UNTRANSLATABLE WORDS FOR THE AESTHETIC™ {PART I}
1) Po ushi vlubitsya (Russian) - An idiom that literally translates to “fall in love up to your ears”.
2) Nanakorobi Yaoki 七転び八起き(Japanese) - An idiom that translates to “ if you fall seven times, get back up eight times”.
3) Merak (Serbian)- Refers to a feeling of bliss and the sense of oneness with the universe that comes from the simplest of pleasures. It is the pursuit of small, daily pleasures that all add up to a great sense of happiness and fulfillment.
4) Mono no aware (物の哀れ) (Japansese)- Translates literally to “the pathos of things”, and also translated as “an empathy toward things”, or “a sensitivity to ephemera“, and is the Japanese concept for the awareness of the impermanence or transience of all things and the gentle sadness and wistfulness at their passing. It is enjoying the sadness of the inevitable cycle of life.
5) Komorebi (Japanese) - The sunlight that filters through the leaves of the trees.
6) Nefelibata (Portuguese) - Literal translation of “cloud walker”, and describes someone who does not conform to the rules of society, art and literature & lives by within the clouds of their own imagination and dreams.)
7) Fýrgebræc (Old English) - The word for sharp breaking / crackling sound made by fire.
8) Sillage (French) - Term for the scent that lingers after something/one has passed & the wake or trails that airplanes leave in the sky or boats in water as well as the trace of someone’s perfume.
9) Kyōka suigetsu (Japanese) - An idiom with the literal translation of “flower in the mirror & a moon in the water”, and references something which is visible and cannot be touched as well as the profound beauty of poems that cannot be described in words.
10)Temul (Mongolian)- References a creative frenzy, to intensely be inspired and take a flight of fancy. “the word (temul) was best exemplified by ‘the look in the eye of the horse that is racing where it wants to go, no matter what the rider wants’”. – Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (2004))
11) Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan) - The wordless, meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to do so.)
12) Cafuné (Brazilian Portueguese) - The act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair.
13) Luftmensch (Yiddish) - Refers to someone who is a bit of a dreamer; literally, an “air person.”
14) Duende (Spanish) - The mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person.
15) L’appel du vide (French) - Literally translated to “the call of the void”; contextually used to describe the instinctive urge to jump from high places.
16)Commuovere (Italian) - Often taken to mean “heartwarming,” but directly refers to a story that moved you to tears
17) Hanyauku (Rukwangali) - The act of walking on tiptoes across warm sand.
18) Kilig (Tagalog) - The feeling of butterflies in your stomach, usually when something romantic takes place.
19) Vergissmeincht ( German) - The term for forget-me-not flowers, and in 15th Cwntury Germany, it was believed that wearers of the flower would not be forgotten by their lovers. Legend has it that in medieval times, a knight and his lady were walking along the side of a river. He picked a posy of flowers, but because of the weight of his armour he fell into the river. As he was drowning he threw the posy to his loved one and shouted “forget me not”. It was often worn by ladies as a sign of faithfulness and enduring love.
20) Hǎi shì shān méng (海誓山盟) (Chinese)- A proverb of eternal love that literally translates to “the promises of mountains and vows of seas”.
21) Setsunai 切ない (せつない) (Japenese) a Word for a feeling between bitttersweet,painful and wistful.
22) Aranyhíd (Hungarian)- A term for the reflection of the sun as it shines on water and can literally be translated to “the golden bridge”.
23) Xibipíío (Pirahã) - A word for the description of experiential liminality- of a being in the boundaries of experience and the act of entering or leaving perception.
24) Yūgen (幽玄) (Japenese) - This is a principle at the core of the appreciation of beauty and art in Japan. It shows that real beauty exists when, through its suggestiveness, only a few words, or few brush strokes, can suggest what has not been said or shown – hence awaken many inner thoughts and feelings.
25) Rasāsvāda रसास्वाद (Sanskrit) - rasa, “juice, essence”; āsvāda, “tasting, enjoying”) A word for the taste of bliss in the absence of all thoughts.
