# Words That Don't Translate **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 15, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813 "2022-01-15T00:10:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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 16, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/41 "2022-01-16T00:48:50Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > One of the great features of German is that concatenation of words. Just take the prefix _scheiß_ , for shit - _scheissegal_ for “I don’t give a shit”, _scheißwetter_ for really crappy weather, _scheißfreundlichkeit_ for fake friendliness. Genius stuff. Geniusindeed! Mit bandwidthbittensaven und Nettenspeedgefastermaken, das Deutscherwonderkind Spacengedroppen, ein Brilliantischer Internettengeplanningwerken. Herewith, some excerpts from [Heinrich Schnibble’s Deutscher Wordenbooke](http://nls.net/mp/volks/htm/deutsch.htm) : Horse: Foddergeburnenclippenclopper Mule: Balkendummkopferfoddergeburnenclippenclopper Zebra: Pinstripensuitenwearenfoddergeburnenclippenclopper Dog: Barkenpantensniffer Dogcatcher: Barkenpantensniffersnatcher Dogcatcher’s truck: Barkenpantensniffersnatcherwagon Garage for truck: Barkenpantensniffersnatcherwagonhaus Truck repairman: Barkenpantensniffersnatcherwagonhausmechanikerworker Repairman’s Union: Barkenpantensniffersnatcherwagonhaus- mechanikerworkerfeatherbeddengefixengroup ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/42 "2022-01-16T03:29:54Z")
Your mock-German made me think of this mock-Swedish featurette: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/L1TlAd6M-xU/hqdefault.jpg "In 1968, this Bergman parody was up for Best Short at the Oscars.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1TlAd6M-xU) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/43 "2022-01-16T14:30:06Z")
lol I’d never seen that. Also interesting to see Madeline Kahn’s debut! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/44 "2022-01-16T15:13:57Z")
Lovely, isn’t she? ---
**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:** [January 16, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/45 "2022-01-16T15:30:34Z")
Oh dear, that is ages ago, but I made a whole webpage of this words that do not translate in English, German and Spanish: [untrans.eu](http://www.untrans.eu/english/presentation.html) Nice showing off it was. > [@bob\_2](#): > > What’s wrong with one of my favourite words - **Serendipity** Yeah, had that [too](http://www.untrans.eu/english/words/serendipity.html). Nice word indeed, and in 2014 the Spanish Academy accepted the loanword _serendipia_ as cromulent Spanish. Felt vindicated. Nice feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/46 "2022-01-16T15:39:37Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Oh dear, that is ages ago, but I made a whole webpage of this words that do not translate in English, German and Spanish: [untrans.eu](http://www.untrans.eu/english/presentation.html) Nice showing off it was. Nice site - looks like a lot of work went into this. Can you only view untranslatable words in your own language though? What I find most interesting is viewing what unique words other languages have. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/47 "2022-01-16T15:41:21Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > ETA: an important point also is that “Kiefer” or jaws doesn’t provoke the indication of a predator in German, as I said it’s more referential to dentists. Right, it’s like naming a blockbuster movie “Mandibles.” It just doesn’t land the same. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2022, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/48 "2022-01-16T15:44:19Z")
I explained the words I chose in their respective language: English words in English, Spanish words in Spanish, German words in German. It was a lot of work, indeed, and if I had explained the words in the other languages - which is sensible, explaining them to those who do no _have_ them and thus don’t understand them - it would have been three times the work. It was only a hobby, perhaps I should have done it that way, but not without a sponsor. And I never bothered to search for one. ETA: But I am glad you liked it! ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/49 "2022-01-16T15:51:30Z")
Fair enough indeed. Google translate isn’t quite good enough to interpret your lovely writing style but as translation tech improves it will increasingly make it easier for parts of the internet, and for sites like yours, to be read across language barriers. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/50 "2022-01-16T16:02:17Z")
So Bored Panda claims that the English language has exactly “one million, twenty five thousand, one hundred and nine words.” I view that claim with extreme skepticism. I don’t think anybody knows how many words exist in English; besides, most estimates are somewhat lower. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/51 "2022-01-16T16:06:26Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Right, it’s like naming a blockbuster movie “Mandibles.” It just doesn’t land the same. You think _that’s_ bad, Kevin Smith is working on [**Moose Jaws**](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4269346/mediaviewer/rm2940583169/) – Tagline: **Jaws** with a moose. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/52 "2022-01-16T16:49:21Z")
