French Vocab From The First Half Of My Year Abroad

a list of untranslatable words ☕️

cafuné - brazilian portuguese: the act of running one’s fingers, gently but deeply, through someone else’s hair 積ん読 (tsundoku) - japanese: the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other such unread books 木漏れ日 (komorebi) - japanese: sunlight filtering through the trees mångata - swedish: the roadlike reflection of moonlight on water verklempt - yiddish: a person who is too emotional to speak liefdesverdriet - dutch: the heartache caused from an unrequited love and the mental pains one endures; the physical pain of depression fika - swedish/finnish: gathering together to talk and take a break from everyday routines, usually drinking coffee and eating pastries 幽玄 (yūgen) - japanese: an indescribable sentiment, can only be described as a painful awareness of the mysterious beauty and human suffering l'esprit de l'escalier - french: the moment one finally thinks of a witty remark, far too late, after the opportunity has passed kilig - tagalog: the feeling of butterflies in your stomach, usually when something romantic or cute takes place いるす (irusu) - japanese: pretending to be absent from home when someone is at the door habseligkeiten - german: personal belongings, small treasures and property, which define our happiness and sentiments nefelibata - portuguese: cloud walker; name given to the quixotic dreamers, they appear spacey, otherworldly, but intelligent σοφρωσύνη (sophrosyne) - greek: self-control, balance, wisdom & grace;virtue that follows the aphorisms “nothing in excess” & “know thyself" hiraeth - welsh: homesickness for a place which never even existed. Connotations of sadness, yearning, profound nostalgia and wistfulness torpe - tagalog: being too shy to pursue amorous desires waldeinsamkeit - german: the feeling of being alone in the woods litost - czech: the humiliated despair we feel when someone accidentally reminds us, trough their accomplishment, of our inadequacies dustsceawung - old english: contemplation of the fact that dust used to be other things - the walls of a city, a book, a great tree… duende - spanish: the spirit of evocation; the mysterious power a work of art has to deeply move a person gattara - italian: a woman, often old and lonely, who devotes herself to stray cats tоска - russian: a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause, a longing with nothing to long for, nostalgia φιλότιμο (philotimo) - greek: a complex array of virtues; expressed through acts of generosity & sacrifice w/o expecting anything in return  gezellig - dutch: abstract sensation of individual well-being that one shares with others;cozy ambience, anything pleasant, homely, friendly

Watching my toddler figure out how to language is fascinating. Yesterday we were stumped when he kept insisting there was a “Lego winner” behind his bookshelf - it turned out to be a little Lego trophy cup. Not knowing the word for “trophy”, he’d extrapolated a word for “thing you can win”. And then, just now, he held up his empty milk container and said, “Mummy? It’s not rubbish. It’s allowed to be a bottle.” - meaning, effectively, “I want this. Don’t throw it away.” But to an adult ear, there’s something quite lovely about “it’s allowed to be a bottle,” as if we’re acknowledging that the object is entitled to keep its title even in the absence of the original function.

Isn’t it just plain hilarious when you read something in a foreign language and understand it then realise that you don’t even learn that language but you can decode the meaning based on your knowledge of other languages?

Guess who got shit done today

not me lmao but congrats to somebody out there

make this year about yourself. write a journal with your thoughts and ideas, take care of yourself and remind yourself to put your well-being first, acquire new skills, learn a language, set yourself goals to achieve, and study for your future. you will thank yourself later.

12.19.16 catching up on English journals

German café vocabulary

for @callmejake13 :)

das Café (Pl: Cafés) - café der Teller (Pl: Teller) - plate die Tasse (Pl: Tassen) - cup, mug die Untertasse (Pl: Untertassen) - saucer der Löffel (Pl: Löffel) - spoon die Speisekarte (Pl: Speisekarten) - menu

das Frühstück - breakfast der Kuchen (Pl: Kuchen) - cake die Torte (Pl: Torten) - cake (mostly consists of cream) der Muffin (Pl: Muffins) - muffin das Hörnchen / das Croissant - croissant der Keks (Pl: Kekse) - cookie, biscuit das Brot - bread der Zucker - sugar die Milch - milk die Sahne - cream das Spiegelei - fried egg das Rührei - scrambled eggs

der Kaffee (Pl: Kaffees) - coffee

der Cappuccino - cappuccino

der Espresso - espresso

der Latte macchiato - latte macchiato

der Eiskaffee - iced coffee

koffeinfreier Kaffee - decaffeinated coffee

der Teebeutel - tea bag der Tee (Pl: Tees) - tea

schwarzer Tee - black tea

grüner Tee - green tea

Früchtetee - fruit tea

Kräutertee - herbal tea

Pfefferminztee - mint tea

Rooibostee - rooibos tea

Eistee - iced tea

der Kakao - cocoa der Milchshake (Pl: Milchshakes) - milkshake der Saft (Pl: Säfte) - juice

essen - to eat trinken - to drink bestellen - to order bezahlen - to pay

it’s really a pity no one cares about foreign languages irl because I am a fountain of fun and interesting facts about linguistics and grammar and etymology but my peasant friends could not be any less interested

✨ Norwegian question words with examples of questions! ✨

Hvem? - Who? Hvem er den mannen der borte? - Who is that man over there?

Hva? - What? Hva hadde du til frokost? - What did you have for breakfast?

Hva slags? - What kind? Hva slags musikk liker du? - What kind of music do you like?

Når? - When? Når flyttet du hit? - When did you move here?

Hvor? - Where? Hvor er brillene mine? - Where are my glasses?

Hvorfor? - Why? Hvorfor er ikke han her i dag? - Why isn’t he here today?

Hvordan? - How? Hvordan går det på skolen? -  How is school going?

Hvor mye? - How much? Hvor mye koster denne? - How much does this cost?

Hvor mange? - How many? Hvor mange søstre har hun? - How many sisters does she have?

Hvilken/Hvilket/Hvilke? - Which? Hvilken kjole skal jeg ha på meg? - Which dress should I wear?

✨ I hope this is helpful, and let me know if there are any mistakes! ✨