Foreign Words That Have Very Specific Meanings
November 23rd, 2007 by
Eric Socia
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
In lieu of a real post today, I’m just posting something I found somewhere else and leaving it at that.
Here’s a list of words in different languages that are used for very specific things or events. (Taken from Neat-O-Rama)
- Kummerspeck (Germany): “Grief bacon” - the weight that you gain by overeating when you’re worried about something.
- Attaccabottoni (Italy): A “buttonholer” - someone who corners casual acquaintances or even complete strangers for the purpose of telling them their miserable life stories.
- Modré Pondeli (Czech): “Blue Monday” - When you skip coming in to work to give yourself a three-day weekend.
- Razbliuto (Russia): The feeling you have for a person you used to love, but don’t anymore.
- Shitta (Iran): Leftover dinner that’s eaten for breakfast.
- Tartle (Scotland): To momentarily forget the name of the person you’re talking to. The word helps reduce the social embarrassment of such situations: “I’m sorry, I tartled there for a moment.”
- Pana po’o (Hawaii): To scratch your head in an attempt to remember something you’ve forgotten.
- Ngaobera (Easter Island): A sore throat caused by too much screaming.
- Backpfeifengesicht (Germany): A face that’s just begging for somebody to put their fist in it.
- Papierkrieg (Germany): “Paper war” - bureaucratic paperwork whose only purpose is to block you from getting the refund, insurance payment, or other benefit that you have coming.
- Rujuk (Indonesia): To remarry your ex-wife.
- Mokita (New Guinea): The truth that everyone knows, but no one will speak about.
- Gorrero (Spain, Central America): Someone who never picks up the check.
- Fucha (Poland): Using your employer’s time and resources for your own purposes. (Uncle John had never heard of such a thing and wanted to ask around the office if anyone else had, but everyone is still out to lunch.)
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Chris
I’m not from Indonesia, but I think “rujuk” means “refer” instead
Chris’s last blog post..Sony Ericsson K750i
Nov 23rd, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Eric Socia
Hi Chris
I personally wouldn’t know. I actually stole this from another website (Neat-O-Rama) because I didn’t really have anything to write about at the time, so if there are any mistakes in there, it’s not my fault! But thanks for the info anyway.
Nov 24th, 2007 at 9:29 am
lady
this one is interesting.. but how do i pronounce the words..heheheh..
Nov 26th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Forrest
It’s good stuff to know. I’ve read that people are starting to run their pages through Google’s translation service, so if they write a web site in English, they have a copy of each page in Spanish, Italian, French, et cetera. It seems like if people truly are doing that, they need to be aware of specific words with specific meanings, to not offend the new audience they might find … and also to make sure if they’re hoping to accomplish SEO in another language, they get a decent translation.
Ahhh, how the internet is changing life!
Forrest’s last blog post..The Columbia River Gorge
Nov 26th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Marc
Haha, why doesn’t all languages have a word for leftover dinner that’s eaten for breakfast or a face that’s just begging for somebody to put their fist in it.
Nov 29th, 2007 at 4:53 am
Jeremy Hobbs
Attaccabottoni… I like that one, and know quite a few of them as well!
Jeremy Hobbs’s last blog post..‘Big Black’ Java Monster!
Dec 4th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
dan
i can see myself using gorrero quite a bit at work. guess i’m guilty of fucha myself (not sure how to use that in a sentence though)
Dec 9th, 2007 at 8:28 am
Hendrik
Being a German native I feel like I have to comment on these.
Kummerspeck exists, however I haven’t heard it for years. Took me a second to recognize it. Only depressive people have it in their vocabulary. And I don’t hang around with these type of people.
Backpfeifengesicht. This is very rare too. Maybe it depends on which part of Germany You are living in.
Papierkrieg. Yeah everyday word. Must know it, love it.
Hendrik’s last blog post..Chengdu 成都市
Dec 10th, 2007 at 6:24 am
honda parts lady
Well, additional info huh! Great!
Dec 13th, 2007 at 1:07 am
blogberry mom
I had a hard time pronouncing these words. Anyway, this is a nice one.
blogberry mom’s last blog post..Three Celebrations = 1 Party
Dec 13th, 2007 at 1:08 am
emmanuel martinez
This is such a well written post, filled with interesting facts.I have learnt a lot by reading it.Thanks
emmanuel martinez’s last blog post..BLENDER 3D 2.45
Dec 13th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Riksa
How about the Finnish verb “silpata” which refers to climbing a rope or possible a rather thin tree or pole by holding the object you’re climbing between your legs? I have to admit though, that the verb is used only in the Southwestern part of Finland.
Riksa’s last blog post..A Snowball’s Chance in Hell
Dec 18th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Paranormal Enthusiast
Very interesting!!! A few of my friends are foreign, now I have some words to say to them.
Dec 23rd, 2007 at 5:47 pm
paper shredders
Very interested! Really a good collection of foreign words. Really interested
Mar 10th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
itchy scalp
My favorite has got to be Razbliuto. Entertaining post!
itchy scalp’s last blog post..Causes of Greasy Oily Hair & Scalp
Mar 13th, 2008 at 3:41 am
Get Six Pack Abs
This was a very interesting post
Mar 18th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Chauncy
I think it’s funny that the Iranian word for “Leftover dinner that’s eaten for breakfast” is very similar to a certain 4 letter English obscenity.
Chauncy’s last blog post..Fun Windows Glitches
Mar 24th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Uti in dogs
Interesting read for sure ..who knows when they call me on TV and ask this worthless stuff and I win 3 zillions dollars LOL
Mar 27th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Cologne
Great stuff. I think off-topic posts are refreshing once in a while.
Apr 3rd, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Kristian Liebrand
Firstly thanks a lot for the information. As most of the words in Germany we didn’t knew about the meanings which we came to know with this article. And hats off for the knowledge and the hold on the German language as minute to minute details are provided. Once again thanks a lot.
Jun 3rd, 2008 at 3:52 am
Alberta Foreclosures
I had no idea about Tartle! Happens to me a lot, now i have a word for it. thanks
Jun 10th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Charlie Hoffman
that would fly with my boyfriend:) interesting conversation, pardon me for cramming in, but I can’t stand by while u guyz keep going on about this shit like this!
Jun 25th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Anime manga figure
Rujuk (Indonesia) is not only to remarry your ex-wife, but also mean recover your relationship with somebody, your friend
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Managed Hosting
It’s the first time I heard this word: “Gorrero”, in South america they call them tacaños.
Aug 27th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Seo tips and tricks
I love this
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Aug 28th, 2008 at 3:23 am
MonaVie
“To remarry your ex-wife” that happens that often in Indonesia that they have to have a word for it? That is too funny!! Thanks for the laughs.
Sep 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm