# "Lost in Translation" -- words that have no easy equivalent in English **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032 "2023-03-11T15:56:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/61 "2023-03-12T19:45:11Z")
Tangent: Beware the difference in Spanish between •_Tengo calor_ •_Estoy caliente_ The first means that you’re warm, sweating, i.e. I’m hot. Translated word for word: I have heat. The second also means I’m hot, but with the connotation I’m in heat, i.e. horny. And a 30 years younger me, an obvious _guiri_ 1, used that to make a double entendre and flirt with _las españolas_. 1 gringo north of _el rio_, ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/62 "2023-03-12T20:37:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “tsujigiri” in Japan (trying out your newly-acquired sword by decapitating a random passerby) Is this real? Was this really such a common occurrence that there was a word for it? ---
**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:** [March 12, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/63 "2023-03-12T20:46:02Z")
It means “_sociable_ visit” (a business/serious visit would be _besoek_) - chatting etc is included, but it’s important that it be a visit you travelled for, you can’t really _kuier_ with the people you normally live with. > [@Chronos](#): > > I think that the English word “currant” is used for two different fruits, one of them a kind of (or very closely related to) a grape. Currants are either: 1. several varieties of fresh _Ribes_ berries related to gooseberries (redcurrants, blackcurrants or cassis) 2. small dried grapes of a seedless variety called Black Corinth. The raisins give their name to the other berries. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/64 "2023-03-12T20:49:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > “Cousin”, by itself, means the child of one of your parent’s siblings. Nope. > **[What Is a Second Cousin?: How to Calculate Family Relationships • FamilySearch](https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/cousin-chart)** > > Trying to figure out what to call your distant cousin? Start by asking these 3 simple questions. (While what you say may be technically true in a prescriptive sense, it is _not_ the way the word is actually used by actual people.) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/65 "2023-03-12T20:54:24Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Is this real? Was this really such a common occurrence that there was a word for it? > **[Tsujigiri: A Japanese word you don't see in other languages](https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/tsujigiri/)** > > Tsujigiri is a word you don't see in other languages. It describes a ghastly samurai practice that, thankfully, never made it out of Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/66 "2023-03-12T20:54:31Z")
I made a whole website with many words on the OP’s subject, it will be closed by the end of the month, but you can still have a look: untrans.eu I lost interest, so I am giving that hobby up. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/67 "2023-03-12T21:02:16Z")
A few other sites or articles are mentioned in [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813) thread. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/68 "2023-03-12T21:22:26Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > But of course my son calls all of our cousins Uncle and Aunt so-and-so because they are about the same age as us. Yes - “aunt” and “uncle” often mean “Someone of my parent’s age or older, who is a relative or very close friend” (which is why my first cousins-twice-removed call me Uncle, but I call my mother’s best friend Aunt). On the rare occasions when specificity is needed, English has a way to do [that](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrastive_focus_reduplication) - by doubling the word to indicate that you mean only the most prototypical meaning (and of course, “sibling of parent” is the prototypical meaning of “aunt” or “uncle”). ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/69 "2023-03-12T22:38:32Z")
Yikes! Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/70 "2023-03-13T07:08:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Chinese checkers is not a kind of checkers The movement rules of “Chinese checkers” make it a reasonable variant of checkers. It’s the “Chinese” part that’s wrong. The English language’s addiction to adjectives that’s the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/71 "2023-03-13T13:18:14Z")
An interesting and very entertaining collection of such words: [https://www.amazon.com/They-Have-Word-Lighthearted-Untranslatable/dp/1889330469](https://www.amazon.com/They-Have-Word-Lighthearted-Untranslatable/dp/1889330469) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/72 "2023-03-13T13:27:48Z")
I think many of these words or phrases are idioms and slang because they are all peculiar to the language in which they were created because they often have no relation at all to the standard words from which they were created. For that reason, I always make it a point to speak very literally to people who are new to the English language and still in the process of learning it. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/73 "2023-03-13T14:34:29Z")
Every chess player worth their salt is familiar with the German(?) concept of _ **zugzwang** _. On the chess board, it means that any move you can make is a bad one. In life, I suppose it’s kind of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/74 "2023-03-15T21:13:53Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > For that reason, I always make it a point to speak very literally to people who are new to the English language and still in the process of learning it. Language can have complex subtle meanings: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3bFsqk84frI/hqdefault.jpg "Bud Light - Dude - TV commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bFsqk84frI) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/75 "2023-03-15T21:32:15Z")
I am surprised that _tsujigiri_ is primarily literal. I would have thought it was something that maybe used to happen but now was used to describe any time someone does something bad just to try out something new. Instead, it just seems to live on as a thing that happens in video games. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/76 "2023-03-16T04:08:09Z")
A new article mentioning “pfeilstorchs”. > **[A stork impaled by a 30-inch spear flew thousands of miles to make it home](https://www.popsci.com/science/stork-with-spear-in-neck-bird-migration/)** > > Plus, chocolate lubricating mouths, chickens growing new ovaries, and more weird things we learned this week. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/77 "2023-03-16T04:50:56Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Maybe What do you mean “maybe?” That’s the _literal_ definition of the word and is why other relations take the modifiers of second- or third- or first removed. My cousins are my aunt’s children. I would never refer to them in any other way. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2023, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/78 "2023-03-16T05:34:11Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > That’s the _literal_ definition of the word It’s worth noting that the much broader “kinsman” meaning [is _very_ old](https://www.etymonline.com/word/cousin), [as in Shakespeare](https://www.shakespeareswords.com/Public/LanguageCompanion/ThemesAndTopics.aspx?TopicId=10), for example. The original meaning, or at least the Latin precursor, had even greater specificity though - specifically mother’s _sister’s_ child, not just _any_ aunt… Then again, I grew up in a culture where older folk of my parent’s generation were _all_ Uncles and Aunties, so a broader usage of _cousin_ is not strange to me. That, plus “cousin” or “cuz” is also used as a slang word for “buddy” in one local dialect (not mine) ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/79 "2023-03-16T09:06:31Z")
Another one from French for which I’ve never found a good English translation : _Empêchement_ : unexpected event that forces you to cancel or postpone an appointment without necessarily having to specify its nature. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2023, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032/80 "2023-03-16T10:44:47Z")
What, you mean a _contretemps_? Just kidding, but wouldn’t _hold-up_ or _snag_ be an adequate translation? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-translation-words-that-have-no-easy-equivalent-in-english/981032.md?page=5)