English is a magpie language. It took déjà vu from French and schadenfreude from German, and it is always looking for more. Some words are still waiting to be stolen.
A dictionary of good feelings
The psychologist Tim Lomas has spent years collecting so-called untranslatable words related to wellbeing. His positive lexicography is an evolving online index of terms from the world's languages that English has no neat single word for. He is careful to call his definitions provisional, which is honest: a word's meaning lives in a culture, not a glossary.
Some favourites for the classroom wall:
Sobremesa (Spanish): the time spent chatting at the table after a meal is finished.
Hygge (Danish): a cosy, convivial atmosphere. The Cambridge Dictionary now lists it as an English word, which shows how borrowing works in real time.
Flâner (French): to stroll with no aim except enjoying the walk.
Gezellig (Dutch): warm, friendly togetherness.
"Untranslatable" is a stretch
Strictly, nothing is untranslatable. You can always explain a word in a sentence. What you cannot always do is translate it with one word, and that is the fun part.
These words are a gift for teachers. They show students that a language is not English in fancy dress but a different way of carving up experience. Ask a class to invent an English word for the feeling of finishing homework on a Sunday night. You will get gold.
