Material Detail

Languages are unique. Every language has unique words that are hard to find in other languages, which makes translation quite a tricky task. While English has some interesting words that typically aren’t found in other languages, it also lacks a ton of fascinating words that other languages readily have at their disposal.
For instance, the Japanese auxiliary verb “shimau” is similar to “accidentally,” with an added nuance of regret. However, the effect is often somewhat subtle and doesn’t warrant an explicit “accidentally” in a translation, often making it untranslatable. The Japanese language is full of difficult-to-translate words and leaves learners feeling like it has a word for just about everything.
German is also famous for its unique compound words and features an abundance of German-only words, like “Kummerspeck” (“grief bacon”) and “Deppenleerzeichen” (“idiot’s white space”). German’s compound words are often creative and funny, adding a special charm to the language.
But these aren’t the only languages with interesting and unique terms. In this infographic, you can check out 50 untranslatable words from languages all over the world.

This will delete the comment from the database. This operation is not reversible. Are you sure you want to do it?

Thank you for reporting a broken "Go to Material" link in MERLOT to help us maintain a collection of valuable learning materials.

If you feel this material is inappropriate for the MERLOT Collection, please click SEND REPORT, and the MERLOT Team will investigate. Thank you!