# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/81 "2008-03-23T05:49:35Z")
In Finnish **laiskuri** means a loafer or slacker, from **laiska** ; lazy. I use it as my user name on another board. Another useful Finnicism is **tuotenoin** , which means really nothing, but is used the way we use uhh-h to stall for time while thinking of something to say. Not Finnish, but I have always loved the Hindi **pukka**. Common in the UK, but little known in the US, it means real, true, correct, genuine, proper and probably a half dozen other definitions. ---
**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 23, 2008, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/82 "2008-03-23T07:31:03Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] Also, I’ve often remarked that my favourite foreign verb _conjugation_ is “yuxtaponer,” Spanish for “to juxtapose.” You(pl) juxtaposed: yuxtapusisteis. That I juxtapose: que yuxtaponga. You(sg) juxtapose!: yuxtapón! juxtaposed: yuxtapuesto. [/QUOTE] I did not know this word. Thanks for adding to my knowledge. _¡Idiotas! ¡Yuxtapongan estas cosas!_ That reminds me of another Spanish word I like. It’s a loan word from English “Yankee”: _yanqui_. The way I and most of the Spanish speakers I know say our Ys, it comes out as “¡JAAN-kee!”. ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/83 "2008-03-23T15:24:18Z")
My favorite word from Spanish is _tornasolada_ (ok, it can be masculine too with an --o but I think it sounds better this way); it means iridescent and just sounds so cool. Also, I like how it seems to be a literal compound for something like ‘sun-turning’. From Irish, I like _scuab_ for broom. It’s pronounced something like /skwUb/ (pardon my misrendering, native speakers) and is so perfect for what it means. > [@matt\_mcl](#): > > C’est merveilleux, c’est magnifique. Just when you think you’ve finally wiped _Telefrançais_ out of your mind forever… ---
**Author:** ![Ducktail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@Ducktail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ducktail)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/84 "2008-03-23T15:50:36Z")
Mine are usually to do with sound, and not necessarily meaning. German: “aufräumen” (to clean up). I love the sound of the “äu” combination in German; it’s roughly equivalent to “oy.” Japanese: “nazenara” (because) and “zannen” Zannen is a phrase that means “That’s too bad, isn’t it?” I have a Japanese-speaking friend who loves to say that word, albeit very sarcastically, and I’ve never quite been able to imitate the scorn he manages to pack into those two syllables, although it’s not from lack of trying. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/85 "2008-03-23T20:11:23Z")
**Schlag** , which is what I understand Austrians (and presumably Germans) call whipped cream. “Mit Schlag,” - “with whipped cream” actually sounds like a big glob of whipped cream being plopped on pie or pastry. Wonderful word ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/86 "2008-03-23T20:38:16Z")
[QUOTE=Bambi Hassenpfeffer] In Yiddish, I like _fakakte_, _meshugge_, _shvitz_, and _verklempt_, among others. [/quote] Yiddish has some great words, eh? Some of my favorites are ‘schpilkes’ (which I seem to get a lot, and hearing my goyisha husband ask if I have schpilkes, and if so, tell me to “clean your room,” about has me doubled over in hysterics), ‘Schmeggege’, ‘schmatah’ and ‘bubbe meiseh’. All words that just don’t sound the same or have _quite_ the same meaning in any other language. My very favorite Spanish word is ‘estacionamiento’. It took me forever to learn how to pronounce it, and once I could, it was just so fun when it rolled off my tongue. 🙂 Try it, you might like it. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/87 "2008-03-23T20:42:09Z")
[QUOTE=movingfinger] Not Finnish, but I have always loved the Hindi **pukka**. Common in the UK, but little known in the US, it means real, true, correct, genuine, proper and probably a half dozen other definitions. [/QUOTE] Is it still okay to use that? Somehow, I’d gotten the idea that “pukka sahib” had become indicative of racist sentiments, and that both words were unusable because of that. But I rather like pukka. If I’m allowed to use it. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/88 "2008-03-24T17:55:10Z")
alcachofa, madrugada, and boulangerie alcachofa is spanish for artichoke, and just really enjoy saying it madrugada, spanish, the time between night and morning, think 4am-ish boulangerie, french, lovely sound, I think it’s bakery ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/89 "2008-03-24T18:49:12Z")
mélange (French). A word so nice, it’s been incorporated into English also. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/90 "2008-03-24T19:13:46Z")
