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Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World
An artistic collection of more than 50 drawings featuring unique, funny, and poignant foreign words that have no direct translation into English.
Did you know that the Japanese language has a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there’s a Finnish word for the distance a reindeer can travel before needing to rest?
Lost in Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don’t have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions. Often these words provide insight into the cultures they come from, such as the Brazilian Portuguese word for running your fingers through a lover’s hair, the Italian word for being moved to tears by a story, or the Swedish word for a third cup of coffee.
In this clever and beautifully rendered exploration of the subtleties of communication, you’ll find new ways to express yourself while getting lost in the artistry of imperfect translation.
Did you know that the Japanese language has a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there’s a Finnish word for the distance a reindeer can travel before needing to rest?
Lost in Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don’t have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions. Often these words provide insight into the cultures they come from, such as the Brazilian Portuguese word for running your fingers through a lover’s hair, the Italian word for being moved to tears by a story, or the Swedish word for a third cup of coffee.
In this clever and beautifully rendered exploration of the subtleties of communication, you’ll find new ways to express yourself while getting lost in the artistry of imperfect translation.
112 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2014
About the author
Ella Frances Sanders
8 books136 followersElla Frances Sanders is an internationally-bestselling author and illustrator of three books. She lives near a windswept coastline in Ireland.
Her first book, ‘Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words' was published in September 2014 by Ten Speed Press and became an international bestseller. It sat on the New York Times bestseller list for 4 consecutive months, was an Amazon Best Book of 2014, and has had multiple printings in multiple countries, including Japan where over 100,000 copies have been sold. It was featured in places such as The New York Times Book Review, The New York Post, Entertainment Weekly, The Huffington Post, Brain Pickings, Design*Sponge, Conde Nast Traveler, and Buzzfeed. In 2018, Lost in Translation was announced as the No.1 book for the biggest bookseller in Japan, Kinokuniya, which is only the second time a non-fiction title has ever been chosen for the award in the bookseller’s history.
‘The Illustrated Book of Sayings: Curious Expressions from Around the World' was published in September 2016 by Ten Speed Press and has also been printed in over eight languages. The Illustrated Book of Sayings made the San Francisco Chronicle, Fathom, and LA Times gift guides. It was Mental Floss’ 10 Must Read Books For Fall and featured by websites like It’s Nice That, The Telegraph, CityLab, and The Times of India.
Her third book, ‘Eating the Sun: Small Musings on a Vast Universe', was published by Penguin on April 16th 2019, and has received some rather good reviews, like this one and this one. It was the recipient of the 2019 Whirling Prize for prose, and has been translated into languages including German, Japanese, Spanish, and Italian, with a UK edition published under the title ‘A Small Illustrated Guide to the Universe’ by Blink Publishing.
Her first book, ‘Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words' was published in September 2014 by Ten Speed Press and became an international bestseller. It sat on the New York Times bestseller list for 4 consecutive months, was an Amazon Best Book of 2014, and has had multiple printings in multiple countries, including Japan where over 100,000 copies have been sold. It was featured in places such as The New York Times Book Review, The New York Post, Entertainment Weekly, The Huffington Post, Brain Pickings, Design*Sponge, Conde Nast Traveler, and Buzzfeed. In 2018, Lost in Translation was announced as the No.1 book for the biggest bookseller in Japan, Kinokuniya, which is only the second time a non-fiction title has ever been chosen for the award in the bookseller’s history.
‘The Illustrated Book of Sayings: Curious Expressions from Around the World' was published in September 2016 by Ten Speed Press and has also been printed in over eight languages. The Illustrated Book of Sayings made the San Francisco Chronicle, Fathom, and LA Times gift guides. It was Mental Floss’ 10 Must Read Books For Fall and featured by websites like It’s Nice That, The Telegraph, CityLab, and The Times of India.
Her third book, ‘Eating the Sun: Small Musings on a Vast Universe', was published by Penguin on April 16th 2019, and has received some rather good reviews, like this one and this one. It was the recipient of the 2019 Whirling Prize for prose, and has been translated into languages including German, Japanese, Spanish, and Italian, with a UK edition published under the title ‘A Small Illustrated Guide to the Universe’ by Blink Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 643 reviews
August 29, 2022
Review This is a great book for people who don't like reading - put it on your gift list for Christmas. There are only 57 words defined in this 'compendium' and each of them is defined twice. Once with graphics, and once with a bit of an explanation (but not too much). It is an extremely pretty book so will be welcomed as a gift anyway.
Having mentioned the brevity of the book, I have to say that some of the words chosen are really quite interesting. The ones I felt were most onomatopoeic and I could almost feel their meaning were:
Drachenfutter - Dragon-fodder. The gift a husband gives a wife when he's trying to make up for bad behaviour. German
Tiam - the twinkle in your eye when you first meet someone. Farsi
Akihi - Listening to directions and then walking off and promptly forgetting them, means you've gone Akihi. This is so me, someone explains where to go and then Iturn left when I should have turned right without noticing. I even do it in the apartment building I moved into last week, take the wrong corridor. No sense of direction is comorbid with prosopagnosia which I also have. Hawaiian
Wabi Sabi - finding beauty in the imperfections and acceptance of the cycle of life and death. Japanese
Kabelsalat - very tangled cables (ie all cables when two or three or more get together) German
Hiraeth - A homesickness, a nostalgia, a longing for somewhere you cannot or will not return to. Welsh. But it's more than that description, it's a longing to be Welsh in Wales again with its culture that is not English. But not going back. The weather.. and anyway have a better life elsewhere. But hearing the Stereophonics' As Long As We Beat the English or hearing that Wales did good at the rugby (always 'the rugby' not 'rugby', or the hymn Bread of Heaven and it's hiraeth in your heart.
Trepverter - staircase words. What you should have said but it's only just occured to you, those great comebacks that come too late! German
Naz - the pride and assurance that comes from knowing you are loved unconditionally. Urdu
So it was a nice enjoyable little read, but defining 57 words hardly constitutes a book. I was given it, and won't be ordering it for the shop and I can see people standing there and reading the whole thing and not buying it. Perhaps it was designed as a gift?
__________
Reading Notes Every group or tribe of people wherever they are, even if they have been totally isolated and never had contact with any outside of their tribe, have two things in common - fire and language. There are no exceptions. Given that there are thousands of groups of people living in completely different geographical areas and circumstances it's no wonder that there must be words that are particular to that group and no other. I'm hoping this book, will bring some of them to light.
I'm wondering if the author will include Yiddish, a language that is particularly onomatopoeic and permeates New York slang and to a lesser extent, Cockney English from when (for both countries) the Jews immigrated and moved into the areas where the working class, as they were, lived. As an example, two actually, they go together, is 'fress' to be an absolute pig and stuff yourself, and 'schloff' the nap you need after having stuffed yourself so full your belly hurts. Being called a 'fresser' is not a compliment!
__________
3.5 stars
Having mentioned the brevity of the book, I have to say that some of the words chosen are really quite interesting. The ones I felt were most onomatopoeic and I could almost feel their meaning were:
Drachenfutter - Dragon-fodder. The gift a husband gives a wife when he's trying to make up for bad behaviour. German
Tiam - the twinkle in your eye when you first meet someone. Farsi
Akihi - Listening to directions and then walking off and promptly forgetting them, means you've gone Akihi. This is so me, someone explains where to go and then Iturn left when I should have turned right without noticing. I even do it in the apartment building I moved into last week, take the wrong corridor. No sense of direction is comorbid with prosopagnosia which I also have. Hawaiian
Wabi Sabi - finding beauty in the imperfections and acceptance of the cycle of life and death. Japanese
Kabelsalat - very tangled cables (ie all cables when two or three or more get together) German
Hiraeth - A homesickness, a nostalgia, a longing for somewhere you cannot or will not return to. Welsh. But it's more than that description, it's a longing to be Welsh in Wales again with its culture that is not English. But not going back. The weather.. and anyway have a better life elsewhere. But hearing the Stereophonics' As Long As We Beat the English or hearing that Wales did good at the rugby (always 'the rugby' not 'rugby', or the hymn Bread of Heaven and it's hiraeth in your heart.
