Words we should use more often
Here are the ten foreign words voted hardest to translate:
- ilunga [Tshiluba word for a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time; to tolerate it a second time; but never a third time. Note: Tshiluba is a Bantu language spoken in south-eastern Congo, and Zaire]
- shlimazl [Yiddish for a chronically unlucky person]
- radioukacz [Polish for a person who worked as a telegraphist for the resistance movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain]
- naa [Japanese word only used in the Kansai area of Japan, to emphasise statements or agree with someone]
- altahmam [Arabic for a kind of deep sadness]
- gezellig [Dutch for cosy]
- saudade [Portuguese for a certain type of longing]
- selathirupavar [Tamil for a certain type of truancy]
- pochemuchka [Russian for a person who asks a lot of questions]
- klloshar [Albanian for loser]
Oh, and the ten English words voted hardest to translate?
- plenipotentiary
- gobbledegook
- serendipity
- poppycock
- googly
- Spam
- whimsy
- bumf
- chuffed
- kitsch


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