The creative joy of untranslatable words

Hey, how are you doing? Is it going well, or are you feeling a bit of weltschmerz?

Weltschmerz (German): “World Pain”. mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state

Or maybe you’re stuck at home and feeling all kinds of Fernweh?

Fernweh (German): “Distance sore”. The opposite of being homesick. It's that feeling you get when you want to be somewhere else, somewhere sunny and warm.

Or perhaps you are in a lighter mood because made time for gökotta earlier?

Gökotta (Swedish): “Cuckoo Eight”. To wake up in the morning with the intention to go outside and listen to the birds singing.

Words which don’t easily translate across languages are catnip for me. We have a few of them in English, like flabbergasted, or gobbledygook, or serendipity. But what really turns on the word-nerd in me are those that don’t translate directly into English. They describe things that evoke surprise, or have a quirky take on the human condition. Sometimes they are endearing. Occasionally they can be about the profound. They encapsulate a human experience or emotional state that we feel in our guts. In a way, they are tiny works of art that are duende (a Spanish term for the potency of a work of art to affect us).

They can also be amusing ‘takes’ on life’s little trials. Like the Scottish word ‘tartle’, which describes the moment when you see someone familiar, recognise the face, but can’t remember the name. Oh man, we’ve all been there!

And there’s a strange kind of comfort, in these troubled times of gammon-faced world leaders (you know who I’m talking about) that there is the German word Backpfeipfengesicht, which translates as “a face that begs to be slapped”.

I’m definitely not the first writer to pick up the creative benefits of untranslatable words. Weltschmerz was the basis of a literary movement, back when Romantic poets regularly threw themselves down onto chaise-longues in a fit of ennui and melancholy at the world.

And Saudade, a Portuguese word to describe the intense longing for someone or something that is absent, crops up in many books - Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, and the slim novella Saudade, by Suneeta Peres da Costa to name just two.

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But I do feel like untranslatables fly under the radar as a useful tool for writing craft. To give you an idea of what I mean, here’s a list of some of my other favourite untranslatables:

German:

• Kummerspeck “sorrow bacon.” It's what happens when you work through your breakup, job loss or general unhappiness with your friends.

• Waldeinsamkeit: “Solitude of the forest.” The feeling of peace at being alone in the woods.

• Torschlusspanik: “Gate-closing anxiety.” The fear of losing opportunities as one gets older.

Japanese:

• Komorebi: “Tree More Light.” Describes the effect of sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees.

• Wabi-Sabi: “Beauty Aged” A world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.

• Tsundoku: “Pile up reading.” Buying books and letting them pile up unread.

• Age-otori: Looking worse after a haircut.

Other Languages:

• Attaccabottoni (Italian): An annoying, energy-draining person you have to spend time with, such as a work colleague.

• Mamihlapinatapai (Yagan): A look shared by two people, each wishing the other would offer something.

• Utepils (Norwegian): Sitting outside on a sunny day and enjoying a beer.

• Ilunga (Tshiluba): A person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, tolerate it the second time, but never a third time The Language Nerds.

• Ya'aburnee (Arabic): "bury me"A romantic wish for someone to outlive you, meaning "bury me"

• Resfeber (Swedish): The restless, anxious feeling before embarking on a journey

• Trouvaille (French): Something wonderful found by pure luck.

• Desenrascanço (Portuguese) noun: the ability to quickly improvise a solution

• Verschlimmbessern (German) verb: to make something worse when trying to improve it

• Sisu (Finnish) noun: strength of will, determination and perseverance in challenging times

• Meraki (Greek) verb: to do something with love, care, creativity or soul

• Retrouvailles (French) noun: the joy of seeing someone after a long separation

• yaourter (French) verb: to attempt to speak or sing in a foreign language that you don’t know very well

The point of that long list is not just that I love sharing these words and their sometimes poignant, sometimes funny, sometime quirky meanings. It’s meant to spark ideas.

Think, for example of the the narrative potential of verschlimmbessern (to make something worse when trying to improve it). That’s a great plot and complication generator for a stuck story.

What about a situation where a character is doing something with meraki (to do something with love, care, creativity or soul). Great for an insight into characterisation. But what if their efforts go unrewarded or met with indifference (we all know about that one, right!). Suddenly there is complication and tension.

Perhaps you could include a scene where a character is in litost - a state of torment created by sudden insight into their own misery. That’s a powerful and inner conflict inducing scene.

What about if a character has to go on a journey that will be difficult? Then maybe just a subtle illustration of Resfeber (The restless, anxious feeling before embarking on a journey) can show their inner state.

Think of the potential for comedy or quirkiness from Tsundoku (Buying books and letting them pile up unread) and Age-otori (looking worse after a haircut).

And then there’s words which you could use to generate a new story (or poem). What about a piece that plays around with Ya'aburnee (A romantic wish for someone to outlive you).

The point here is simple, really. Across a whole spectrum of writing craft, using these words can help you hone in on two very important things:

• Specificity

• Resonance

This pair are absolutely key to developing better writing, in my opinion. The more specific, the more alive a situation or setting or character or scene is. And the more resonance it has, the more there is a chance to deepen and enrich the writing.

I’ve taken the idea of the creative benefits of these untranslatable words to create a two-part writing exercise for my paid subscribers, beyond the paywall below. I reckon they will lead to something very, well, meraki!