# American English has no word for .... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659 "2009-10-29T21:12:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/21 "2009-10-29T23:05:13Z")
The Portuguese word [_saudade_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade) has frequently been cited as one of those terms that doesn’t have any exact translation. The linked page explains the concept thus: > [@](#): > > Saudade has been described as a “vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist … a turning towards the past or towards the future” A stronger form of saudade may be felt towards people and things whose whereabouts are unknown, such as a lost lover, or a family member who has gone missing. It may also be translated as a deep longing or yearning for something which does not exist or is unattainable. > > Saudade was once described as “the love that remains” or “the love that stays” after someone is gone. Saudade is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, well-being, which now triggers the senses and makes one live again. It can be described as an emptiness, like something or someone that should be there in a particular moment is missing, and the individual feels this absence. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/22 "2009-10-29T23:09:35Z")
It may just be that I lack vocabulary, but I’ve never thought of a good American equivilant for “cheeky.” Mischevious comes close, but it’s not quite just that. Nor is it quite just bold, or rude. It’s really all of those things. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/23 "2009-10-29T23:11:44Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > Saudade has been described as a “vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist … a turning towards the past or towards the future” A stronger form of saudade may be felt towards people and things whose whereabouts are unknown, such as a lost lover, or a family member who has gone missing. It may also be translated as a deep longing or yearning for something which does not exist or is unattainable. > > Saudade was once described as “the love that remains” or “the love that stays” after someone is gone. Saudade is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, well-being, which now triggers the senses and makes one live again. It can be described as an emptiness, like something or someone that should be there in a particular moment is missing, and the individual feels this absence. That is one hell of a word. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/24 "2009-10-29T23:12:56Z")
It’s always been difficult to explain to Americans what ‘dodgy’ means. I don’t think there’s any exact equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/25 "2009-10-29T23:14:58Z")
Gezellig (Dutch). According to wikipedia, the translation is [Gemütlichkeit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gem%C3%BCtlichkeit) (see!), but even the Dutch to German translation seems a bit off to me. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/26 "2009-10-29T23:17:04Z")
> [@Scheidt-Hoch](#): > > It’s always been difficult to explain to Americans what ‘dodgy’ means. I don’t think there’s any exact equivalent. I would call dodgy–meaning “full of trickery and cunning; devious”–as merely an uncommon word in American English, not a word that is not part of the language. Most people don’t know the words _philtrum_ or _versimilitude_ either. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/27 "2009-10-29T23:18:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > How about _schadenfreude_? > Everyone is reduced to using the German word for it. Not the Dutch: we’ve got leedvermaak (schadenfreude) and tijdgeest (zeitgeist). As I posted above, gemutlichkeit is close but not quite gezellig. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/28 "2009-10-29T23:19:07Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > In English, a chicken “lays an egg.” In Arabic, the chicken “eggs.” This is a great example of what’s so mundane and not terribly significant about these observations. There’s no particularly great obstacle to speakers in using phrases of more than one word, and, indeed, all language is built around using such phrases. Whether there is a commonly known single-word manner of expressing some concept is a matter of very slight trivia, not any kind of fundamental insight into the nature of a language or its speakers. (Not that anyone has said otherwise in this thread, yet.) I agree that by now, “zeitgeist” and “schadenfreude” ought be considered genuinely English words, albeit still recognizably foreign in origin. [And again, note the mundanity of the observation that these are “single words” in German: but for a slight quirk of history, English-speakers could just as well have been the ones to start using the compounds “timespirit” and “harmjoy”] Also, it seems to me that “cool” functions as a noun in relation to the adjective “cool” in pretty much the same way as “warmth” does in relation to “warm”, though I may be missing some subtlety of varying usage between the two. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/29 "2009-10-29T23:22:11Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > It may just be that I lack vocabulary, but I’ve never thought of a good American equivilant for “cheeky.” Mischevious comes close, but it’s not quite just that. Nor is it quite just bold, or rude. It’s really all of those things. I, as an American, always thought of it as “playfully naughty.” Just my take on it though. Correct me if I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/30 "2009-10-29T23:22:14Z")
