bother trying. The closest short sentence I can think of in English is “tolerant to a point”.
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Bakku-shan
Here is another great Japanese word with no English equivalent. Bakku-shan is the word for a girl who looks pretty from behind but ugly in front. I can’t find out whether they have a word for the reverse situation, or for that other frighteningly common problem these days, where you think a girl looks good from behind only to discover that she is a he! Modern fashion has a lot to answer for!
From: listverse
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