Trepverter - staircase words. What you should have said but it's only just occured to you, those great comebacks that come too late! German
Naz - the pride and assurance that comes from knowing you are loved unconditionally. Urdu
So it was a nice enjoyable little read, but defining 57 words hardly constitutes a book. I was given it, and won't be ordering it for the shop and I can see people standing there and reading the whole thing and not buying it. Perhaps it was designed as a gift?
__________
Reading Notes Every group or tribe of people wherever they are, even if they have been totally isolated and never had contact with any outside of their tribe, have two things in common - fire and language. There are no exceptions. Given that there are thousands of groups of people living in completely different geographical areas and circumstances it's no wonder that there must be words that are particular to that group and no other. I'm hoping this book, will bring some of them to light.
I'm wondering if the author will include Yiddish, a language that is particularly onomatopoeic and permeates New York slang and to a lesser extent, Cockney English from when (for both countries) the Jews immigrated and moved into the areas where the working class, as they were, lived. As an example, two actually, they go together, is 'fress' to be an absolute pig and stuff yourself, and 'schloff' the nap you need after having stuffed yourself so full your belly hurts. Being called a 'fresser' is not a compliment!
__________
3.5 stars
July 8, 2019
Luftmensch (Yiddish)... refers to someone who is a bit of a dreamer and literally means 'air person'. Or: your head is in the clouds and you are not coming down anytime soon!
For someone with a linguistic education background (me!), this is a very interesting and also fun book! I know all about the hardships of untranslatable words between languages. It's all about freely translating meanings and describing, finding the right words. This booklet is a collection of untranslatable words from various cultures and languages, combined with drawings to illustrate.
While reading it, I posted some examples in my progress. I described 'gezellig' (Dutch is my language) but there's another Dutch word in the book: Struisvogelpolitiek, 'Literally ostrich politics' or 'stick your head in the sand'. Acting like you don't notice when something bad happens and continuing on regardless, as you normally would....
Wonderfully wise book... highlight 2017!
For someone with a linguistic education background (me!), this is a very interesting and also fun book! I know all about the hardships of untranslatable words between languages. It's all about freely translating meanings and describing, finding the right words. This booklet is a collection of untranslatable words from various cultures and languages, combined with drawings to illustrate.
While reading it, I posted some examples in my progress. I described 'gezellig' (Dutch is my language) but there's another Dutch word in the book: Struisvogelpolitiek, 'Literally ostrich politics' or 'stick your head in the sand'. Acting like you don't notice when something bad happens and continuing on regardless, as you normally would....
Wonderfully wise book... highlight 2017!
December 28, 2018
GURFA (Arabic): The amount of water that can be held in one hand.
ah, the rich tapestry of language! i love the inspiration of compiling a book like this - it provides a fascinating, if superficial, look (let's call it a glance) at some of the values of different cultures and the experiences in life in distant lands - the things/feelings one part of the world has identified as necessary to communicate that other languages lack, the ineffable 'whatness' that makes up a zeitgeist. oh! like zeitgeist!
this book gives 52 examples of untranslatable words in languages like norwegian, swedish, dutch, greek, tagalog, hindi, icelandic, spanish, indonesian, yiddish, nguni bantu, farsi, korean, hawaiian, wagiman, urdu, hungarian, inuit, sanskrit, etc.
# of words i knew before reading this book = 1.
which means i just learned 51 things!
i enjoyed the artwork accompanying each word/definition, in some cases, actually preferring the illustration to the word, because - cats!
however, i think the impulse to supply the definitions in artistic cursive was a bad one, especially in those examples where the definition is superimposed on the image. between that and some of the color choices, it's sometimes hard to read, and even more so in these photos, so i will type the definitions out for you here, like a champ.
some of the examples are location-specific, and are 'untranslatable' because of the unlikelihood that certain regions would require an analogous word:
PORONKUSEMA (Finnish): The distance a reindeer can comfortably travel before taking a break.
the book assures us: this may seem like a very imprecise and rather unpredictable way to measure distance, but actually it's pretty widely acknowledged (in reindeer circles at least) that a poronkusema is around 4.7 miles/7.5 kilometers.
you have learned a fact!
but there are plenty of others that so perfectly capture universal human experiences, it's a shame that there's no english (for example) equivalent that also encapsulates the situation in a single word:
KOMOREBI (Japanese): The sunlight that filters through the leaves of the trees.
HIRAETH (Welsh): A homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.
RAZLIUBIT (Russian): To fall out of love, a bittersweet feeling.
FEUILLEMORT (French): Having the color of a faded, dying leaf.
SAUDADE (Portuguese): A vague, constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, a nostalgic longing for someone or something loved and then lost.
of course, the germans have the best ones because of their awesome legoland approach to language:
KUMMERSPECK: Literally meaning "grief-bacon," this word refers to the excess weight we can gain from emotional overeating.
DRACHENFUTTERL: literally, "dragon-fodder." the gift a husband gives his wife when he's trying to make up for bad behavior.
and i am DELIGHTED to learn that there are words out there in the world for things like:
PISAN ZAPRA (Malay): The time needed to eat a banana.
(and which is TWO words, cheater!)
and
KARELU (Tulu): The mark left on the skin by wearing something tight.
and for you booknerds:
COMMUOVERE (Italian): To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that moved you to tears.
but even more importantly:
TSUNDOKU (Japanese): Leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
that is such a perfect word, man. thanks, japan. for this and for all of your kit-kat flavors.
some other assorted favorites:
GLAS WEN (Welsh, and also two words):This literally means a "blue smile"; one that is sarcastic or mocking.
MAMIHLAPINATAPAI (Yaghan): A silent acknowledgement and understanding between two people, who are both wishing or thinking the same thing (and are both unwilling to initiate).
YA'ABURNEE (Arabic): Meaning "you bury me," a beautifully morbid declaration of one's hope that they will die before another person, as it would be too difficult living without them.
there are additional words for the following:
- the road-like reflection of the moon in the water.
-not being ready to spend time or money on a specific thing, despite being able to afford it.
-a joke so horrible and so unfunny that you cannot help but laugh.
-listening to directions and then walking off and promptly forgetting them.
-the act of searching for something in the water with only your feet.
-the indescribable euphoria experienced as you begin to fall in love.
-the peculiar itchiness that settles on the upper lip before taking a sip of whiskey. (scottish gaelic, natch)
and yet there's still no single word (that i'm aware of) for the act of staring into your closet hopefully, as though new and super-flattering clothes have magically appeared.
however, i swear i once knew a single french word that meant "to be about to collapse," but i can't for the life of me remember what it was, and it is not in this book, either. perhaps one of you cunning linguists know what i'm talking about?
at any rate - a fun book and a good prezzie for any word-nerds in your lives.
come to my blog!
ah, the rich tapestry of language! i love the inspiration of compiling a book like this - it provides a fascinating, if superficial, look (let's call it a glance) at some of the values of different cultures and the experiences in life in distant lands - the things/feelings one part of the world has identified as necessary to communicate that other languages lack, the ineffable 'whatness' that makes up a zeitgeist. oh! like zeitgeist!
this book gives 52 examples of untranslatable words in languages like norwegian, swedish, dutch, greek, tagalog, hindi, icelandic, spanish, indonesian, yiddish, nguni bantu, farsi, korean, hawaiian, wagiman, urdu, hungarian, inuit, sanskrit, etc.
# of words i knew before reading this book = 1.
which means i just learned 51 things!
i enjoyed the artwork accompanying each word/definition, in some cases, actually preferring the illustration to the word, because - cats!
however, i think the impulse to supply the definitions in artistic cursive was a bad one, especially in those examples where the definition is superimposed on the image. between that and some of the color choices, it's sometimes hard to read, and even more so in these photos, so i will type the definitions out for you here, like a champ.
some of the examples are location-specific, and are 'untranslatable' because of the unlikelihood that certain regions would require an analogous word:
PORONKUSEMA (Finnish): The distance a reindeer can comfortably travel before taking a break.
the book assures us: this may seem like a very imprecise and rather unpredictable way to measure distance, but actually it's pretty widely acknowledged (in reindeer circles at least) that a poronkusema is around 4.7 miles/7.5 kilometers.
you have learned a fact!
but there are plenty of others that so perfectly capture universal human experiences, it's a shame that there's no english (for example) equivalent that also encapsulates the situation in a single word:
KOMOREBI (Japanese): The sunlight that filters through the leaves of the trees.
