Lost in Language

Isn't it beautiful how the english language cannot convey everything there is in life.

Characters themselves have some beauty to them, and I especially appreciate languages like the Japanese Language, which contain so many beautiful words that just do not translate into english or other languages.

To see life through the lens of your own language is to see life through a narrow, established lense. You may miss the big picture, or even miss parts of the human condition as a whole.

For me, Yūgen and Mono no Aware are words I experience on a daily basis that I had no clue there was a word for.


Here are some words you may find beautiful and may describe some things you know in your heart but have never found the right word for.

Untranslatable Words In Japanese

Yūgen | 幽玄

a profound awareness of the nature of the universe – the oneness of all things – to the point where it affects you emotionally.

Wa | 和

Harmony

Wabi-Sabi | 侘寂

The Beauty in imperfection

The Acceptance of Life and Death and the natural cycle

Mono no aware |物の哀れ

The Bittersweetness of fading beauty

Shoganai | しょうがない

It can't be helped; It is out of my control

Kaizen | 改善

change for better; continuous improvement

Ukiyo | 浮世

a Floating World

Untranslatable Words in Hebrew

L’ECOLE SRATIM | לאכול סרטים

Used for someone overdramatic or someone who likes drama

LACHFOR | לחפור

Means “to dig” but it is used to describe someone who talks too much and loves to gossip.

SOF HA’OLAM SMOLA | סוף העולם שמאלה

A place in the middle of nowhere


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