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.
“Fair” - and especially “fair play”.
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.
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”.
“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.
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.”)
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)
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:
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.
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?)
Nitpick: “girning” is the gerund, not the infinitive or base form (which are “to girn” and “girn”).
Hebrew has no word for “subtle” - although if you’ve ever met an Israeli, you probably already know that.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.)
The Appalachian word hollow/holler. It’s hard to explain to Americans from other part of the country.
In Hebrew, it’s “Kilometrage” (pronounced “kee-loh-met-RAZH”). I think it’s from the French.
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.
Antidisestablishmentarianism?
Sounds like what I’d call a kloof in Afrikaans.