HIRAETH (Welsh): A homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.
RAZLIUBIT (Russian): To fall out of love, a bittersweet feeling.
FEUILLEMORT (French): Having the color of a faded, dying leaf.
SAUDADE (Portuguese): A vague, constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, a nostalgic longing for someone or something loved and then lost.
of course, the germans have the best ones because of their awesome legoland approach to language:
KUMMERSPECK: Literally meaning "grief-bacon," this word refers to the excess weight we can gain from emotional overeating.
DRACHENFUTTERL: literally, "dragon-fodder." the gift a husband gives his wife when he's trying to make up for bad behavior.
and i am DELIGHTED to learn that there are words out there in the world for things like:
PISAN ZAPRA (Malay): The time needed to eat a banana.
(and which is TWO words, cheater!)
and
KARELU (Tulu): The mark left on the skin by wearing something tight.
and for you booknerds:
COMMUOVERE (Italian): To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that moved you to tears.
but even more importantly:
TSUNDOKU (Japanese): Leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
that is such a perfect word, man. thanks, japan. for this and for all of your kit-kat flavors.
some other assorted favorites:
GLAS WEN (Welsh, and also two words):This literally means a "blue smile"; one that is sarcastic or mocking.
MAMIHLAPINATAPAI (Yaghan): A silent acknowledgement and understanding between two people, who are both wishing or thinking the same thing (and are both unwilling to initiate).
YA'ABURNEE (Arabic): Meaning "you bury me," a beautifully morbid declaration of one's hope that they will die before another person, as it would be too difficult living without them.
there are additional words for the following:
- the road-like reflection of the moon in the water.
-not being ready to spend time or money on a specific thing, despite being able to afford it.
-a joke so horrible and so unfunny that you cannot help but laugh.
-listening to directions and then walking off and promptly forgetting them.
-the act of searching for something in the water with only your feet.
-the indescribable euphoria experienced as you begin to fall in love.
-the peculiar itchiness that settles on the upper lip before taking a sip of whiskey. (scottish gaelic, natch)
and yet there's still no single word (that i'm aware of) for the act of staring into your closet hopefully, as though new and super-flattering clothes have magically appeared.
however, i swear i once knew a single french word that meant "to be about to collapse," but i can't for the life of me remember what it was, and it is not in this book, either. perhaps one of you cunning linguists know what i'm talking about?
at any rate - a fun book and a good prezzie for any word-nerds in your lives.
come to my blog!
September 11, 2015
This is one of the prettiest books I've ever read/seen.
A dictionary of untranslatable words, this book beautifully and brilliantly brings together two elements: 1) it offers up super interesting words you never knew you wanted to be able to say in English, and 2) such gorgeous illustrations.
I loved flipping through this and learning about cultures that have special words for special quirks, words for things I've experienced but couldn't name. Definitely recommended!
A dictionary of untranslatable words, this book beautifully and brilliantly brings together two elements: 1) it offers up super interesting words you never knew you wanted to be able to say in English, and 2) such gorgeous illustrations.
I loved flipping through this and learning about cultures that have special words for special quirks, words for things I've experienced but couldn't name. Definitely recommended!
March 5, 2018
Lost in Translation is a slim volume of doodles with accompanying definitions of untranslatable words from many languages around the globe. It's a treat.
There are words for feelings that I'm certain everyone has experienced... we just lacked the language to describe it appropriately.
This book showed me how universal emotions and perceptions can be and the difficulty of capturing the indescribable in words.
But we've certainly given it a good try.
I liked the words that described fleeting moments of beauty in nature the most. All of the following are from Lost in Translation but the pages are un-numbered so you'll just have to trust me that they're in there:
Komorebi: (Japanese noun) The sunlight that filters through the leaves of the trees.
Waldeninsamkeit: (German noun) The feeling of being alone in the woods, an easy solitude and a connectedness to nature.
Mangata: (Swedish noun) The road-like reflection of the moon in the water.
And, finally, a word that perfectly describes one of my vices:
Tsundoku: (Japanese noun) Leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
I didn't realize that was actually a thing.
Ah, the joys of reading and cluttering up my house with tsundoku. :)
There are words for feelings that I'm certain everyone has experienced... we just lacked the language to describe it appropriately.
This book showed me how universal emotions and perceptions can be and the difficulty of capturing the indescribable in words.
But we've certainly given it a good try.
I liked the words that described fleeting moments of beauty in nature the most. All of the following are from Lost in Translation but the pages are un-numbered so you'll just have to trust me that they're in there:
Komorebi: (Japanese noun) The sunlight that filters through the leaves of the trees.
Waldeninsamkeit: (German noun) The feeling of being alone in the woods, an easy solitude and a connectedness to nature.
Mangata: (Swedish noun) The road-like reflection of the moon in the water.
And, finally, a word that perfectly describes one of my vices:
Tsundoku: (Japanese noun) Leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
I didn't realize that was actually a thing.
Ah, the joys of reading and cluttering up my house with tsundoku. :)
December 5, 2017
Wonderful book about language and the words we invent to convey meaning. My favorite word in this book: "Kabelsalat" - German for Cable Salad - the mass of wires that connect everything in our homes and offices.
December 28, 2016
“The words in this book may be answers to questions you didn’t even know to ask, and perhaps some you did. They might pinpoint emotions and experiences that seemed elusive and indescribable, or they may cause you to remember a person you’d long forgotten.”
After having read and loved The Illustrated Book of Sayings earlier this month, I was beyond ecstatic to pick this book up.
Lost in Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don’t have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions.
This book helped me find parts of myself and old memories that I'd unfortunately forgotten. And for that I'm beyond grateful.
“There may be some small essential gaps in your mother tongue, but never fear: you can look to other languages to define what you’re feeling, and these pages are your starting point.”
As always, I picked out the expressions that managed to explain and capture a lot of the moments I've had in the past but couldn't put into words.
Italian:
“v. To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that moved you to tears.”
Swedish:
“n. The road - like reflection of the moon in the water.”
Dutch:
“adj. Describes much more than just coziness - a positive warm emotion or feeling rather than just something physical - and connotes time spent with loved ones, togetherness.”
Welsh:
“n. This literally means a “blue smile”; one that is sarcastic or mocking.”
Malay:
“n. The time needed to eat a banana.”
Welsh:
“n. A homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.”
Icelandic:
“v. Not being ready to spend time or money on a specific thing, despite being able to afford ”
Russian:
“v. To fall out of love, a bittersweet feeling.”
Japanese:
“n. Gazing vacantly into the distance without really thinking about anything specific.”
Indonesian:
“n. This refers to a joke so terrible and so unfunny that you cannot help but laugh.”
The best kind of jokes!!
Yiddish:
“n. Someone who seems to have nothing but bad luck.”
This is one of my favorite words in Yiddish!! I try to use it daily.
Yiddish:
“n. A witty riposte or comeback you think of only when it is too late to use. Literally, “staircase words.”
Swedish:
“n. The restless beat of a traveler’s heart before the journey begins, a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.”
Farsi:
“n. The twinkle in your eye when you first meet someone.”
Wagiman:
“v. The act of searching for something in the water with only your feet.”
Hungarian:
“adj. When meeting someone for the first time, and your intuition tells you that they are a good person, you can refer to them as “szimpatikus.”
Inuit:
“n. The act of repeatedly going outside to keep checking if someone (anyone) is coming.”
YES! This was exactly what I’ve been looking for.
Yiddish:
“n. Refers to someone who is a bit of a dreamer and literally means “air person.”
Brazilian Portuguese:
“n. The act of tenderly running your fingers through the hair of somebody you love.”
Not only were the illustrations extremely gorgeous, but the expressions were exactly the ones I've been looking for. I'm so, so glad that books like this one exist.
“If you take something away from this book other than some brilliant conversation starters, let it be the realization (or affirmation) that you are human, that you are fundamentally, intrinsically bound to every single person on the planet with language and with feelings.”
