Thursday, October 6, 2011

Culturally Specific Emotions

Words that don't exist in the English language:

L'esprit d'escalier
French
The feeling you get after leaving a conversation, when you think of all the things you should have said. Translated, it means, "the spirit of the staircase".

Waldeinsamkeit
German
The feeling of being alone in the woods.

Meraki
Greek
Doing something with soul, creativity, or love.

Forelsket
Norwegian
The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love.

Gigil
Filipino
The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute.

Pochemuchka
Russian
A person who asks a lot of question.

Pena ajena
Mexican Spanish
The embarrassment you feel watching someone else's humiliation.

Cualacino
Italian
The mark left on a table by a cold glass.

Ilunga
Tshiluba, Congo
A person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time.

No comments:

Post a Comment