![]() ![]() In English, one might say someone has “a face only a mother could love.” One way to feel this would be chilling on a soft couch under a warm blanket, surrounded by family, with a cup of hot chocolate in your hands, a knit cap on your head. When you feel warm, both physically and inside your heart, you’re experiencing Gemütlichkeit. The word describes the cozy atmosphere of your surroundings. The term is generally used to describe newly created, and often offensive, “words.” There’s even a panel of German linguists that selects an “ Un-word of the Year.” 6. They decided that those words deserve their own word to describe them. ![]() UnwortĮver the clever linguists, Germans know that sometimes there are words that aren’t really words. You’re so alone that not even your mother can stand being with you. Mutterseelenalleinliterally translates to mean “mother’s souls alone,” as in no soul-not even your mother’s- is with you. This one might come the closest to representing the internet meme “ forever alone,” but the imagery it evokes cannot be matched in English. Then you kick yourself for not thinking faster. The word literally means “staircase joke.” It’s called this because you didn’t think of a clever retort to someone until you were on the stairs, leaving the building. TreppenwitzĮnglish-language comedians have built dozens upon dozens of sitcoms entirely upon the premise of Treppenwitz, like in the Seinfeld episode “ The Comeback.” Yet we still don’t have a good way to describe it. Some might feel Schadenfreude , a German word that is somewhat commonly used in English, which means taking joy in others’ pain.īut if you cringe and feel embarrassed for them-almost as if you made the mistake yourself? That’s Fremdscham, or literally “stranger shame.” 3. ![]() Or when you see someone trip and fall on the sidewalk, taking their coffee down with them. This feeling may arise when you see a Facebook friend post a rant about something that turns out to be a gag article from The Onion. You know those days where you watch some moving documentary on Netflix about starving children in some far-off place and suddenly you feel hopeless about the state of our plant? Literally translated to “world pain,” Weltschmerzdescribes the feeling of having the weight of the world on your shoulders. This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬlick here to get a copy. This post dives into these eccentric and useful German words that I’ve discovered living in Germany for the past five years-words that you wish we had in English but don’t-and words that conquer something nuanced and complex, all within their letters. On the flip side, Germans are also good at something that involves a lot more brevity: summing up complex concepts and emotional states in just one relatively short word-yes, just one. (law delegating beef label monitoring - until the law was repealed.) (automobile liability insurance) and the previous titleholder for longest German word, Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz Like Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung The German language is often parodied for its compound nouns-the practice of smashing together a bunch of short words to create some comically long and complex terms. J11 Cool German Words You Wish We Had in English ![]()
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