And I'm really on the look-out for books similar to this one!!
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Lost in Translation, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
After having read and loved The Illustrated Book of Sayings earlier this month, I was beyond ecstatic to pick this book up.
Lost in Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don’t have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions.
This book helped me find parts of myself and old memories that I'd unfortunately forgotten. And for that I'm beyond grateful.
“There may be some small essential gaps in your mother tongue, but never fear: you can look to other languages to define what you’re feeling, and these pages are your starting point.”
As always, I picked out the expressions that managed to explain and capture a lot of the moments I've had in the past but couldn't put into words.
Italian:
“v. To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that moved you to tears.”
Swedish:
“n. The road - like reflection of the moon in the water.”
Dutch:
“adj. Describes much more than just coziness - a positive warm emotion or feeling rather than just something physical - and connotes time spent with loved ones, togetherness.”
Welsh:
“n. This literally means a “blue smile”; one that is sarcastic or mocking.”
Malay:
“n. The time needed to eat a banana.”
Welsh:
“n. A homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.”
Icelandic:
“v. Not being ready to spend time or money on a specific thing, despite being able to afford ”
Russian:
“v. To fall out of love, a bittersweet feeling.”
Japanese:
“n. Gazing vacantly into the distance without really thinking about anything specific.”
Indonesian:
“n. This refers to a joke so terrible and so unfunny that you cannot help but laugh.”
The best kind of jokes!!
Yiddish:
“n. Someone who seems to have nothing but bad luck.”
This is one of my favorite words in Yiddish!! I try to use it daily.
Yiddish:
“n. A witty riposte or comeback you think of only when it is too late to use. Literally, “staircase words.”
Swedish:
“n. The restless beat of a traveler’s heart before the journey begins, a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.”
Farsi:
“n. The twinkle in your eye when you first meet someone.”
Wagiman:
“v. The act of searching for something in the water with only your feet.”
Hungarian:
“adj. When meeting someone for the first time, and your intuition tells you that they are a good person, you can refer to them as “szimpatikus.”
Inuit:
“n. The act of repeatedly going outside to keep checking if someone (anyone) is coming.”
YES! This was exactly what I’ve been looking for.
Yiddish:
“n. Refers to someone who is a bit of a dreamer and literally means “air person.”
Brazilian Portuguese:
“n. The act of tenderly running your fingers through the hair of somebody you love.”
Not only were the illustrations extremely gorgeous, but the expressions were exactly the ones I've been looking for. I'm so, so glad that books like this one exist.
“If you take something away from this book other than some brilliant conversation starters, let it be the realization (or affirmation) that you are human, that you are fundamentally, intrinsically bound to every single person on the planet with language and with feelings.”
And I'm really on the look-out for books similar to this one!!
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Lost in Translation, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
This review and more can be found on my blog.
September 26, 2021
REVIEW OF THE KINDLE EDITION
So yes, while the general set-up of Ella Frances Sanders' 2014 Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World is most definitely and certainly much easier to read and as such also considerably less of a strain on the eyes (or at least on my ageing eyes) and therefore already format-wise exponentially better and massively superior to her, to Sanders��� oh so personally frustrating and annoying for me The Illustrated Book of Sayings, and although this was indeed a rather entertaining and diverting way to spend a half hour or so, there are still far far too many niggling little issues for me to consider more than a low three star rating at best for Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World (well, two and a half stars, actually).
Now I do not want to engage in a detailed linguistic analysis here (as this review space is not really the place for such an endeavour), but since Ella Frances Sanders always does indicate in Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World whether each of the presented, supposedly untranslatable into English foreign language words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs etc., she really in my humble opinion should also be listing the specific etymologies of said terms, as the historical development of words will of course often also show how specific meanings likely arose in the first place (for instance, with the very first example featured in Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World, with the Norwegian noun palegg, its etymology likely would suggest and indicated that it is based on the equally Norwegian verb legge, to lay, to place, as one as a rule lays, as one tends to place diverse foodstuffs on open-faced sandwiches, and I do thus rather majorly wish Ella Frances Sanders had indeed and in fact listed, had researched the specific linguistic and historical backgrounds of her inclusions, as these backgrounds are not only interesting in and of themselves, but that they will also often give much necessary information both linguistic and historical about words and their origins).
And furthermore, and finally, while for Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World the absence of listed, of consulted, read sources is really not all that much of an academic issue for me, not as much of a serious personal problem as it has been for The Illustrated Book of Sayings (since Ella Frances Sanders does not really ever provide all that much if any specific historical and linguistic details in Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World) I would nevertheless still most definitely have liked and wanted more than just the fifty untranslatable foreign language examples featured, and have actually found especially the presented supplemental explanatory details on many of the to and for me wholly unfamiliar words a bit frustratingly lacking on in scope and as such also a trifle too limited with regard to content and theme. Enjoyable, and most definitely much less annoyingly set up and presented than the author's, than Ella Frances Sanders’ The Illustrated Book of Sayings (as already mentioned above) but still more than a bit mundane and truly only scratching the proverbial linguistic and translation studies surface so to speak (and while indeed mildly recommended, Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World is still in no way in depth enough, with even the very beautiful and imaginatively rendered accompanying illustrations providing a to and for me sweet but ultimately rather unnecessary, even rather distracting decorative trim).
So yes, while the general set-up of Ella Frances Sanders' 2014 Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World is most definitely and certainly much easier to read and as such also considerably less of a strain on the eyes (or at least on my ageing eyes) and therefore already format-wise exponentially better and massively superior to her, to Sanders��� oh so personally frustrating and annoying for me The Illustrated Book of Sayings, and although this was indeed a rather entertaining and diverting way to spend a half hour or so, there are still far far too many niggling little issues for me to consider more than a low three star rating at best for Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World (well, two and a half stars, actually).
Now I do not want to engage in a detailed linguistic analysis here (as this review space is not really the place for such an endeavour), but since Ella Frances Sanders always does indicate in Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World whether each of the presented, supposedly untranslatable into English foreign language words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs etc., she really in my humble opinion should also be listing the specific etymologies of said terms, as the historical development of words will of course often also show how specific meanings likely arose in the first place (for instance, with the very first example featured in Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World, with the Norwegian noun palegg, its etymology likely would suggest and indicated that it is based on the equally Norwegian verb legge, to lay, to place, as one as a rule lays, as one tends to place diverse foodstuffs on open-faced sandwiches, and I do thus rather majorly wish Ella Frances Sanders had indeed and in fact listed, had researched the specific linguistic and historical backgrounds of her inclusions, as these backgrounds are not only interesting in and of themselves, but that they will also often give much necessary information both linguistic and historical about words and their origins).
And furthermore, and finally, while for Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World the absence of listed, of consulted, read sources is really not all that much of an academic issue for me, not as much of a serious personal problem as it has been for The Illustrated Book of Sayings (since Ella Frances Sanders does not really ever provide all that much if any specific historical and linguistic details in Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World) I would nevertheless still most definitely have liked and wanted more than just the fifty untranslatable foreign language examples featured, and have actually found especially the presented supplemental explanatory details on many of the to and for me wholly unfamiliar words a bit frustratingly lacking on in scope and as such also a trifle too limited with regard to content and theme. Enjoyable, and most definitely much less annoyingly set up and presented than the author's, than Ella Frances Sanders’ The Illustrated Book of Sayings (as already mentioned above) but still more than a bit mundane and truly only scratching the proverbial linguistic and translation studies surface so to speak (and while indeed mildly recommended, Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World is still in no way in depth enough, with even the very beautiful and imaginatively rendered accompanying illustrations providing a to and for me sweet but ultimately rather unnecessary, even rather distracting decorative trim).
December 26, 2018
In una sola parola
Un libro curioso, insolito, in cui vengono presentate 50 parole (illustrate dai disegni deliziosamente infantili dell’autrice) con cui nelle diverse lingue si esprimono – con un’unica parola – stati d’animo particolari, piccoli gesti quotidiani, o anche concetti che richiederebbero ampie descrizioni per essere comunicati.
La più famosa è SAUDADE (Portoghese): ”Desiderio vago, ma persistente di qualcosa che non c’è e probabilmente non esiste; nostalgia di qualcuno o qualcosa che si è amato e poi perduto”.
