# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/61 "2020-01-21T17:00:45Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Hebrew has no word for “subtle” - although if you’ve ever met an Israeli, you probably already know that. The word _subtle_ (technically its older spelling _subtil_) occurs three times in the King James version of the Old Testament, translating three different Hebrew words transliterated as **`ârûwm** (cunning), **châkâm** (intelligent), and **nâtsar** (guarded or hidden). None of them quite captures the usual modern meaning of **subtle**. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/62 "2020-01-21T17:04:13Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > German has two words for “to know” - if you know a fact, it’s wissen, while if you know a person, it’s “kennen” Yeah, I think maybe English is unusual that it uses the same word for both. In the languages I know, there seems to be a distinction in words between knowing a fact and knowing a person. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/63 "2020-01-21T17:05:55Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I saw a clip not too long ago of a stand-up comedian who came from Finland, doing a routine about how the hardest thing about learning English was figuring out the various meanings of the word “ass.” > > Consider: > > Ass, meaning a donkey > Ass, meaning a person’s buttocks > Ass, meaning an unlikable person > Bad-ass, meaning good > My lazy-ass husband, which means the same as my lazy husband, so the ass is not really necessary at all > Move your ass, meaning hurry up > My ass, meaning that you disagree with an assertion > Half ass, meaning you’re not paying proper attention > Piece of ass, meaning you’re sexy To further confuse matters, _asses_ is the plural of both _ass_ and _as_ (an ancient Roman coin). I once read an article in a respectable newspaper by someone who was convinced that the Romans used donkeys as money. You know, because she read about them paying so many asses for this and so many asses for that. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/64 "2020-01-21T17:11:56Z")
Speaking of sarcasm, what about snark/snarky. I work with a Spanish woman who has no sense of sarcasm and totally doesn’t get snark, which I thought of as combining sarcasm with humor. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/65 "2020-01-21T17:31:25Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > In fact, the word “cowboy” was simply a transposition of the Spanish “vaquero,” as the first “cowboys” were Spanish/criollos/Mexicans (Mestizos). _Vaquero_ is also the source of English “buckaroo”. ---
**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, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/66 "2020-01-21T17:37:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did you choose that example deliberately? Because Latin also lacks words for “yes” and “no”, and uses that same structure. So, for instance, if Michael Phelps were an ancient Roman, and you asked him “Do you swim?”, he’d answer “No.” Is that a typo? Otherwise I don’t follow. ---
**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, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/67 "2020-01-21T18:19:00Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Speaking of sarcasm, what about snark/snarky. I work with a Spanish woman who has no sense of sarcasm and totally doesn’t get snark, which I thought of as combining sarcasm with humor. I always thought snark was a mashup of snide remark. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/68 "2020-01-21T18:30:01Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I always thought snark was a mashup of snide remark. “Snarky” goes back to the 19th century, with a similar range of meaning, so it does not seem to be a portmanteau, but it’s hard to tell for me. [Cite](https://www.etymonline.com/word/snarky). > [@](#): > > “irritable, short-tempered,” 1906, from snark (v.) “to find fault with, nag” (1882), literally “to snort” (1866), from an imitative source akin to Low German snarken, North Frisian snarke, Swedish snarka; and compare snarl (v.2), sneer (v.). Also compare narky “bad-tempered, sarcastic” (1895), British slang from earlier nark “annoying, quarrelsome, or unpleasant person” (1846), from nark (q.v.). > [@](#): > > It [Ed:_snarky_] seems to have emerged anew as a vogue word c. 1997 to indicate a “hostile, knowing, bitter tone of contempt.” The back-formation snark (n.) “caustic, opinionated, and critical rhetoric” is by c. 2002 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/69 "2020-01-21T21:07:36Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > \*Cute, for example. There are of course words for praising someone’s baby or kitten, but they usually mean something more akin to “pretty” and thus don’t have quite the loaded potential for condescension, which is a very important part of my conversational arsenal. Using any word for condescension (irony) is not really about the denotation of that particular word, but rather the usage and context. It’s a functional issue, rather than semantic. There may not be a particular word in another language that directly maps with _cute_ through translation–and which also functionally is used to convey that irony–but that language will just convey the irony using another word. (I hear Spanish speakers in Colombia, for example, saying _bonito_ in the same way.) So to say they “don’t have a word for _cute_” is kind of mixing apples and oranges–function vs. semantics. I think when people say X language doesn’t have a word for Y, they’re often mixing apples and oranges linguistically speaking. They’re conflating semantics and pragmatics. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/70 "2020-01-21T21:49:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Mijin** : > > Is that a typo? Otherwise I don’t follow. Phelps’ answer would of course be “I swim”. But the Latin word for “I swim” is “no”. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/71 "2020-01-21T21:55:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Phelps’ answer would of course be “I swim”. But the Latin word for “I swim” is “no”. Oh, you! