# What's your favorite non-English word? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023 "2008-03-20T01:04:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [March 20, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/41 "2008-03-20T18:47:35Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] (German): doppelganger [/QUOTE] Why does any language have a word for this? Are German people meeting their exact doubles so often that they have to have a word for it? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/42 "2008-03-20T19:00:55Z")
bastardos (I’m not sure if that is a real word or not) ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/43 "2008-03-20T19:30:22Z")
I like Spanish _carajo_. It’s an vulgar interjection of annoyance, but it’s not just the meaning I that like – it’s how it feels when I say it. _¡Ay, carajo!_ just seems more annoyed than _Aw, shit!_ There are bunch of others I’ve noticed that I like, but of course I can’t think of any now. In Yiddish, I like _fakakte_, _meshugge_, _shvitz_, and _verklempt_, among others. German, I love _Weltschmerz_ and _Fremdsprachenkorrespondentin_. The last one because it’s an excellent example of German shoving a compound noun into one word. It means a female correspondent with foreign language skills. There are others in German I’ve noticed, but my German has fossilized and been forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/44 "2008-03-20T19:33:04Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Why does any language have a word for this? Are German people meeting their exact doubles so often that they have to have a word for it? [/QUOTE] Yeah, not like those pixies, centaurs, and leprechauns I see every day. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/45 "2008-03-20T19:40:38Z")
[QUOTE=Greg Charles] Just to offset du (đụ ), I’ll add the Vietnamese duyen (duyên), which by itself means charm or grace, but can also be roughly translated as the fate that allow soulmates to find each other in a chaotic world, and that binds them together forever after. [/QUOTE] Thanks. Now, I know I need duyen to help me find the woman full of duende I’m hiraething for to appease my haiko. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/46 "2008-03-20T19:54:24Z")
Caio! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/47 "2008-03-20T20:22:31Z")
In Italian “500” = Cinquecento - pronounced “chink-way-chen-to” it’s just one of those words that sounds just so cool… ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/48 "2008-03-20T20:39:37Z")
[QUOTE=guizot] For example, in Swiss German, the word for potato is _Erdäppfli_, literally, “ground apple.” [/QUOTE] Similar is the French for potato, pomme de terre. “Apple of the earth.” For my pick I’ll go with another french term, menage a trois. (Sorry about the lack of accent marks) ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/49 "2008-03-20T20:45:16Z")
Schokolade. German for “chocolate.” It’s just a really pretty word to say… which you don’t really expect from the German language. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/50 "2008-03-20T21:02:03Z")
[QUOTE=clairobscur] Thanks. Now, I know I need duyen to help me find the woman full of duende I’m hiraething for to appease my haiko. [/QUOTE] And once again we see the wonderful adaptability of English, which has been known to follow other languages into alleys, hit them over the head, and go through their pockets for loose vocabulary. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/51 "2008-03-20T21:17:00Z")
The Arabic _Insha’Allah_ إن شاء الله, correctly defined by [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insha%27Allah) as “God willing,” but in my experience it’s used in Muslim countries as the answer to any yes or no question. And the Yiddish _meshugas_ (משוגעת ), which I’ve also seen spelled _mishigass,_ which is the noun form of _meshuggah_, and often used to mean “your own personal form of insanity” – “Well, he’s on the SDMB 5 hours a day, that’s his meshugas.” ---
**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:** [March 20, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/52 "2008-03-20T21:28:20Z")
_Zimt_, German for cinnamon. I don’t know why, but I love that word. _zimt, zimt, zimt, zimt_ ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/53 "2008-03-20T21:37:25Z")
[QUOTE=WordMan] In Italian “500” = Cinquecento - pronounced “chink-way-chen-to” it’s just one of those words that sounds just so cool… [/QUOTE] In Spanish, it’s \*quinientos/i] – kee-nee-EN-tos. Also fun to say. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/54 "2008-03-20T21:40:00Z")
It had a revelation in my 6th grade German class the day I learned there was no direct English translation for the word ‘gemutlichheit’. It was that day that I discovered that any given language doesn’t necessarily encompass all known things. For favorite word to say I have to go with the French word for ‘building’, l’immeuble. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/55 "2008-03-20T21:47:57Z")
For shear efficiency for this humble traveler you can’t do any better than the Ladakhan word _Jule_ (pronounced Joo-lay). It means ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’, ‘please’, and ‘thank you’. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/56 "2008-03-20T22:07:49Z")
[QUOTE=Ichbin Dubist] The Arabic _Insha’Allah_ إن شاء الله, correctly defined by [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insha%27Allah) as “God willing,” but in my experience it’s used in Muslim countries as the answer to any yes or no question. [/QUOTE] What’s the Arabic for “…and the creeks don’t rise”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Walpurgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Walpurgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walpurgis)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/57 "2008-03-20T23:25:18Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] When I was in Finland, I encountered the word _loyly_ (the y is pronounced like u in French _tu_), which was basically untranslatable, but had to do with the feel and ambience of the sauna experience. I think. [/QUOTE] I became acquainted with this word in my first Finnish sauna experience too - to my ears it sounded like “löuluä” (LOEU-lew-ae). I thought it meant “more water on the hot rocks”, because every so often people would start chanting “löuluä, löuluä!” and any non-Finn had to get their arse out of the sauna or be boiled alive. It’s a beautiful word, especially when shouted by a choir of burly, naked men. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/58 "2008-03-20T23:34:55Z")
From the Sanskrit: _karmadharaya_ “blacksmith” is one. (A word made up of an adjective and a noun.) And from the French: _Merde!_ ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/59 "2008-03-21T01:56:06Z")
I like the Japanese word どうも (dōmo), which has a wide variety of meanings. Literally, it means “very,” but is used as a greeting, a mild apology (for putting someone out) and/or a casual way of saying thanks. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/60 "2008-03-21T02:12:56Z")
[QUOTE=Cerowyn] I like the Japanese word どうも (dōmo), which has a wide variety of meanings. Literally, it means “very,” but is used as a greeting, a mild apology (for putting someone out) and/or a casual way of saying thanks. [/QUOTE] The Thai _Sawasdee_ seems to have that universal smoothing-over function too. Basically a greeting, but it can also be used whenever you’re at the sharp end of a potential offence-giving situation, and need to think of something to say in a hurry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023.md?page=4)