C’è una parola che ben descrive l’inizio della mia giornata, che incomincia ad ingranare solo dopo la terza tazzina di caffè, TRETÅR (Svedese): “Tår” è un caffè, “patår” il bis; con “tretår” s’intende un secondo bis, vale a dire un “tris di caffè”.
E ce n’è un’altra per comunicare una sensazione sempre più difficile da provare, WALDEINSAMKEIT (Tedesco): ”La sensazione di essere soli nel bosco, una piacevole solitudine a contatto con la natura”.
Un’altra ancora per esprimere qualcosa che io faccio forse troppo spesso, BOKETTO (Giapponese): ”Lasciar vagare lo sguardo in lontananza, senza pensare a niente”.
https://youtu.be/ISxskvJ9FwI
...e altre 46 parole, tutte da scoprire.
Dalla Prefazione:
Le parole di questo libro potrebbero rispondere a domande che non sapevate di voler porre, o magari ad alcune che avete già posto. Potrebbero identificare con precisione emozioni ed esperienze che apparivano vaghe e indescrivibili, o magari vi faranno ricordare una persona dimenticata da tempo. Se di questo libro vi rimarrà qualcosa in più, oltre ad alcuni spunti per una conversazione brillante, sarà la consapevolezza – o la conferma – che siete esseri umani, intrinsecamente legati a ogni singola persona sul pianeta attraverso la lingua e le emozioni.
Un libro curioso, insolito, in cui vengono presentate 50 parole (illustrate dai disegni deliziosamente infantili dell’autrice) con cui nelle diverse lingue si esprimono – con un’unica parola – stati d’animo particolari, piccoli gesti quotidiani, o anche concetti che richiederebbero ampie descrizioni per essere comunicati.
La più famosa è SAUDADE (Portoghese): ”Desiderio vago, ma persistente di qualcosa che non c’è e probabilmente non esiste; nostalgia di qualcuno o qualcosa che si è amato e poi perduto”.
C’è una parola che ben descrive l’inizio della mia giornata, che incomincia ad ingranare solo dopo la terza tazzina di caffè, TRETÅR (Svedese): “Tår” è un caffè, “patår” il bis; con “tretår” s’intende un secondo bis, vale a dire un “tris di caffè”.
E ce n’è un’altra per comunicare una sensazione sempre più difficile da provare, WALDEINSAMKEIT (Tedesco): ”La sensazione di essere soli nel bosco, una piacevole solitudine a contatto con la natura”.
Un’altra ancora per esprimere qualcosa che io faccio forse troppo spesso, BOKETTO (Giapponese): ”Lasciar vagare lo sguardo in lontananza, senza pensare a niente”.
https://youtu.be/ISxskvJ9FwI
...e altre 46 parole, tutte da scoprire.
Dalla Prefazione:
Le parole di questo libro potrebbero rispondere a domande che non sapevate di voler porre, o magari ad alcune che avete già posto. Potrebbero identificare con precisione emozioni ed esperienze che apparivano vaghe e indescrivibili, o magari vi faranno ricordare una persona dimenticata da tempo. Se di questo libro vi rimarrà qualcosa in più, oltre ad alcuni spunti per una conversazione brillante, sarà la consapevolezza – o la conferma – che siete esseri umani, intrinsecamente legati a ogni singola persona sul pianeta attraverso la lingua e le emozioni.
January 16, 2016
book #1 of 2016
Italian review @ frannie pan's dreamcatcher
I'll be honest: when I decided to buy and start this little book, I thought it was going to be a nice little something, a collection of weird and interesting words that I would have forgotten the minute after I read them but that it would have been fun to read, a pleasant and entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.
And it was. But it was also so much more.
I think my whole reading experience was influenced by a sentence the author wrote in her introduction to the compendium. If I hadn't... well, I would have probably dismissed this book as I was already doing when I first picked it up. Instead her words hit me straight in the chest and radically changed everything.
I mean.. can't you see it? It is SO goddamn true!
In our everyday life we're literally flooded with feelings and sensations or thoughts we cannot give a name to; and perhaps, in that moment, we're lead to believe that a word for that feeling/sensation/thought does not exist and if it doesn't exist it must mean we're the first ones who bumped into them. We're alone in our experience, there's nobody else who can understand us and whom we can talk to.
THAT'S A LIE.
It's a huge cruel illusion, because at the end of the day we're all humans and we're all made of the same stuff. Probably not every single person went through the same exact thing, but someone else out there has and they gave a name to it in their language and that can only mean we're not alone!
We're all connected to each other in ways that go beyond our limited understanding but words, languages, the ability itself of communicating are a complex but accessible tool that we were gifted and that should never stop astounding us.
This compendium is made of 52 words, in more known (Spanish, French..) as well as not so well known (arabian, swedish, ubuntu...) languages, that can't be translated into another language with just one word. It just isn't possible.
Each one is accompanied by a brief explanation of the context in which the word is used as well as a cute colorful drawing made by the author herself, which makes everything nicer and more pleasing to the eye.
I can already tell this is going to be one of the cutest and most particular books I'll read this year and I couldn't be happier about it!
Italian review @ frannie pan's dreamcatcher
I'll be honest: when I decided to buy and start this little book, I thought it was going to be a nice little something, a collection of weird and interesting words that I would have forgotten the minute after I read them but that it would have been fun to read, a pleasant and entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.
And it was. But it was also so much more.
I think my whole reading experience was influenced by a sentence the author wrote in her introduction to the compendium. If I hadn't... well, I would have probably dismissed this book as I was already doing when I first picked it up. Instead her words hit me straight in the chest and radically changed everything.
"If you take something from this book, other than some brilliant conversation starters, let it be the realization that you are human, that you are fundamentally, intrinsically bound to every single person on the planet with language and feelings. [...] As much as we like to differentiate ourselves, to feel like individuals and rave on expression and freedom and the experiences that are unique to each one of us, we're all made of the same stuff".
I mean.. can't you see it? It is SO goddamn true!
In our everyday life we're literally flooded with feelings and sensations or thoughts we cannot give a name to; and perhaps, in that moment, we're lead to believe that a word for that feeling/sensation/thought does not exist and if it doesn't exist it must mean we're the first ones who bumped into them. We're alone in our experience, there's nobody else who can understand us and whom we can talk to.
THAT'S A LIE.
It's a huge cruel illusion, because at the end of the day we're all humans and we're all made of the same stuff. Probably not every single person went through the same exact thing, but someone else out there has and they gave a name to it in their language and that can only mean we're not alone!
We're all connected to each other in ways that go beyond our limited understanding but words, languages, the ability itself of communicating are a complex but accessible tool that we were gifted and that should never stop astounding us.
This compendium is made of 52 words, in more known (Spanish, French..) as well as not so well known (arabian, swedish, ubuntu...) languages, that can't be translated into another language with just one word. It just isn't possible.
Each one is accompanied by a brief explanation of the context in which the word is used as well as a cute colorful drawing made by the author herself, which makes everything nicer and more pleasing to the eye.
I can already tell this is going to be one of the cutest and most particular books I'll read this year and I couldn't be happier about it!
June 24, 2015
Loved this, it was really fascinating. I wish it'd been longer though, I finished it in less than half an hour and was left wanting more. I'm sure there must be thousands of words in the world that are untranslatable in English, why only pick fifty?
The words that were showcased were interesting, some of them had rather beautiful and poignant meanings behind them, other words were a tad bonkers (like the word for how long it took to eat a banana, I kind of loved it though).
Loved the illustrations, they were funny and quirky.
Favourite words:
HIRAETH (noun, Welsh). A homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.
KOMOREBI (noun, Japanese). The sunlight that filters through the leaves of the trees.
YA’ABURNEE (noun, Arabic). Meaning “you bury me” a beautifully morbid declaration of one’s hope that they will die before another person, as it would be too difficult living without them.
The words that were showcased were interesting, some of them had rather beautiful and poignant meanings behind them, other words were a tad bonkers (like the word for how long it took to eat a banana, I kind of loved it though).
Loved the illustrations, they were funny and quirky.
