# English words that pack lots of meaning but other languages don't have a word for it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726 "2020-01-20T22:35:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/21 "2020-01-21T07:47:40Z")
I nominate sick/sick/sic/[sic] Sick = really good I’m sure there’s a reason it came to mean something good, but I’m sure even if I learned why, I wouldn’t be able to explain it to someone. Sic = attack [sic] = thus Which I just learned is the correct meaning. I always thought it meant verbatim when used in writing. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/22 "2020-01-21T08:12:58Z")
“Fair” - and especially “fair play”. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/23 "2020-01-21T08:14:11Z")
I think “ **cool** ” and “ **nerd** ” often don’t have good matches in other languages. I wasn’t going to post here, but I noticed Chefguy used the word “ **scrounge** ” in another thread. ETA: No, I think there are words for “fair” and “fair play” in most languages. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/24 "2020-01-21T08:16:22Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > [sic] = thus Which I just learned is the correct meaning. I always thought it meant verbatim when used in writing. There’s quite an overlap, since it’s used to mean “I know it’s wrong/mad/stupid, but yes, that’s exactly as they said/wrote it, so don’t blame me”. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/25 "2020-01-21T08:41:21Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Oh, here are a couple more I just thought of: > > 1. To make. > English has two separate words–“to do” and “to make”. > Other languages use only one word for both concepts. (example: French “faire”) “Do” is actually a kind of troublesome word. In many cases, it is not even translated – _do you know what I mean?_ And its place in negative questions is unusual – _most other languages don’t use this kind of structure, do they?_ It is just an odd word that is difficult to explain to non-English speakers. > [@](#): > > 1. to Love vs to like. > Many languages have only one word for both concepts. (French : “Aime”) Well, what is the difference between _je t’aime_ and _je t’adore_? (There was a silly joke in the book of College Humor that ends with the French lass saying “shut it yourself you silly yankee.”) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/26 "2020-01-21T08:52:33Z")
Two that came up recently for me: _Posh_. Posh to me doesn’t necessarily mean rich / expensive. But some languages don’t make such a distinction. And (slightly off-topic) the idea that some small towns in the English countryside are very posh can be difficult to explain to people who tend to assume rural = poor. _Naive_. We use naive for negative or neutral meaning, which is broader than some other languages. In fact, the neutral meaning might not have a good translation at all (btw if this isn’t “really” an English word, then basically none are) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/27 "2020-01-21T09:23:43Z")
If Scottish dialect counts as English, I nominate “girning,” “jagger,” and “tattie hawker.”\* The Russian word for “nerd” is _botanik_, which literally means “botanist.” I guess to the Russian mind, such people match this image: [![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3yGYK_0RS9o/TjlMoPpm9tI/AAAAAAAAI5Q/1A2o-4R_csU/s1600/nurd.jpg) ](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3yGYK_0RS9o/TjlMoPpm9tI/AAAAAAAAI5Q/1A2o-4R_csU/s1600/nurd.jpg) One English word I always have trouble explaining is “tomboy.” If I say “a girl who likes to act like a boy,” the other person automatically thinks I’m talking about lesbians. When it comes to describing the people I’ve always been forced to work or go to school with, I’m partial to terms like “dillweed” and “wanker,” unless I really want to be profane. \*“To whine and nag/piss and moan,” “to poke somebody with a sharp instrument like a sword,” and “a seasonal potato harvester on the order of a migrant worker,” respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/28 "2020-01-21T09:24:50Z")
Here’s one that I encountered. (Any Spanish speakers: Tell me if this is right?) I had occasion to speak to a Spanish speaker who spoke English moderately well but not fully fluently. In the conversation I mentioned the word “elope” and was surprised that she did not know the word. We looked it up in a English-Spanish dictionary and found the Spanish translation was a phrase “to run away with one’s lover” and there apparently isn’t a Spanish word for it. Another one, along with Spanish not having separate words for “like” and “love”: I don’t think there are separate words for “wish”, “hope”, and “wait”. (Is this true in French too?) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/29 "2020-01-21T09:37:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > If Scottish dialect counts as English, I nominate “girning,” “jagger,” and “tattie hawker.” Nitpick: “girning” is the gerund, not the infinitive or base form (which are “to girn” and “girn”). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/30 "2020-01-21T09:38:01Z")
