Gloss · Words · Untranslatable words
Untranslatable words, explained six ways
Words other languages have and English borrowed whole, because nothing we had said it. Each one explained plain, and five other ways, with where it comes from.
- hiraeth nounA deep longing for a home you cannot go back to, or that never quite existed.
- hygge nounA feeling of cozy contentment: warmth, good company, nothing to do.
- komorebi nounSunlight filtering through leaves, and the pattern it makes.
- saudade nounA deep, tender longing for something or someone that is gone and may not come back.
- schadenfreude nounPleasure at someone else’s misfortune.
- sprezzatura nounMaking something difficult look effortless.
- tsundoku nounBuying books and letting them pile up unread.
- wanderlust nounA strong urge to travel and see new places.
- kismet nounFate; what was always going to happen.
Coming to the App Store
Every word here is explained six ways on its own page, the way Gloss explains any word in the app: Plain, ADHD, Gen Z, Metaphor, Formal, or Like I’m 5. For iPhone, free for three days.
More collections
Words for feelings · Beautiful words · Words for people · Words for the senses · Words for time · Words for ideas · Words with a story · All 110 words