My favorite is ‘Barong’, it’s Bahasa Indonesian, I believe, though that language is so closely related to Malay it’s hard to be sure. It means your stuff, if you’re a carpenter -your tools, a chef -your pots, a traveler - your luggage. As is, get your barong the taxi’s here. P.S. I love all these words but without pronunciation help they are useless to me. **Sitnam** , I’m also a fan of Jule and, or course, Namaste. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/91 "2008-03-24T20:56:46Z")
[QUOTE=Sitnam] 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. [/QUOTE] Some words are universes within themselves. It gets even more complicated when a word that is translatable into another language loses its cultural personality - translated poetry is really a paradox in this sense. These are a couple of my favorite non-English words: Swedish: Fika (as a verb - to have coffee with somebody) Russian: Pravda (noun for truth - in Russia, one might have this exchange: -Pravda? (Is it true?) -Da, pravda. (Yes, it is true. German: Anschluss (noun for ‘connection’) Italian: Biccicleta (noun for bicycle) Ancient Greek: Melitta (Noun for bee) ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/92 "2008-03-25T01:52:34Z")
In Spanish, the 3rd person past of hablar, “to speak” is “hablaba” (the “h” is silent, of course) and is fun to say. My favorite German words based completely on funness to say are “anzünden” (to light, as in on fire), “angezogen” (past participle of “to put on”), and Geschirrspülmaschine (dishwasher). ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/93 "2008-03-25T20:29:28Z")
Hmm. [Wabi-sabi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi) is it for me so far. This isn’t the boiled down surface definition that Pottery Barn or whatever uses to flog its fripperies, though, this is the deeper version that, for me, is encapsulated by S. Somtow Sucharitkul’s ‘Starship and Haiku’ book. \*\*cactus waltz \*\* is wise indeed. _Some words are universes within themselves._ … oh hey. If you don’t have a copy of that book handy, I found a link to the haunting [filksong](http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/starship-haiku.html) of the same title by Kathy Mar. Gives me goosebumps, reading the lyrics. And ASL poetry is pretty untranslatable. It diminishes so much when you write the specific words down, but when it’s performed… dude. /awe/ ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/94 "2008-03-25T23:21:52Z")
_Sacre bleu_ is one of my favorites. For all I know, the French no longer say it. Most Americans recognise it as a quaint way to express surprise, astonishment, and WTF? I speak French badly enough to make it sound like mock surprise. Since I saw the USB Wine video, I find reasons to say _revolutionaire!_ I get a lot of mileage out of _oy vey_, too. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/95 "2008-03-26T00:00:49Z")
[QUOTE=LavenderBlue] Koshka. My Russian immigrant neighbor told me it was Russian for cat. It sounds exactly like what you’d expect a Russian cat to sound like. Sort of soft and hard all at once. [/QUOTE] koshka is a girl cat. kot is a boy cat. when i’m talking to malenka i really drag out it out: koooooooosssshhhh-ka! russian wise one of my fav.s is a nickname for jacob, “yaz”. german wise, i like “kummerspeck” grief bacon, and “drachenfutter” dragon chow or dragon fodder. ---
**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 26, 2008, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/96 "2008-03-26T00:01:59Z")
[QUOTE=chaoticbear] In Spanish, the 3rd person past of hablar, “to speak” is “hablaba” (the “h” is silent, of course) and is fun to say. [/QUOTE] Hablábamos is also entertaining. First person plural imperfect of _hablar_. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/97 "2008-03-26T04:57:05Z")
Department of Useless Information Unless You Want to Speak Finnish: The Finnish word for cat is kissa, pronounced KEES sah. And to call a cat to you, “ksskssksskssksskss!” Finnish-speaking cats will ignore you, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/98 "2008-03-26T20:07:11Z")
[QUOTE=lizardling] Hmm. [Wabi-sabi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi) is it for me so far. This isn’t the boiled down surface definition that Pottery Barn or whatever uses to flog its fripperies, though, this is the deeper version that, for me, is encapsulated by S. Somtow Sucharitkul’s ‘Starship and Haiku’ book. [/QUOTE] Wabi-sabi was used in a King of the Hill episode, the one where Bobby and Hank enter the rose-growing competition. The gist of the expression was that the rose’s imperfections made it even more precious. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023/99 "2008-03-26T20:09:33Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8] Wabi-sabi was used in a King of the Hill episode, the one where Bobby and Hank enter the rose-growing competition. The gist of the expression was that the rose’s imperfections made it even more precious. [/QUOTE] To boil it down exceedingly, yes. Also, King of the HILL. 😃 😃 That tickles me to no end. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-english-word/442023.md?page=4)