like.... I've heard of a word in Finnish which means The edge of the ice.
2007-08-13 21:13:11 · 19 answers · asked by zoeksalamander 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
"Lagom".
It's Swedish, and pretty much translates as
"a sufficient amount for one's own benefit, but not so much as to be of detriment to sufficing the needs of the other members of the group".
So there - that's easily more than three words in English, eh?
The vikings are said to have come up with it. It describes the way they used to be drinking from the cup of wine they were passing around the table.
2007-08-13 21:30:29 · answer #1 · answered by Tahini Classic 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Yes, for sure. For example, Turkish word "Fransızmış" means "He's been said to be French". It's a whole sentence.
Finnish is close to Turkish and both are very different from English in that both languages add suffixes to the verbs for pronoun, tense, etc. English and most Indo-European languages, though, have functional words or overt pronouns that do the same.
2007-08-13 23:39:45 · answer #2 · answered by Earthling 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The above "schadenfreude" is a great example of the foreign word being more convenient than a translated phrase!
A funny one is "o-batarian" from Japanese which combines the English "battalion" and "aunt" and means "generally obnoxious middle-aged woman"!
One Scandinavian language (I forgot which!) has a word "lagom" which doesn't exist at all in English and needs a full sentence to explain it!
2007-08-13 21:37:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
So far I like your "edge of ice" best. There's always the German word - schadenfreude - which actually has been adopted into the English language, which roughly means getting pleasure from someone else's humiliation or suffering.
2007-08-13 21:25:45 · answer #4 · answered by Special K 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Perversely, as a native English speaker there are many words that are difficult to translate into proper English without using many words.
These are generally called 'Management Speak', I suspect that it would take me a paragraph to successfully translate that phrase...
2007-08-13 21:21:15 · answer #5 · answered by Pat 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
There are words in Greek that you need sentences in English to translate.
2007-08-13 21:19:24 · answer #6 · answered by Kimon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lithuanian. Spyruokle - spring, mainspring; Apranga- outfit tog rig clothing munition gear toggery rig-out habiliment get-up equipment rigging turnout ;Apraudoti -mourn keen bemoan bewail lament wail ;Eiles - number line strain;Eilerastis -verse song poem line poesy piece;Ikvepimas - breath inspiration afflatus inhalation whiff infusion aspiration;Jura - sea water deep mare tide billow foam blue drink wave briny; Tikslas - point purpose objective aim end intent intention turn goal destination purport bourn object effect idea terminus ambition, etc..., etc..., etc.....
2007-08-13 22:37:46 · answer #7 · answered by Alina M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hiraeth (Welsh)..it hasn't got an exact English translation.
The nearest is 'longing or home-sickness' but these don't convey the meaning properly.
2007-08-13 21:31:12 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän [………]
thats german and means: the captain of a shipping company on the river Danube
2007-08-13 22:05:15 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gidday Mate, yes we have quite a few words like that here in Australia.
An example that springs to mind is : "didyabringacanalong"?
This would translate to "Did you happen to bring a can of beer with you"?
Another goodie is "canyabringabarraback"?
This means "Could you please return my wheelbarrow"?
Isn't language a wonderful thing...
2007-08-13 21:25:33 · answer #10 · answered by Ozzie 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