Hebrew has no word for “subtle” - although if you’ve ever met an Israeli, you probably already know that. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/31 "2020-01-21T09:50:21Z")
I find it interesting that the Russian word for “subtle” is _tonkii_, which is usually translated as “fine,” as in _That’s a very fine distinction_. It can, however, also refer to the dimensionality of something, as in _She has very fine (not coarse) hair_. I’m thinking that if I wanted to characterize humor as “subtle,” I’d have to use another word like “refined” or “sophisticated.” ---
**Author:** ![DerNils](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerNils](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerNils)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/32 "2020-01-21T10:26:16Z")
Quenched has no german Translation. There actually was a contest by the Company that sells Quench Juice to come up with a German word for it. Strangely, it is simply you can be thirsty or not thirsty, while there is a translation for being sated. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/33 "2020-01-21T10:27:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > One English word I always have trouble explaining is “tomboy.” If I say “a girl who likes to act like a boy,” the other person automatically thinks I’m talking about lesbians. When referencing more mature females, I find it hard to explain “mannish” as well. Again, the other person automatically thinks I’m talking about lesbians while I might not be. (FWIW, a female co-worker (American) once said to me “I don’t think Sandra Bullock is pretty. I think she looks very mannish.” It took me a long time to decide how I could convey that thought.) “Mature” is also hard to translate. Another teacher at the school where I worked told one of EFL students that she was more mature than another woman, and I had to explain he was referring to her conduct and not her appearance. When she asked me “How do you know that?” all I could say was “It’s clear from the context.” ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/34 "2020-01-21T10:27:36Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Here’s one that I encountered. (Any Spanish speakers: Tell me if this is right?) > > I had occasion to speak to a Spanish speaker who spoke English moderately well but not fully fluently. In the conversation I mentioned the word “elope” and was surprised that she did not know the word. > > We looked it up in a English-Spanish dictionary and found the Spanish translation was a phrase “to run away with one’s lover” and there apparently isn’t a Spanish word for it. > > Another one, along with Spanish not having separate words for “like” and “love”: I don’t think there are separate words for “wish”, “hope”, and “wait”. (Is this true in French too?) Right you are: fugarse (para casarse)=to run away (to get married). Wrong about separate words for like and love, though (gustar and amar/querer). Me gustas=I like you. ¿Me quieres?=Do you love me? In Spanish querer/amar are both used to mean love. The other words sometimes overlap and/or are used differently. Desear can be used in the sense of wish (¿Qué desean tomar los señores?=What would you like to have?) but also sexual desire (Te deseo=I’m hot for you, or something less lame sounding). Esperar can mean wait, and when it means hope you usually use the subjunctive. Espérame aquí=Wait here for me. Espero que me esperes=I hope you wait for me. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/35 "2020-01-21T11:04:57Z")
I don’t think this is fully on-topic, but is there a word for “mileage” in metric countries? Both in terms of comparing gas mileage between cars, and also in terms of overuse: “Wow, you’re getting a lot of mileage out of that joke.” (Pretty sure I’ve asked this before years ago but I forget the consensus answer.) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/36 "2020-01-21T11:08:11Z")
The Appalachian word hollow/holler. It’s hard to explain to Americans from other part of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/37 "2020-01-21T11:14:56Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I don’t think this is fully on-topic, but is there a word for “mileage” in metric countries? Both in terms of comparing gas mileage between cars, and also in terms of overuse: “Wow, you’re getting a lot of mileage out of that joke.” > > (Pretty sure I’ve asked this before years ago but I forget the consensus answer.) In Hebrew, it’s “Kilometrage” (pronounced “kee-loh-met-RAZH”). I think it’s from the French. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/38 "2020-01-21T11:16:38Z")
I used the phrase “hot rod” meaning a tricked-out car to a Romanian. She didn’t know what that meant, and it was tough to explain. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/39 "2020-01-21T11:21:36Z")
Antidisestablishmentarianism? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/40 "2020-01-21T11:23:22Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > The Appalachian word hollow/holler. It’s hard to explain to Americans from other part of the country. Sounds like what I’d call a _kloof_ in Afrikaans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726.md?page=3)