Words I Like in Other Languages
I love language.
I love the way you can mix and twist words or even create your own to communicate with others. I love how no one person uses words exactly the same way as anyone else. I love how language learners talk around an idea until they find a combination of words to share their thoughts. I love language.
And I love the sounds of some words.
English has some very nice words, for sure, but I’ve studied several other languages (beginner level in all of them) and love to discover a word that either sounds or means something that scratches my brain in just the right way.
I’m a native speaker of Southern England and Southern USA English (long story). We have some pretty great words, in my opinion, but there are just some words in other languages that make me so happy. They are a mix of high-concept and everyday words.
Here are some words I like in other (non-English) languages:
- Sisu (Finnish) — It can refer to stoic determination, hardiness, courage, bravery, willpower, tenacity and resilience.
- Croeso (Welsh) — welcome
- Lagom (Swedish) — “just the right amount” or “not too much, not too little”.
- Fête (French) — party
- Shinrin-yoku (Japanese: 森林浴, 森林) — forest bathing, therapeutic act of spending time in a forest.
- Wandern (German) — hike
- Köpenhamn (Swedish) — Copenhagen (Denmark)
- La lune (French) — the moon
- Agus (Irish) — and
- Fernweh (German) — A feeling of homesickness for somewhere you’ve never been.
- Œuf (French ) — egg
- Tubarão (Portuguese) — shark
- Kartoffel (German) — potato
- Potatis (Swedish) — potato
- Patata (Catalan) — potato
Some of these words I like because of the meaning, others because of the sound of them. A few of them both. (It’s the potato🥔 words, duh.)
I included links for some articles about some of the more complex words if you fancy some continued reading. Also, I recommend listening to the pronunciation of any you don’t know because they are lovely sounds (in my opinion, of course.
You may have heard of some of these words before. Do you like them? Do you have any words you love?