“Zeitgeist” is simply one of innumerable words that are perfectly acceptable in English Usage of foreign derivation. “Cashier,” “tsunami,” “schadenfreude,” “avant-garde,” “angst,” “blitz,” “hinterland,” “kitsch,” “critique,” “cuisine,” “tycoon,” “pajamas,” “atoll,” “guru” are several other examples. Merriam-Webster Online shows “zeitgeist” appearing in English usage as early as 1835. English, like all languages, borrows words all the time. English doesn’t need an equivalent for zeitgeist anymore than it needs one for any of the words listed above. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/31 "2009-10-29T23:27:15Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > This is a great example of what’s so mundane and not terribly significant about these observations. There’s no particularly great obstacle to speakers in using phrases of more than one word, and, indeed, all language is built around using such phrases. Whether there is a commonly known single-word manner of expressing some concept is a matter of very slight trivia, not any kind of fundamental insight into the nature of a language or its speakers. I agree. From now on, instead of using the Farsi word _nakhur_, I’m going to tell everybody that I have a camel that will only give milk once its nostrils have been tickled. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/32 "2009-10-29T23:28:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I would call dodgy–meaning “full of trickery and cunning; devious”–as merely an uncommon word in American English, not a word that is not part of the language. Most people don’t know the words _philtrum_ or _versimilitude_ either. Yes, but you can have a dodgy computer, a dodgy car, a dodgy e-mail, a dodgy hamburger, a dodgy footballer etc etc. In Britain you can easily hear it several times a day, and I have met Americans who had never heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/33 "2009-10-29T23:30:13Z")
And a dodgy phone call has a different meaning altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/34 "2009-10-29T23:31:40Z")
I’m going to try and give a definition of “gezellig”: It’s the feeling you can enjoy when visiting friends and family, during a nice meal, snuggled up to your girlfriend, walking in the park, doing the dishes, or when you’re getting drunk with strangers. When describing situations it (almost?) always describes social situations - you can’t be/enjoy “gezellig(heid)” on your own. On the other hand, rooms, houses etc can also be gezellig, in which case the word more or less translates to “cozy”, but with an implication of rugs, plants/flowers and pictures of relatives. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/35 "2009-10-29T23:31:50Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Not the Dutch: we’ve got leedvermaak (schadenfreude) and tijdgeest (zeitgeist). As I posted above, gemutlichkeit is close but not quite gezellig. In English, we _could_ invent the word ‘ **tideghost** ’, which would be exactly the same as ‘tijdgeest’ and ‘zeitgeist’. (‘Tide’ used to be used in the way we now use ‘time’, such as in ‘yuletide’.) ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/36 "2009-10-29T23:40:25Z")
> [@Scheidt-Hoch](#): > > In English, we _could_ invent the word ‘ **tideghost** ’, which would be exactly the same as ‘tijdgeest’ and ‘zeitgeist’. (‘Tide’ used to be used in the way we now use ‘time’, such as in ‘yuletide’.) Or the above-mentioned “spirit of the age”, or “spirit of the time”. I think “ghost” in colloquial English doesn’t really have the right meaning. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyMac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@JohnnyMac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyMac)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/37 "2009-10-29T23:41:13Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > The Portuguese word [_saudade_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade) has frequently been cited as one of those terms that doesn’t have any exact translation. The linked page explains the concept thus: I like this word a lot, and miss it’s existence in English. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/38 "2009-10-29T23:49:36Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > From now on, instead of using the Farsi word _nakhur_, I’m going to tell everybody that I have a camel that will only give milk once its nostrils have been tickled. Almost every mention I can find for this word is by way of its inclusion in a popular “Oh, look what crazy words those foreigners have! Here’s a list of Eskimo words for different kinds of ‘snow’!” book called “The Meaning of Tingo”, which sources it to Steingass’s 1892 dictionary of classical Persian, in which, to be fair, it does appear, with pretty much the stated gloss (specifically, “(A camel) giving no milk unless her nostril be tickled”), but, c’mon… without some independent sources, or, really, any usage found anywhere which doesn’t ultimately trace back to that century-old one-liner in one reference, I’m not particularly inclined to be impressed by the hype. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/39 "2009-10-29T23:51:32Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Or the above-mentioned “spirit of the age”, or “spirit of the time”. I think “ghost” in colloquial English doesn’t really have the right meaning. I know, but I’m a fan of [Germanic cognateness](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=128902). ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/40 "2009-10-29T23:55:40Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Almost every mention I can find for this word is by way of its inclusion in a popular “Oh, look what crazy words those foreigners have! Here’s a list of Eskimo words for different kinds of ‘snow’!” book called “The Meaning of Tingo”, which sources it to Steingass’s 1892 dictionary of classical Persian, in which, to be fair, it does appear, with pretty much the stated gloss (specifically, “(A camel) giving no milk unless her nostril be tickled”), but, c’mon… without some independent sources, or, really, any usage found anywhere which doesn’t ultimately trace back to that century-old one-liner in one dictionary, I’m not particularly inclined to be impressed by the hype. I really do agree with your previous comment. I was just teasing, and I’m not impressed by the hype, either. Also, I don’t have a camel. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659.md?page=3)