#67 on this list.

  • Nihilism -- Belief that nothing exists as a correspondent component of the self efficient world.
  • Toska (Russian) -- Vladmir Nabokov describes it best: “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.”
  • Angst -- A feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general; A feeling of persistent worry about something trivial.
  • Subdued -- Quiet and rather reflective or depressed.
  • Stoic -- A person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining.
  • Ballast -- Heavy material, such as gravel, placed low in a vessel to improve its stability.
  • Moral Certitude -- The form of knowledge sufficient for making a sound moral judgment.
  • Disillusioned -- Free from false belief.
  • Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego) --This word captures that special look shared between two people, when both are wishing that the other would do something that they both want, but neither want to do.
  • Pelinti (Buli, Ghana) -- Your friend bites into a piece of piping hot pizza, then opens his mouth and sort of tilts his head around while making an “aaaarrrahh” noise. The Ghanaians have a word for that. More specifically, it means “to move hot food around in your mouth.”

Greng-jai (Thai) That feeling you get when you don't want someone to do something for you because it would be a pain for them.

Mencolek (Indonesian) You know that old trick where you tap someone lightly on the opposite shoulder from behind to fool them? The Indonesians have a word for it.

Yuputka (Ulwa) A word made for walking in the woods at night, it’s the phantom sensation of something crawling on your skin.

Layogenic (Tagalog) Remember in Clueless when Cher describes someone as “a full-on Monet…from far away, it’s OK, but up close it’s a big old mess”? That’s exactly what this word means.

Seigneur-terraces (French) Coffee shop dwellers who sit at tables a long time but spend little money.

Ya’arburnee (Arabic) This word is the hopeful declaration that you will die before someone you love deeply, because you cannot stand to live without them. Literally, may you bury me.

Zeg (Georgian) It means “the day after tomorrow.” OK, we do have "overmorrow" in English, but when was the last time someone used that?

Cafune (Brazilian Portuguese) Leave it to the Brazilians to come up with a word for “tenderly running your fingers through your lover’s hair.”

Koi No Yokan (Japanese) The sense upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love.

Boketto (Japanese) It’s nice to know that the Japanese think enough of the act of gazing vacantly into the distance without thinking to give it a name.

L’esprit de l’escalier (French) Literally, stairwell wit—a too-late retort thought of only after departure.

Cavoli Riscaldati (Italian) The result of attempting to revive an unworkable relationship. Translates to "reheated cabbage."

    • Song "reheated cabbage"

Litost (Czech) Milan Kundera described the emotion as “a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery.”

dec 8 2012 ∞
may 23 2013 +