In recent years you might have seen friends or influencers using the hashtag ‘hyggelife’. They’re probably pictured cuddle up reading a good book sitting with a cozy blanket or laughing with friends. Hygge does not have a direct English translation it is a Scandinavian word ‘hygge’ encapsulates a moment or a mood in which you feel especially cozy, charming or warm. Why don’t we have an English word for hygge?
Well it turns out that we don’t have an English word for a lot of emotions and feelings. Feelings are hard enough to express in words that we know but sometimes language makes it a little harder.
In this article we’re going to introduce to you some words that describe emotions that you may have felt before but haven’t been able to correctly identify. While some of these words come out from different languages, others come from the dictionary of obscure sorrows. You might find yourself using these words to describe feelings that you didn’t even know you had
- Saudade
Unfortunately a lot of these words describe negative rather than positive emotions. Saudade is one of these words. It’s Portuguese and describes a nostalgic longing for a person or a place that happens to be far away. You’re more likely to experience saudade if you know that you will never see this person or this place again.
- Fernweh
This a similar feeling of longing. What makes this German word so unique is that it describes a longing or nostalgia for a place that you’ve never been. Many people experience this sensation after cancelling travel plans for 2022.
- Gezellig
Gezellig is more comforting although it’s slightly different than hygge. Gezellig is a dutch word that describes the coziness and warmth within a group of people. Hygge is often experienced alone but may come about from a cozy blanket or a cup of cocoa. Gezellig is more than that. It’s a feeling that you are loved, belong and get along well with other people and atmosphere in a room
- Kuebiko
This is the first word on this list that comes from the dictionary of obscure sorrows. Author John Koenig uses this word to describe a state of exhaustion that comes from observing acts of senseless violence. Again this is another word perfect for 2021. Now here’s a fun fact about the word Kuebiko.
It is also the name of the Shinto Kami or holy power in the old Japanese religion. Kuebiko is a scarecrow that cannot move but has awareness of what is going on around the world
- Razbliuto
So let’s go back to more tender feelings. Razbliuto is a Russian word that describes the feeling you get for someone that you once loved. It’s not a negative feeling per say – it’s more of a tender and accepting feeling that you miss someone who’s no longer in your life.
- Fisselig
Have you ever been so annoyed with someone that you lose all focus and concentration? Congratulations you have felt Fisselig. This is a German word that correctly encapsulates how many people feel while working in customer service or retail.
- Gigil
When you see a baby or a puppy you may experience gigil. This is actually a Filipino word for the feeling you get when you want to squeeze something that’s just way too cute.
- Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude let’s say you see a cute puppy and a person that you don’t like. You observe the cute puppy running away from that person that you don’t like and that person getting upset because of this you feel a sense of joy in the fact that the puppy disappointed the person that you don’t like. This is the feeling of Schadenfreude. It’s a German word that has encapsulated this feeling so well it’s made its way into Broadway Musicals and American pop culture. It basically means feeling pleasure in someone else’s pain.
- Adronitis
So here’s another word from the dictionary of obscure sorrows. Adronitis is a feeling of frustration towards the amount of time it takes to get to know someone. Simultaneously it’s the wish that you could dive into a person’s innermost thoughts first rather than sticking to the small talk. If you’ve ever longed for the idea of stargazing with a stranger and exchanging your deepest secrets, you’ve experienced adronitis
- Greng-Jai
Sometimes these words do not have direct English translations because they’re not an essential emotion with an American or Western culture. Greng-Jai is a tie word that describes the feeling of not wanting to impose. It is not just being considerate, you could also describe it as an anxiety behind ruffling someone’s feathers or hurting anyone’s feelings. Author Andrew Biggs says that
“Thais are very proud of their feeling of Greng-Jai. it is inherent to the thai psyche. And because there’s no exact English translation, they have got it into their heads that foreigners, namely Europeans don’t possess this feeling of Greng-Jai”
- Iktsuarpok
When linguists discuss the diversity of language they often bring up this fascinating tidbit. Inuits have 50 different words to describe ‘snow’. They also have one word to describe the feeling of anticipation. When you know someone is writing at your door you know the feeling. You keep looking out the window or checking your ring app to see if they have arrived. This is Iktsuarpok.
- Litost
This word is not that much of a fun emotion. Litost is a Czech word that describes the moment you witness your own misery and you start to feel shame, agony or torture. This is a pointed shame. Many describe it as wanting to take revenge against the source of your own sadness
- Chrysalism
This is the calm feeling that you may experience from being inside during a thunderstorm. If you enjoy a rainy day with a cup of tea maybe watching netflix, you probably get the point.
We hope you’ve been able to build your vocabulary with these word…
credit: TopThink