26) Sehnsucht (German) - A term for the inconsolable longing in the human heart for what we know not.
27) Cheiro no cangote (Brazilian Portuguese )- A term depicting the act of nuzzling your love’s neck with the tip of your nose.
28) Gökotta (Swedish) - A word that is often referred to as “dawn picnic to hear the first birdsong”.
29) Natsukashii (Japanese) - A term for the warm sentimentality of fond memories & nostalgia.
30) Yakamoz (Turkish)- Yakamoz is commonly referred to as the reflection of the moon as it shines upon the water.Though its original meaning is now nearly forgotten, a yakamoz is actually the light coming from the ocean or salt-water rivers that is caused by microorganisms Noctuluca scintillans, commonly known as the Sea Sparkle, and considered as the fireflies of the sea. When these creatures are moved or disturbed, they create a wonderful luminescent effect that, when gazed from afar, look like a scene in which moonlight shines in the sea. The closest English equivalent to yakamoz, they say, is phosphorescence.
31) Preetogjes (Dutch) - A term that literally translates to “fun-eyes” and describes the eyes of a chucking person who is up to benign mischief.
32) Ukiyo (Japanese)- A term which translates to “the floating world”, and depicts a place of fleeting beauty and living in the moment, without worries.
33) Wabi-Sabi (Japanese) - A phase that finds beauty in the “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”. Wabi is the quality of a rustic, yet refined, solitary beauty. Sabi means things whose beauty stems from age - the patina of age, and the concept that changes due to use may make an object more beautiful and valuable. Sakura {cherry blossoms} in spring are perfect examples of this as they are aesthetically pleasing precisely because they don’t last.
34) Aamukaste (Finnish) - Word for morning dew .
35) Mångata (Swedish)- The glimmering,roadlile reflection of moonlight on a river.
36) Hanaemi 花笑み (Japanese) - Means the “flowering smile” or “the smile of flowers” in old Japanese. It is a smile that is as beautiful as blooming flowers, calling people to feel happy.)
37) Les bruixes es pentinen (Catalan) - This is a Catalan phrase for sunshower which has a colloquiall mythology reference to “witches brushing their hair”.
38) Walwalün (Malpundungan) -A word for the sound of flowing water.
39) Dhvani (Sanskrit) - A term depicting the feature of a poem/line having a hidden meaning that strikes you on the second or further readings but not the first.
40) Orenda (Huron ) - A term used to describe the mystical force present in all people that empowers them to affect the world or change their own fate/destiny.
41) Abendrot (German) - A word for the colour of the sky when the sun is setting.
42) Phosphene (English)- A word that depicts the colour or stars you see when you rub your eyes.
43) Dérive (French)- A term encompassing spontaneous journey on which the subtle aesthetic contours of the landscape and architecture subconsciously attract and move the traveler, encountering an entirely new and authentic experience. In performing a dérive, the individual in question must first set aside all work and leisure activities, clearing their minds of all their usual motives for movement and action, then let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there.
44) Yùyīn (Chinese) - A term that depicts the remanants of a sound that remain in the ear even after the sound has stopped.
45) Kōwhekowheko (Maori) - A word that describes the motion of fire as it dies out and blazes up again and/or to burst into flames when seemingly not burning.
46) Eigengrau (German ) - A term that translates literally to “intrinsic grey”, and the color seen by the eye in perfect darkness.
47) Kawa Akari (Japenese) - A term which translated literally to “river light”, and describes the sunset reflecting on the river, the glow of a river int the darkness and the gleam of a last night on a rivers surface at dusk.
48) şafak ( Turkish) - This word depicts the first skylight seen during dawn or just before the sun rises.
49) Bilita mpash (Bantu) - The term for the opposite of nightmare- not merely a good dream but a “legendary blissful state where all is forgiven and forgotten.”
50)Kaza Hikaru (風光る) (Japanese) - _ A warm breeze of spring that follows after a dark cold winter, comes and breathes gently upon the skin, as if like a shining radiance.
{Credit : @word-stuck, Thought Catalog, and Google}
