The Top 10 Relationship Words

This topic was created in the Relationships forum by miso on Thursday, March 7, 2013 and has 5 replies.

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@miso
13 Years

... That Aren't Translatable Into English:

Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan, an indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego): The wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to start.

Yuanfen (Chinese): A relationship by fate or destiny. This is a complex concept. It draws on principles of predetermination in Chinese culture, which dictate relationships, encounters and affinities, mostly among lovers and friends.

Cafun? (Brazilian Portuguese): The act of tenderly running your fingers through someone's hair.

Retrouvailles (French): The happiness of meeting again after a long time.

Ilunga (Bantu): A person who is willing to forgive abuse the first time; tolerate it the second time, but never a third time.

La Douleur Exquise (French): The heart-wrenching pain of wanting someone you can't have.

Koi No Yokan (Japanese): The sense upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall into love.

Ya??aburnee (Arabic): —You bury me.?? It's a declaration of one's hope that they??ll die before another person, because of how difficult it would be to live without them.

Forelsket (Norwegian): The euphoria you experience when you're first falling in love.

Saudade (Portuguese): The feeling of longing for someone that you love and is lost. Another linguist describes it as a "vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist."

Source: http://bigthink.com/marriage-30/the-top-10-relationship-words-that-arent-translatable-into-english

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@miso
13 Years

Posted by nycitycops
I think people are romanticizing 'Saudade'. It's synonymous with the word 'miss'. (like I miss you)

In the original article http://bigthink.com/marriage-30/the-top-10-relationship-words-that-arent-translatable-into-english there is quite a lengthy discussion in the comments over the use of Saudade (that I actually read through, and I think I understand now) Someone had mentioned that the romanticized version was not really incorrect, rather incomplete.

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@miso
13 Years

Posted by tiziani
I bet they all use them to talk dirty though.

Always sounds exotic in a foreign language but I can't tell you how many times in France we've used "retrouvailles" just to get to the point of figuring out if we were spending a weekend in a hotel getting down to it.

When used in a certain tone of voice, I think many foreign languages sound like dirty talk 😉