Favourite words:
HIRAETH (noun, Welsh). A homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.
KOMOREBI (noun, Japanese). The sunlight that filters through the leaves of the trees.
YA’ABURNEE (noun, Arabic). Meaning “you bury me” a beautifully morbid declaration of one’s hope that they will die before another person, as it would be too difficult living without them.
February 1, 2019
Wunderschöne Idee, ganz viele tolle Wörter und richtig schöne Illustrationen.
February 21, 2017
I was lucky enough to be able to borrow Ella Frances Sanders' Lost in Translation, from my local library. I received a copy of Speaking in Tongues for Christmas, and loved it, so my hopes were high for her debut. (Yes, I clearly like reading books by this particular author out of their original publication order). Lost in Translation is a wonderful compendium of untranslateable words and phrases which have no equivalent in English.
Sanders' introduction to Lost in Translation is lovely; in thoughtful and well-written prose, the author highlights just how important different concepts are in cultures other than the British. She clearly has a passion for collecting rather obscure linguistic references, and is eager to share those important finds with her readers.
I would highly recommend Lost in Translation, as well as Speaking in Tongues. Whilst neither book is particularly literary, or very taxing, each entry, along with the wonderful illustrations which accompany it, is a real joy for the word nerds amongst us.
Below are a few of my favourite entries from Lost in Translation, which is undoubtedly a tome which I shall pick up many times in future.
- Gezellig (Dutch): essentially the Dutch version of hygge, a Danish trend which is everywhere at present.
- Pisan Zapra (Malay): the time needed to eat a banana.
- Hiraeth (Welsh): a homesickness for something or somewhere you cannot return to; the nostalgia for your past, or for something imagined.
- Boketto (Japanese): gazing vacantly into the distance without thinking of anything specific.
- Vacilando (Spanish): when the experience of travelling is more important than the destination.
- Tsundoku (Japanese): the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, and piling it up with other unread books.
- Naz (Urdu): the pride and assurance that comes from knowing that you are loved unconditionally.
- Cafone (Brazilian Portuguese): the act of running your fingers through the hair of somebody you love.
There have been glowing reviews about this gift book already, and I hardly need to add to them. Regardless, if you are looking for a thoughtful gift, or merely want to treat yourself, I would look no further.
Sanders' introduction to Lost in Translation is lovely; in thoughtful and well-written prose, the author highlights just how important different concepts are in cultures other than the British. She clearly has a passion for collecting rather obscure linguistic references, and is eager to share those important finds with her readers.
I would highly recommend Lost in Translation, as well as Speaking in Tongues. Whilst neither book is particularly literary, or very taxing, each entry, along with the wonderful illustrations which accompany it, is a real joy for the word nerds amongst us.
Below are a few of my favourite entries from Lost in Translation, which is undoubtedly a tome which I shall pick up many times in future.
- Gezellig (Dutch): essentially the Dutch version of hygge, a Danish trend which is everywhere at present.
- Pisan Zapra (Malay): the time needed to eat a banana.
- Hiraeth (Welsh): a homesickness for something or somewhere you cannot return to; the nostalgia for your past, or for something imagined.
- Boketto (Japanese): gazing vacantly into the distance without thinking of anything specific.
- Vacilando (Spanish): when the experience of travelling is more important than the destination.
- Tsundoku (Japanese): the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, and piling it up with other unread books.
- Naz (Urdu): the pride and assurance that comes from knowing that you are loved unconditionally.
- Cafone (Brazilian Portuguese): the act of running your fingers through the hair of somebody you love.
There have been glowing reviews about this gift book already, and I hardly need to add to them. Regardless, if you are looking for a thoughtful gift, or merely want to treat yourself, I would look no further.
October 2, 2016
A charming little book with some delightful words and wistful illustrations. It was tough to pick out my favorites, but here they are (only the last image in this review is actually from the book):
HIRAETH
Welsh noun meaning a homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.
WABI-SABI
Japanese noun meaning finding beauty in the imperfections, an acceptance of the cycle of life and death.
YA'ABURNEE
Arabic noun meaning "you bury me", a beautifully morbid declaration of one's hope that they will die before another person, as it would be too difficult living without them.
TSUNDOKU
Japanese noun meaning leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
HIRAETH
Welsh noun meaning a homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.
WABI-SABI
Japanese noun meaning finding beauty in the imperfections, an acceptance of the cycle of life and death.
YA'ABURNEE
Arabic noun meaning "you bury me", a beautifully morbid declaration of one's hope that they will die before another person, as it would be too difficult living without them.
TSUNDOKU
Japanese noun meaning leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
February 7, 2018
What a delight this book is, hitting all the right notes for the mind, emotions and eyes! Lovely watercolor illustrations of 53 words from languages around the world that do not have an equivalent word in English. Of course, we can communicate the meaning of the word in English, but not with just a single word. A few favorites:
MERAKI adj. Pouring yourself wholeheartedly into something, such as cooking, and doing so with soul, creativity and love. From Greek. It is not a surprise that Greeks have a word for this - a word to live by!
BOKETO n. Gazing vacantly into the distance without really thinking about anything specific. From Japanese, a culture that it is also not a surprise that they have a word for this. Something I love to do!
COMMUOVERE v. To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that moved you to tears. From Italian. Like what happened to me after listening to News of the World recently!
Lastly, here's one I know a few of you here on GR will relate to:
TSUNDOKU n. Leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books. Also Japanese. I laughed out loud when I saw this, wishing we had an English word for this! :)
This little gem made me want to look for a more comprehensive book of words that don't translate to English. It also made me wonder if we have words in English that don't translate to a single word in some other languages.
This would make a great gift for your word-loving friends.
MERAKI adj. Pouring yourself wholeheartedly into something, such as cooking, and doing so with soul, creativity and love. From Greek. It is not a surprise that Greeks have a word for this - a word to live by!
BOKETO n. Gazing vacantly into the distance without really thinking about anything specific. From Japanese, a culture that it is also not a surprise that they have a word for this. Something I love to do!
COMMUOVERE v. To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that moved you to tears. From Italian. Like what happened to me after listening to News of the World recently!
Lastly, here's one I know a few of you here on GR will relate to:
TSUNDOKU n. Leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books. Also Japanese. I laughed out loud when I saw this, wishing we had an English word for this! :)
This little gem made me want to look for a more comprehensive book of words that don't translate to English. It also made me wonder if we have words in English that don't translate to a single word in some other languages.
This would make a great gift for your word-loving friends.
November 26, 2014
I received a digital ARC for review.
I love this type of book. Between the covers of this book are words in other languages that are not easily translatable. Unlike most introductions, this one is poetic in and of itself and well worth the read. The illustrations are dreamlike and haunting in a way.
Just a couple of gripes:
1. I would have preferred the WORD first before the translation. In my digital copy, I had to read the definition and origin first, and then see the word. I'm guessing they are side by side in the book. However, I still would prefer the word above the definition in large font - even if it is repeated on the artwork page.
2. The font is a bit aggravating and difficult to read at times.
3. When the origin language is written, there were many times I had no idea where that language was from. It would have been great to have the language and some way of indicating WHERE the language was spoken - a map, a country name, etc.
4. I would love a pronunciation available so I can use the word sometimes for myself.
I would love to have this as a coffee table book for conversation or to peruse again and again.
I love this type of book. Between the covers of this book are words in other languages that are not easily translatable. Unlike most introductions, this one is poetic in and of itself and well worth the read. The illustrations are dreamlike and haunting in a way.
Just a couple of gripes:
1. I would have preferred the WORD first before the translation. In my digital copy, I had to read the definition and origin first, and then see the word. I'm guessing they are side by side in the book. However, I still would prefer the word above the definition in large font - even if it is repeated on the artwork page.
2. The font is a bit aggravating and difficult to read at times.
3. When the origin language is written, there were many times I had no idea where that language was from. It would have been great to have the language and some way of indicating WHERE the language was spoken - a map, a country name, etc.
4. I would love a pronunciation available so I can use the word sometimes for myself.
I would love to have this as a coffee table book for conversation or to peruse again and again.
November 5, 2015
I loved this one, I'd give it 4.5 stars.
