Emotions Around the Globe

In her (fantastic) book, How Emotions Are Made, Lisa Feldman Barrett* describes how simply expanding our emotional vocabulary can help to increase our capacity for emotion regulation. In doing so, she talks of the many emotion words in foreign languages that have no English equivalent. I went down an internet rabbit hole to learn more of these words. Below are some of my favorites. If you have any to add, please let me know!

Dépaysement (French): A feeling of disorientation that comes from traveling abroad in a country that is not your own. It can be a good or bad feeling

Desbundar (Portuguese): shedding one’s inhibitions in having fun

Forelsket (Norwegian): the ecstatic, all-consuming feeling of love that happens at the beginning of a relationship when you can barely think of anything else

Gigil (Tagalo): the irresistible urge to pinch or squeeze someone because they are loved or cherished

Hiányérzet (Hungarian): the sense that something (often undefined or unidentified) is lacking or missing

Hrepenenje (Slovenian): Nostalgia for something that hasn’t happened yet

Hygge (Danish): a quality of coziness and comfortable companionship that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being

Iktsuarpok (Inuit): the anticipation one feels when waiting for someone, and keeps checking if they’re arriving

Kilig (Tagalog): the jittery elated feeling you get when you interact with someone you have a crush on

Koi no yokan (Japanese): the feeling of inevitability that you are going to fall in love with a person

Lebensmüde (German): translates to “life tiredness,” it’s the feeling of being weary of life

Leháro (Czech): a state of having few responsibilities and little work; a sweet and comfortable idleness

Mbuki-mvuki (Bantu): the irresistible urge to “shed one’s clothes and dance uninhibited”

Natsukashii (Japanese): a nostalgic longing for the past, with happiness for the good memories, but sadness that it is no longer

Resfeber (Swedish): travel fever/bug; the feeling of excitement and nervousness experienced by a traveller before undertaking a journey

Saudade (Portuguese): a melancholic wistfulness or nostalgia for a person, place, or thing that is far away either in location or time

Seijaku (靜寂)(Japanese): quiet (sei) tranquility (jaku); silence, calm, serenity (especially in the midst of activity or chaos)

Shinrin-yoku (Japanese): the relaxation gained from bathing in the forest, figuratively or literally

Sisu (Finnish): extraordinary determination and inner strength in the face of adversity

Tabanca (Creole): love-sickness (e.g., after being left by a person you’re in love with)

Tarab (Arabic): a musically induced state of ecstasy or enchantment

Uitwaaien (Dutch): the revitalizing feeling of taking a walk in the wind

Wabi-sabi (Japanese): finding beauty in imperfection and the transient nature of things

Vemod (Swedish): tender, wistful sadness; pensive melancholy; the resigned and nostalgic feeling one has in relation to something positive or significat that has been lost or is over (e.g., one’s childhood)

Vorfreude (German): intense, joyful anticipation derived from imagining future pleasures

Xīn rú zhǐ shuǐ (心如止水) (Chinese): literally, a mind like still water; tranquility; to be at peace with oneself

Yuan bei (Chinese): a sense of complete and perfect accomplishment

Zanshin (残心)(Japanese): a state of relaxed mental alertness (especially in the face of danger or stress)

Ok, not really emotions, but also wonderful words without an English equivalent…

Backpfeifengesicht (German): A punchable face; a face in need of a smack.

Tsundoku (Japanese): derived from the words “to stack” and “to read,” it specifically refers to the practice of accumulating a large pile of books that have been purchased but not read. But like… more books than you could possibly read. (I'm so very guilty of this...)

*While not an endorsement of everything Lisa Feldman Barrett has written or said, she is one of my favorite contemporary thinkers.