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/72 "2020-01-21T22:14:56Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > “Fair” - and especially “fair play”. > [@jerez](#): > > ETA: No, I think there are words for “fair” and “fair play” in most languages. When I was studying at Université Laval, in Quebec City, which is very francophone, there were posters throughout the athletic facilities with a mascot, a big goofy dog playing hockey, whose name was “Monsieur Fair-play.” The posters were all about fair conduct, keeping the facilities clean, no dirty hits, and so on. Seemed odd to me, since Laval was a francophone university in a francophone town. One day when we were putting on our skates, I asked a québécois buddy why the mascot was called “Fair-Play”? He replied that he couldn’t think of a French word that had the same connotations. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/73 "2020-01-21T22:19:28Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Well, what is the difference between _je t’aime_ and _je t’adore_ “Je t’aime” can be “I like you” or “I love you”. “Je t’adore” is “I adore you.” ---
**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 22, 2020, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/74 "2020-01-22T07:29:38Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > “Defenestration”. Makes me proud to be an English speaker. What, _Fenstersturz_ ? ---
**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 22, 2020, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/75 "2020-01-22T07:54:28Z")
How about the word “gerrymander”? I’ve read that the practice has been universal, in all places and at all times throughout history, where voters elect their officials by districts. Where district lines can be contrived to promote a desired outcome, they will be and always have been. But the term “gerrymander” is a strictly American invention, arising in the early days of the nation (1812). What words/phrases for this are used in other places where this practice happens, and what are the literal meanings and connotations of those? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/76 "2020-01-22T12:13:56Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > German has two words for “to know” - if you know a fact, it’s wissen, while if you know a person, it’s “kennen” > > On the other hand, tragen means both “to carry” and “to wear” One of the great joys of learning a new language is discovering these odd little differences - I’m carrying my pajamas now. (Or rather, “now I Pajamas carry.”) It was weird to discover that a pair of pants and a pair of glasses were singular, as in “a pant” and [a thing you wear on your face to help you see]. I don’t really know German, btw. Just studied it in school and I’m interested in the language. I find it mostly very straightforward. The things like carrying your clothes or pants being singular were just like learning any other vocabulary. WRT “wissen”: how would you say “I know” in the context of not knowing for a fact but having a strong suspicion? “You said you weren’t into Richard, but I know you totally have the hots for him.” > [@Sitnam](#): > > gustar is ‘like’, como ‘like’ as in ‘similar too’, querer is often used for ‘want’, but also used for ‘love’. Amor is love but strictly for someone you’re physically attracted to. Well, that’s a relief. I’d hate to think that chihuahua wanted to schtupp a burrito. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/77 "2020-01-22T12:25:07Z")
German also uses the same word for “cooking” (as in cuisine) and “kitchen” (as in, the room of the house where cooking is usually done). In fact, both English words come from that root (“Kuchen”, IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/78 "2020-01-22T13:02:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > German also uses the same word for “cooking” (as in cuisine) and “kitchen” (as in, the room of the house where cooking is usually done). In fact, both English words come from that root (“Kuchen”, IIRC). They both appear to eventually come from the Latin verb _coquere_, “to cook.” Polish does the same thing in terms of “cuisine” and “kitchen” being the same word (unsurprisingly, as the word is _kuchnia_ in Polish, and you can see the German influence there.) And, of course, “kitchen” can also be used to mean “cuisine” in English, though not as commonly. ---
**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 22, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/79 "2020-01-22T13:16:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > German also uses the same word for “cooking” (as in cuisine) and “kitchen” (as in, the room of the house where cooking is usually done). In fact, both English words come from that root (“Kuchen”, IIRC). Not _exactly_, the cook/kitchen distinction is there even in the proto-German, and stretches back from there to the Latin _coquus_/_coquina_ distinction - our “cooking” seems to derive via proto-Germanic from \*_kukōną_ which is from _coquus_ - “cook”(the profession) whereas “kitchen” derives from \*_kukinā_ which comes from _coquina_ - both “cookery” and “kitchen”. But the latter derives from the former, anyway. So ultimately yes, the same root, but that root isn’t _Kuchen_, it’s _coquo_ All of which I first encountered while doing a wiki dive for the word _coquina_, as it’s part of the title of one of my medieval cookbooks. Turns out Liber de Coquina wasn’t just how to cook clams. ---
**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 22, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/80 "2020-01-22T14:21:16Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > How about the word “gerrymander”? > > I’ve read that the practice has been universal, in all places and at all times throughout history, where voters elect their officials by districts. Where district lines can be contrived to promote a desired outcome, they will be and always have been. > > But the term “gerrymander” is a strictly American invention, arising in the early days of the nation (1812). > > What words/phrases for this are used in other places where this practice happens, and what are the literal meanings and connotations of those? Gerrymander is a compound of _salamander_, which is how the redisributed districts looked on a map, and the name of the man who invented the prac tice [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=3) [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=5)