Having studied languages, I thought it was so fascinating to read a small collection of words which are untranslatable in English (and in most of other languages too).
Some words were dreamy, others made me smile and other words gave me a warm feel.
I totally recommend this book to everyone who loves languages, beautiful illustrations and is just passionate about this subject. It would even made a very nice gift.
Some of my favorite words.
Gezellig: Dutch adj. Describes much more than just coziness - a positive warm emotion or feeling rather than just something physical - and connotes time spent with loved ones, togetherness.
Hiraeth: Welsh n. A homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.
Goya: Urdu n. A transporting suspension of disbelief - an "as-if" that feels like reality - such as in good storytelling.
Having studied languages, I thought it was so fascinating to read a small collection of words which are untranslatable in English (and in most of other languages too).
Some words were dreamy, others made me smile and other words gave me a warm feel.
I totally recommend this book to everyone who loves languages, beautiful illustrations and is just passionate about this subject. It would even made a very nice gift.
Some of my favorite words.
Gezellig: Dutch adj. Describes much more than just coziness - a positive warm emotion or feeling rather than just something physical - and connotes time spent with loved ones, togetherness.
Hiraeth: Welsh n. A homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to, the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.
Goya: Urdu n. A transporting suspension of disbelief - an "as-if" that feels like reality - such as in good storytelling.
June 10, 2017
BEAUUUUTIFUL book! Only heart eye emojis can do justice to describe the illustrations for each of these words.
Also, my all time favourite word "Jugaad" made it to the list.
Here are my new favourites, which I might start using now. :3
BOKETTO (Noun, Japanese)
Gazing vacantly into the distance without really thinking about anything specific.
IKTSUARPOK (Noun, Inuit)
The act of repeatedly going outside to keep checking if someone (anyone) is coming.
WALDEINSAMKEIT (Noun, German)
The feeling of being alone in the woods, an easy solitude and a connected-ness to nature.
TREPVERTER (Noun, Yiddish)
A witty riposte or comeback you think of only when it is too late to use. Literally, “staircase words.”
Also, my all time favourite word "Jugaad" made it to the list.
Here are my new favourites, which I might start using now. :3
BOKETTO (Noun, Japanese)
Gazing vacantly into the distance without really thinking about anything specific.
IKTSUARPOK (Noun, Inuit)
The act of repeatedly going outside to keep checking if someone (anyone) is coming.
WALDEINSAMKEIT (Noun, German)
The feeling of being alone in the woods, an easy solitude and a connected-ness to nature.
TREPVERTER (Noun, Yiddish)
A witty riposte or comeback you think of only when it is too late to use. Literally, “staircase words.”
Read
July 6, 2022I have always considered a translation to be bad when it is clearer and more intelligible than the original . This proves that the translator did not know to keep the ambiguities, that he cut with the ax what had to be cut with the scalpel. And that is a crime.
October 6, 2014
Simply fascinating! This book made me think about all the countries I want to visit and all the languages I want to learn. I recommend Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World for those who love words and foreign cultures.
Some of my favorite discoveries:
Gezellig (Dutch)
Describes much more than just coziness – a positive warm emotion or feeling rather than just something physical – and connotes time spent with loved ones, togetherness.
Meraki (Greek)
Pouring yourself wholeheartedly into something, such as cooking, and doing so with soul, creativity and love.
Trepverter (Yiddish)
A witty riposte or comeback you think of only when it is too late to use. Literally, “staircase words.”
Wabi-Sabi (Japanese)
Finding beauty in the imperfections, an acceptance of the cycle of life and death.
*ARC provided by Ten Speed Press via NetGalley.*
Some of my favorite discoveries:
Gezellig (Dutch)
Describes much more than just coziness – a positive warm emotion or feeling rather than just something physical – and connotes time spent with loved ones, togetherness.
Meraki (Greek)
Pouring yourself wholeheartedly into something, such as cooking, and doing so with soul, creativity and love.
Trepverter (Yiddish)
A witty riposte or comeback you think of only when it is too late to use. Literally, “staircase words.”
Wabi-Sabi (Japanese)
Finding beauty in the imperfections, an acceptance of the cycle of life and death.
*ARC provided by Ten Speed Press via NetGalley.*
January 28, 2015
This is a great book to gift to a person who loves words, and consequently, to book lovers. Actually, I see this book more as a souvenir than as a book someone would buy for themselves.
The graphic composition of the book is very pleasing to the eye. The illustrations are simple yet well-thought.
Throughout it there are words from a lot of different languages, words that I never imagined existed, both in concept and as a word itself.
What I didn’t like that much about it was the lack of organization. The words follow without any logical order – they aren’t categorized by language, theme or anything for that matter.
With that being said, I think this is the kind of book you offer someone who you don’t know well enough to be sure of their literary taste, but who you know will always like to receive a book.
A complete post can be found at my review blog at http://passarinhoreads.wordpress.com/...
The graphic composition of the book is very pleasing to the eye. The illustrations are simple yet well-thought.
Throughout it there are words from a lot of different languages, words that I never imagined existed, both in concept and as a word itself.
What I didn’t like that much about it was the lack of organization. The words follow without any logical order – they aren’t categorized by language, theme or anything for that matter.
With that being said, I think this is the kind of book you offer someone who you don’t know well enough to be sure of their literary taste, but who you know will always like to receive a book.
A complete post can be found at my review blog at http://passarinhoreads.wordpress.com/...
September 7, 2017
The illustrations are sometimes charming but they're all of a similar style. To me, the main reason to visit this book is for the words. Almost all of them are nouns--very few adjectives or verbs, interestingly-- for which there is no equivalent in English.
Gurfa (noun), Arabic-- The amount of water that can be held in one hand.
Pisanzapra (noun), Malay-- The time needed to eat a banana.
Komorebi (noun), Japanese-- The sunlight that filters through the leaves of tree.
Poronkusema (noun), Finnish-- The distance a reindeer can comfortably travel before taking a break.
Murr-ma (verb), Wagiman (a nearly extinct Australian language)-- The act of searching for something in the water with only your feet.
Tretar (noun), Swedish-- Your third cup of coffee, or more precisely, your second refill.
Tsundoku (noun), Japanese-- Books obtained but never read, typically piled up together with other unread books.
Gurfa (noun), Arabic-- The amount of water that can be held in one hand.
Pisanzapra (noun), Malay-- The time needed to eat a banana.
Komorebi (noun), Japanese-- The sunlight that filters through the leaves of tree.
Poronkusema (noun), Finnish-- The distance a reindeer can comfortably travel before taking a break.
Murr-ma (verb), Wagiman (a nearly extinct Australian language)-- The act of searching for something in the water with only your feet.
Tretar (noun), Swedish-- Your third cup of coffee, or more precisely, your second refill.
Tsundoku (noun), Japanese-- Books obtained but never read, typically piled up together with other unread books.
November 21, 2018
Lovely and charming. I always want more of these kinds of words in my life. The illustrations and hand-lettering are also really delightful.
Some favorites:
-Pizanzapra (Malay) n. The time needed to eat a banana.
-Tsundoku (Japanese) n. Leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
-Murr-ma (Wagiman) v. The act of searching for something in the water with only your feet.
-Tíma (Icelandic) v. Not being ready to spend time or money on a specific thing, despite being able to afford it.
-Gurfa (Arabic) n. The amount of water that can be held in one hand.
-Tretår (Swedish) n. On its own, "tår" means a cup of coffee and "patår" is the refill of said coffee. A "tretår" is therefore a second refill, or a "threefill."
Some favorites:
-Pizanzapra (Malay) n. The time needed to eat a banana.
-Tsundoku (Japanese) n. Leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
-Murr-ma (Wagiman) v. The act of searching for something in the water with only your feet.
-Tíma (Icelandic) v. Not being ready to spend time or money on a specific thing, despite being able to afford it.
-Gurfa (Arabic) n. The amount of water that can be held in one hand.
-Tretår (Swedish) n. On its own, "tår" means a cup of coffee and "patår" is the refill of said coffee. A "tretår" is therefore a second refill, or a "threefill."
