Our favourite Weird Words for 2019.
In 2019 Wednesdays were for weird and untranslatable words…
If you are a follower of Jala’s social media accounts, you would know that Wednesdays mean weird words at Jala. Since January, we have been posting unique words, untranslatable phrases, and even onomatopoeia of animal sounds from languages other than English.
We find that these ‘weird’ words are what make a language unique, and can give language learners an idea of quirky cultural nuances. We decided to take the year end to look back on some of the favourite weird words of the year — as chosen by our followers. The top ones are…
1. Schadenfreude (German) — the pleasure derived from the misfortune of others.
We’re all guilty. Just think about all those funny home videos of people in predicaments that you’ve openly laughed at!
2. Gemas (Indonesian) — When it’s so cute you could just crush it…
“Cute aggression” is a real and studied phenomenon. According to scientists, it’s our brains way of dealing with the overwhelming response to ‘cuteness’ and positive feelings. As a result, it throws in a hint of aggression to balance it out.
3. Toska (Russian) — A sensation of great spiritual anguish, longing with nothing to long for.
“No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.”
― Vladimir Nabokov
4. Dadirri — A deep, spiritual act of reflective and respectful listening.
The word, concept and spiritual practice that is Dadirri is from the Ngan’gikurunggurr and Ngen’giwumirri languages of the Aboriginal peoples of the Daly River region (Northern Territory, Australia).
5. Wabi-sabi (Japanese) — A Japanese philosophy centred on appreciating what is and accepting imperfections.
This Japanese philosophy centres itself on accepting transience and imperfection, and is a timely reminder as we reflect back on the past year and prepare ourselves for what 2020 has in store for us. Our designer depicted this concept through a beautiful illustration of a fractured bowl that has been put back together with gold, encouraging us to find beauty in imperfection.
We hope that you have enjoyed our weekly Weird Words this year, and as always, we’re on the lookout for more weird or untranslatable words — just leave us a comment here or on any of our posts!
Wishing you all happy holidays and a great end to the year!
