In the heart of communication

Mamihlapi—what? 10 words that defy translation

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Translations have made it possible for us to access an endless amount of information available in the world. And for many professionals in the field, there are no such things are "untranslatable" words. However, languages have a way of putting a whole concept within a few letters assembled together and even though we can describe it, there are no direct translations that make it possible to transfer all the glory behind them. So, we’ve gathered 10 words from different languages that show how each language has a charm of its own.

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Ever shared a look with someone where neither of you wants to make the first move, but you both know what you want? That’s mamihlapinatapai, a word from the Yaghan language of indigenous people from Tierra del Fuego.

It describes the moment when two people are waiting for the other to take the first step towards something they both desire. This word, which even made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the "most succinct," describes how subtle, and sometimes awkward human interactions can be. Mind you, it’s not always about the romance of a love spark!

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Technology has made relationship bridges much shorter, but there’s nothing quite like seeing an old friend after a long time apart, and the Basque word aspaldiko reflects that feeling perfectly.

It expresses the joy of reuniting with someone after ages, and if you try to translate it "long time no see" is a full understatement.

You can also use it to greet someone, "Aspaldiko!" can show how thrilled you are to be catching up after a while. Joyful words indeed and we could all use a little more of this word in our lives, don’t you think?

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Have you ever run your fingers through someone’s hair as a gesture of affection? Intimate and loving, the feeling is unique and the Brazilian dialect of Portuguese has a word for it. That tender act is called cafuné in this beautiful language.

It’s a simple yet intimate gesture, often between people who love and trust each other. The word itself has roots in the Yoruba language, which was brought to Brazil by African enslaved people, yet another proof that language can carry deep cultural history. From a mother soothing a child or a partner offering comfort, cafuné conveys a soft kind of love that words alone can’t fully capture.

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Do you enjoy going for a walk? It’s a good way to reset our brain, and we all need that at some point in our days. Well, as long as the weather is appropriate, right? If you’ve ever taken a walk on a windy day to clear your head, you have experienced uitwaaien, you just didn’t have the word for it!

This Dutch word means "to blow out," and it refers to the refreshing practice of walking or jogging in the wind to relieve stress and recharge. Any walk? Not necessarily, it especially refers to walks in cold, blustery weather, but it works year-round for anyone who loves the feeling of wind on their face, anyway. So next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, why not go out and get a good uitwaaien?

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Are you a book lover? We don’t mean to strike a chord, but how many books in your library are still on your "to-be-read" list? Every book lover has been there, we all buy more books than we can possibly read.

The difference is that the Japanese have a word for that: tsundoku. It combines two concepts which are tsumu, meaning "to pile up," and doku, meaning "to read," describing the habit of letting books accumulate unread.

Don’t worry, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. It’s actually a sign of your love for books and the endless curiosity that keeps you collecting them. If this sounds like your bookshelf, don’t worry, you’re in good company. After all, you can never have too many books, right?

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You know that feeling when you’re trying to speak a foreign language you barely know? Too many words for a feeling so clear, and so relatable. Fear not, the Japanese language is out to save us once more: They call it yoko meshi, which literally translates to "horizontal meal" and makes no sense at first sight.

It’s a quirky way of describing the stress of trying to converse in a non-native tongue, like you’re eating a meal sideways, which is awkward and equally difficult. We’ve all been there, especially when traveling or meeting new people, knowing the words in theory but fumbling under pressure. Yoko meshi captures that mental exhaustion that comes from not just speaking, but worrying about saying the right thing.

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Who doesn’t melt in the sigh of a puppy? The cuteness bar goes over the top when you see a little puppy taking their first steps or sleeping, right? Well, if you can relate to that feeling of wanting to squeeze them, you need to know the word for it.

That’s gigil, a delightful Tagalog word from the Philippines. It’s not simply joy or excitement, but a whole mix of emotions, like being overwhelmed by adorableness. Gigil is that irresistible urge to pinch cheeks or let out a high-pitched "aww!" Do you know what we mean?

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If you’ve ever looked out the window on a sunny winter day and thought, "It looks great out there!" only to step outside and instantly regret it, congratulations, you’ve experienced gluggaveður.

This Icelandic word means literally "window weather," and it’s as funny as it sounds: It describes those days when the weather seems perfect from indoors but is deceivingly harsh once you’re outside. It’s the kind of cold that makes you gasp, despite the bright sunshine. Icelanders, who deal with this often, know better than to trust a sunny day in winter without checking the forecast!

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For those of us who always enjoy, love actually, travel, the German word fernweh will resonate deeply. It describes a longing for far-off places, similar to wanderlust, but with a stronger, almost painful desire to be somewhere else, can you identify the feeling?

It’s that of being restless, like the world is calling your name, and you just have to answer, to put it in poetic words. It’s the opposite of homesickness, which pulls you toward familiar comforts; fernweh pushes you toward the unknown, to new adventures. Do you relate to that?

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Ever kept eating after you were full, simply because the food was too delicious? We know we have! In Georgia, (the country, of course) there’s a word for that: shemomedjamo, which literally means "I accidentally ate the whole thing."

Accidentally might not be entirely true, but it refers to that moment when your stomach is signaling it’s had enough, and at the same time your taste buds are demanding just one more bite. It’s a common feeling when enjoying the flavorful cuisine of Georgia, known for its rich and hearty dishes. We’ve all been guilty of this, haven’t we?

Weather etymology

Has it ever "rained frogs"? 10 strange weather terms explained

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If you’ve ever stood out in the open witnessing a double rainbow, a scary gathering storm, or stroll-stopping halo, you probably know how surprising nature can be. It can leave us gaping at the sights as if we were in a movie, or beholding a supernatural scene. Some of the terms for these atmospheric events were chosen hundreds of years ago, before science was able to explain them. Today, most of these mysteries are solved, but only some of the names have been updated. Let’s dive into the terms and explanations behind these 10 weather phenomena!

