Poetry | Haiku | Language
Words that Don’t Translate Directly into English
A Collection of Haiku
I’ve always been fascinated with words that express powerful emotions but don’t translate directly into English.
Saudade and Natsukashii are similar words that express a nostalgic feeling of longing for the past. One is Portuguese and the other is Japanese.
A feeling of melancholy or sadness mixed with hope is expressed by the Portuguese word Saudade.
A similar feeling is expressed by the Japanese word Natsukashii.
This haiku expresses the transience of things in a single Japanese word.
Koev Li Halev is literally ‘my heart hurts.’ It indicates how you feel someone’s suffering so much that your heart aches.
Many German words are compound words. This one is made up of wald” meaning forest, and “einsamkeit” meaning loneliness or solitude.
When you are alone in the woods Waldeinsmkeit describes the feeling of solitude in nature.
Toska is a Russian word for sorrow that describes the deepest and most painful emotion.
Toska is such a multi layered word that it inspired another haiku.
Forelsket is a Norwegian word for the euphoria experienced as you begin to fall in love.
This word represents the Japanese philosophy of a state of mind free from ego and judgment.
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