I briefly dated a German boy in my teens, and he taught me the word “weltschmaltz.” But the definition I recall him giving me was adjacent to, but different from, what Google is telling me. IIRC, he said it meant “nostalgia for something that never existed.” Google just translates it as “world-weariness” and melancholy. To our German speakers, is there a different word in German that means “nostalgia for something that never existed”? Or perhaps weltschmaltz does mean what I thought he said, and my Googling is missing the nuances? In any case, for decades I have been enchanted by the concept of nostalgia for something that never existed, so I hope there is a word for it. (Otherwise, I guess I have nostalgia for a word that never existed.) ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/53 "2022-01-16T17:01:49Z")
Might the word be Weltschmerz? There seems to be a word describing “nostalgia for something that never existed”: Anemoia: [The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows — anemoia - n. nostalgia for a time you’ve never...](https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/105778238455/anemoia-n-nostalgia-for-a-time-youve-never) ---
**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:** [January 16, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/54 "2022-01-16T17:05:32Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Google translate isn’t quite good enough Indeed. Try [deepl.com](https://www.deepl.com/translator), they are much better. Still not good enough, I hope. > [@CairoCarol](#): > > To our German speakers, is there a different word in German that means “nostalgia for something that never existed”? Weltschmalz it isn’t, as it does not mean what you think it means, but it is very funny. Weltschmerz (literally: World Pain, the world hurts, and it hurts _you_) is world weariness and general melancholy, Weltschmalz means World Lard, or world-lardiness, if this makes sense (spoiler: not really, that is why I find it funny). As for the word you are looking for, anemoia comes close, but it is not quite what you mean. And it is not German, sounds Greek to me. ETA: Somewhat ninja’d, he, **Uniqueorn**? I am too slow… ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/55 "2022-01-16T17:34:47Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Weltschmalz means World Lard, or world-lardiness, if this makes sense (spoiler: not really, that is why I find it funny). In English, at least (via Yiddish), “schmaltz” also means excessive and melodramatic sentimentality, particularly in fiction. I don’t know if it has this sense in German, but I almost wonder if the guy **CairoCarol** was dating might have made up the word “Weltschmalz” as a joke. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/56 "2022-01-16T17:36:34Z")
Yes, Schmaltz in German has that same connotation, an overtly sentimental movie or song is “schmaltzig”. I don’t know if Yiddish took that meaning from German or German back from Yiddish. There are quite a lot Yiddish loan-words (and Hebrew via Yiddish) in German. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/57 "2022-01-16T19:15:16Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I don’t know if Yiddish took that meaning from German or German back from Yiddish. In the [Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache](https://www.dwds.de/wb/schmalzig) I find a reference that goes back to the 9th century, when what later would become German was a language linguists call today Althochdeutsch, so the direction seems to be from German to Yiddish. Makes sense to me, as Yiddish seems unlikely to linger long on words concerning pig’s rendered fat but could well take a German word about pigs and use it in a derisory manner. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/58 "2022-01-16T19:16:53Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Your mock-German made me think of this mock-Swedish featurette: This is the movie that should have followed the opening credits for Monty Python and the Holy Grail (with all the faux-Swedish phrases sprinkled in) > [@CairoCarol](#): > > weltschmaltz I love it. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/59 "2022-01-16T19:19:02Z")
That makes sense, I hadn’t thought about lard being pig fat and that Jews wouldn’t have much use for the word Schmaltz in its original meaning. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813/60 "2022-01-16T19:35:11Z")
Although the Japanese word Otaku has been loosely translated in America to mean a fan of anime, I feel that it doesn’t truly capture the Japanese meaning as the derogatory word for the nerdiest of nerds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-dont-translate/957813.md?page=4)