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Sometimes, when ice crystals are present in the atmosphere, the sunlight is refracted to create the optical effect of two smaller suns flanking the Sun. Humans decided hundreds of years ago to call this sight "Sun Dogs", deriving from the verb "dog" as the action of following someone or something closely.

Sun dogs can be seen anywhere in the world, but are most visible when the sun is setting or dawning (when it is near the horizon) and cold weather has caused ice particles in the air. Other names for this vision are "mock sun" or "parhelion", deriving from the Greek para (beside) and Helios (sun).

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Have you ever seen a "white rainbow"? That’s what fogbows look like. In fact, the two phenomena are related. While rainbows are caused by light interacting with raindrops, fogbows can be seen when the sun meets much smaller water droplets in fog, mist, or clouds, and the rays are diffracted. In other words, the light is smeared causing the optical illusion of a white arch in the sky.

The name of this phenomenon is straightforward: it is a bow caused by fog (fog-bow) as distinguished from a bow caused by rain (rain-bow).

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Maelstroms are large whirlpools: swirling bodies of water that can pull objects, people, and even small vessels into their center. Tides, seabeds, and meeting currents all contribute to forming them, so recurring systems of whirlpools can usually be charted in specific locations.

The word "maelstrom" comes from the Dutch words mael ("to grind") and strom ("stream"). It was first used to describe a specific whirlpool off the coast of Norway near the Lofoten Islands, which was notorious for its ferocity. The term has since become generalized to refer to any powerful whirlpool. The word became more popular in English after it appeared in Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story, "A Descent into the Maelström," which described a terrifying encounter with one.

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Squall lines are a scary sight, and the etymology of their name is fitting. They form when a line of thunderstorms meets a cold front: they can extend for miles and bring with them heavy rain, hail, lightning, or even tornadoes.

"Squalls" are sudden and strong winds or storms. It is believed the origin of the word is related to the Old Norse skvala, which means "bawl", "shout", "outcry" or "squeal". These all seem adequate for the shocking appearance of an enormous wall of dark clouds looming overhead. The technical name for squall lines, however, is "quasi-linear convective systems" (QLCS).

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An irisation looks like a rainbow caught inside a cloud. Another name for this phenomenon is "cloud iridescence." They are a beautiful optical effect where clouds display a spectrum of colors, reminding one of the shimmer seen sometimes on soap bubbles or oil slicks. Irisations happen when sunlight or moonlight diffracts around small water droplets or ice crystals in the cloud, scattering the light.

The term "iridescent" comes from the Latin word iris, meaning "rainbow," and the suffix -escent, indicating a process of change. The word literally means "becoming rainbow-colored."

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Lightning within volcanic eruptions must be one of the most dramatic visions nature can grant. "Dirty thunderstorm" is the name given to the system of volcanic materials expelled in an eruption that can form lightning. When a volcano erupts, ash, gases, rock, and other matter ascend in a plume. If those particles collide, they generate static electricity which leads to lightning strikes.

The phrase "dirty thunderstorm" comes from the mixture of volcanic ash and gases that contribute to the lightning's formation. Volcanic lightning was observed and recorded as early as 79 AD, when Pliny the Younger wrote describing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

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Eye-catching as they are, fair-weather waterspouts cause little harm. These look like tornadoes that form on top of bodies of water. In warm temperatures with high humidity, fog and air can ascend into rotating columns. Tornadic waterspouts are a different story: they are destructive tornadoes that move from land to water and are dangerous.

The term "waterspout" comes from the Old English word spoute, meaning a "jet" or "stream of liquid," combined with "water." Sometimes, the rotating columns of air can pick up fish, frogs, or other small aquatic animals, dropping them later on land: this is another strange but real phenomenon popularly known as "raining frogs." Pliny the Elder documented this event.

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What looks like a scene straight from a sci-fi movie is really an occurrence that many people catch in their lifetime. A faint rainbow within a more vibrant rainbow occurs when light undergoes two reflections inside water droplets. The best detail about these is that the colors are "mirrored" or inverted in each of the arches.

The word "rainbow" comes from the Old English regnboga, with regn meaning "rain" and boga meaning "bow" or "arch." Double rainbows have been marveled at since ancient times: the Greek philosopher Alexander of Aphrodisias first described the phenomenon, noting that the space between the two bows was darker. Hence, this dark band of sky is called "Alexander's band."

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Imagine walking in the woods on a cold winter morning and finding one of these on the ground. Then another one up in a branch. You would believe you just discovered an animal unknown to science, or some surreal celestial creature. The first time this sight was documented was in 1918, in German scientist Alfred Wegener’s notes. But its explanation wasn’t known until much later.

Hair ice was called that because that’s what it looked like. We’ve also called it "frost beard", "frost flower," or "ice wool." Very thin, highly delicate hair-like strands of ice, so sensitive that they would break or melt when touched. Today we know that it is formed from a combination of high humidity, temperatures just below freezing, and the presence of Exidiopsis effusa, a fungus found in decaying wood and makes ice crystallize in this shape instead of the usual way.

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A haboob is an intense dust or sandstorm that can arise suddenly and span over several miles. As much as it has been represented in movies or literature, haboobs are a real enough danger in arid or desert zones. When one rises, it can dramatically reduce visibility, cause respiratory issues, and provoke an eerie scene where the massive wall of dust coats over the landscape.

The term "haboob" comes from the Arabic word habūb meaning "strong wind" or "violent storm." The word originated in the Middle East and North Africa, where haboobs are common, but was later adopted meteorological vocabulary worldwide.