August 15, 2018
Un libro interesante y curioso, perfecto para los amantes de las palabras, con una edición cuidada y bonita que estoy segura de que os cautivará tanto como a mí.
Reseña completa: http://paseandoentrepaginas.blogspot....
Reseña completa: http://paseandoentrepaginas.blogspot....
June 4, 2020
A beautiful compendium, and I'm glad it didn't make it to my Tsundoku :) This book felt like Komorebi in my personal collection, and it's definitely one that I will keep going back to, again and again. Fills me with Boketto!
September 9, 2021
If you take something away from this book other than some brilliant conversation starters, let it be the realisation (or affirmation) that you are human, that you are fundamentally, intrinsically bound to every single person on the planet with language and feelings. — Ella Frances Sanders
The idea explored in Lost in Translation is one of my favourites. That in which English as dominant as it is has failings, it has feelings, moments that it cannot describe. Okay, English is actually a poor language despite everything. There are some beautifully poetic entries in here nearly all of them are positive on some level, or at least bittersweet. There are words like feminicidio, Bolivia (specifically LePaz) that means a homicide where a woman is targeted and killed for being a woman, usually by a partner, but nothing that negative will be included (I just like that word). The format is effective. The right-hand page is the word, the definition and associated artwork. The left-hand page is a sold colour with a short piece of commentary and the language of origin. The matching artworks are so pretty some are better than others, yes but they are wonderful and varied. All do fit their associated words well.
Some of my favourite entries
• Commuovere — Italian v. To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that moved you to tears.
• Hiraeth — Welsh n. A homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to the nostalgia and the grief for the lost places of your past, places that never were.
• Ya'Aburnee — Arabic n. Meaning "you bury me", a beautifully morbid declaration of one's hope that they will die before another person, as it would be too difficult living without them.
• Drachenfutter — German n. Literally, "dragon-fodder". The gift husband gives his wife when he's trying to make up for bad behaviour.
• Tsundoku — Japamese n. Leaving a book unread after being it, typically piled up together with other unread books.
• Kalpa — Sanskrit n. The passing of time on a grand cosmological scale.
If I have any criticism about this book it's the font and style used for the definitions. The definitions are on the same page as the artwork can be quite hard to read. It's slightly wobbly, almost cursive writing in white with a black outline it has poor contrast and not fantastic legibility. On some of the art, it is definitely more problematic than others and I do like the idea of the more natural font style over a formal or clearly typed one. I'm wondering if this could have been improved by the font being just a little bigger or the weight of the outline a little less.
Read for Autumn Readathon by Lilium 2021. Filling the prompt: "Warm Mug: a book you'd read in the mornings of autumn with your coffee and banana pancakes"
This is the perfect book to read in the morning, bright, colourful and easy to dip into and out of. I found it was a good way to wake up if language is your thing too because it is thought provoking. I might add another for this prompt later.
A representative gif:
January 6, 2017
Otro libro que se va directo a la estantería de "libros-botiquín". La edición es muy muy bonita, de las que esperas que te duren toda la vida. El interior es aún mejor. Es curioso ver la cantidad de palabras que desconocemos y que inventamos para hablar de sensaciones, de acciones, de sentimientos. Palabras y definiciones que lees mientras piensas: sí, sé de lo que hablas...
Un libro que puedes retomar cuantas veces quieras y disfrutar como la primera vez.
Un libro que puedes retomar cuantas veces quieras y disfrutar como la primera vez.
November 24, 2016
Hmm, Good collection of words that made a hole in my wallet! Is there a word for it?
May 22, 2017
When I read Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages, I ended up disappointed because I thought it would be more definite than it was. I guess I was thinking that the world MUST look different in other languages and that particular book was rather ambivalent about it.
But this book just makes me think even more that language must shape world view. I mean, if you grow up in a culture whose language needs a word for how long it takes to eat a banana, surely you must necessarily have a different outlook on life from someone whose language needs a whole sentence to express that thought? It's not so much the words themselves, but more that fact that the language and culture has brought them into being.
This book takes just over 50 words from non-English languages that cannot be translated directly into English and explains their meaning to you. As a whisky drinker, I could particularly relate to "sgriob" which is Gaelic for the "peculiar itchiness that settles on the upper lip before taking a sip of whisky".
It's a bit like products from Apple: a whole load of words that you didn't know you needed until someone told you they exist. Some of them are funny, some of them are thought-provoking. Some of them are beautiful. All of them are fascinating.
It will only take you 20 minutes to read, but it will make you think about things for a lot longer than that. And the pictures make it good to look at, too.
But this book just makes me think even more that language must shape world view. I mean, if you grow up in a culture whose language needs a word for how long it takes to eat a banana, surely you must necessarily have a different outlook on life from someone whose language needs a whole sentence to express that thought? It's not so much the words themselves, but more that fact that the language and culture has brought them into being.
This book takes just over 50 words from non-English languages that cannot be translated directly into English and explains their meaning to you. As a whisky drinker, I could particularly relate to "sgriob" which is Gaelic for the "peculiar itchiness that settles on the upper lip before taking a sip of whisky".
It's a bit like products from Apple: a whole load of words that you didn't know you needed until someone told you they exist. Some of them are funny, some of them are thought-provoking. Some of them are beautiful. All of them are fascinating.
It will only take you 20 minutes to read, but it will make you think about things for a lot longer than that. And the pictures make it good to look at, too.
October 23, 2018
El ser humano es el único capaz de usar las palabras para expresar emociones, y pocas capacidades hay tan intrínsecas y ligadas al ser humano que el habla. Este delicioso compendio de palabras intraducibles es la encarnación de este concepto llevado a la enésima potencia.
Por desgracia para nosotros, los apasionados de las lenguas, poner un sentimiento en palabras es casi tan complicado como demostrarlo y muchas veces no sabemos describir dichas emociones o, simplemente, las situaciones y sensaciones que se dan en el día a día. ¿Cómo llamarías a las mariposas que revolotean en tu estómago cuando estás enamorado? ¿Cómo llamarías al caminito que crea la luz de la luna al reflejarse en el agua nocturna? ¿Es posible expresar esa sensación que tienes cuando conoces a alguien que sabes que será importante en tu vida? ¿Cómo describirías ese destello que aparece en tus ojos al conocer a alguien maravilloso? ¿Y a esos momentos en que ninguno de los dos dice nada, pero sabéis que compartís sentimientos y pensamientos aun sin poder expresarlos?
Lost in Translation es la respuesta a todas estas preguntas y más. Es fascinante ver cómo los distintos países afrontan algunos conceptos propios de su cultura (como la consumición de una tercera taza de café o aquello con lo que untan las rebanadas de pan) u otros profundamente humanos. Gracias a este librito tan cuco -lleno de coloridos y muy acertados dibujos- he aprendido muchas palabras que estoy deseoso de usar en mi día a día y por fin he encontrado la solución a esa palabra que no encuentro cuando estoy letológico.
Por desgracia para nosotros, los apasionados de las lenguas, poner un sentimiento en palabras es casi tan complicado como demostrarlo y muchas veces no sabemos describir dichas emociones o, simplemente, las situaciones y sensaciones que se dan en el día a día. ¿Cómo llamarías a las mariposas que revolotean en tu estómago cuando estás enamorado? ¿Cómo llamarías al caminito que crea la luz de la luna al reflejarse en el agua nocturna? ¿Es posible expresar esa sensación que tienes cuando conoces a alguien que sabes que será importante en tu vida? ¿Cómo describirías ese destello que aparece en tus ojos al conocer a alguien maravilloso? ¿Y a esos momentos en que ninguno de los dos dice nada, pero sabéis que compartís sentimientos y pensamientos aun sin poder expresarlos?
Lost in Translation es la respuesta a todas estas preguntas y más. Es fascinante ver cómo los distintos países afrontan algunos conceptos propios de su cultura (como la consumición de una tercera taza de café o aquello con lo que untan las rebanadas de pan) u otros profundamente humanos. Gracias a este librito tan cuco -lleno de coloridos y muy acertados dibujos- he aprendido muchas palabras que estoy deseoso de usar en mi día a día y por fin he encontrado la solución a esa palabra que no encuentro cuando estoy letológico.
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