[Closed] Interesting words/terms from other languages

In Spanish there's no word for a billion, so they just say a thousand million.

In Mandarin there's a word for "?".

German for glove is Handschuh... as in hand-shoe!!

German is a mine of great words that don't translate well to English.

In Mandarin there's a word for "?".

In Cantonese you put a 'ma' on the end of the spoken sentence to indicate '?'. I think its similar thing done in a lot of asian languages.

There are no swear words in Gaelic.

welshfarmer - I was recently told of the welsh word for girl bits - no that does not translate well!

In Portuguese there's a word which describes the mixed feeling of pride and nostagilic sadness felt when looking out to sea.

Unsure how to spell it but it's pronounced along the lines if 'so-daa-day'

In Mandarin there's a word for "?".

There is in English too - "huh?" 🙂

Our French teacher told us that there's a word for the gap between a bed and a wall down which you lose stuff.

The Irish for water is Uisce ([i]Ish-keh[/i]) and for Whiskey is Uisce Beatha ([i]Ish-keh Ba-ha[/i]); literally "water of life". The english word Whisk(e)y comes from this translation.

There is in English too - "huh?"

Then why add the "?"

The Canadian interrogative is 'eh?'. As in, 'That moose was huge, eh?'

In Portuguese the really rude word for a lady's front bottom is kona

Think I got it off this forum but we really need to start using

oppholdsvær

Basically means - Its not raining at this moment (but will soon !!!)

In Spanish there's no word for a billion, so they just say a thousand million.

Yes there is: "millardo". http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=Millardo

There's also: http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=billon It's the same as what was previously used in British as a billion, i.e. a million million. It's also slowly changing to mean the same as the US billion.

Then why add the "?"

Because you put ?s on all sentences (or fragments) that are questions even if they have question words in them - like what, why etc.

Hungarians have an excellent generic swear word "Baszd meg!" that gets used for everything.

Microwave in welsh: 'popty ping'

In Irish "Fear Gorm" is the term used to describe a black man. It translates literally as "Blue Man". Wikipedia claims this is because the term "Fear Dubh" ( black man) was already used to describe Satan or Lucifer.

I prefer the explanation that Irish merchants were trading with certain African tribes who painted their faces blue, and Fear Gorm became the generic term for people from Africa.

Because you put ?s on all sentences (or fragments) that are questions even if they have question words in them - like what, why etc.

Yes Mol, I realise this thanks. So, ok then, huh doesn't mean "?" as there's a difference between "Huh?" and "Huh!"

In Irish "Fear Gorm" is the term used to describe a black man.

LOL! I'd forgotten that one.

There is no Latin word for Space Station. Fact.

There is no Latin word for Space Station. Fact.

In Irish "Fear Gorm" is the term used to describe a black man. It translates literally as "Blue Man".

So, ok then, huh doesn't mean "?" as there's a difference between "Huh?" and "Huh!"

One word can mean two things, no?

Anyway it's a bit of a grey area really, as to wether or not huh is in fact a word.

There is however a welsh word for Ambulance. Coincidentally, it sounds very similar to the English word. 🙂

Going to Poland for the first time, I looked at the magazines in the airport on the way out and was shocked to see some cute puppies on the front cover with the title "Pies"... I like a good pie but a puppy pie might be too much! Of course, it turns out a dog in Polish is Pies (pee-es), phew!

From wiki - a non lexical vocable

Research has shown that the word/syllable "Huh" is perhaps the most recognized syllable throughout the world, including variations of "mama" and "papa."[3] It is an interrogative. This crosses geography, language, cultures and nationalities.[4] See Huh Wiktionary.

Huh.

Re ambulance:

The term ambulance comes from the Latin word "ambulare" as meaning "to walk or move about"

So like many of these words, the Welsh is not borrowing from English so much as they are both borrowing from Latin.

There is however a welsh word for Ambulance. Coincidentally, it sounds very similar to the English word.

I always think it sounds like a they let a cute child name an ambulance in Wales... "ambiwlans"

no?

😀

Yes, mol, it can. And thanks again for some elementary lessons. But "huh" doesn't mean "?" It is an exclamation, the meaning of which is clarified with further punctuation or context. So, for me, it doesn't mean "?"

Anyway, enough derailment for me...

I see poppy ping has raised its head again.
No Welsh speaker has ever used popty ping.
We use an old Saxon word -"Microwave"

Was sitting next to a window over looking a carpark. The (super straight) french guy next to me said 'Nice titties' - I looked out that there were 2 Audi TT's parked up. We wet ourselves - he was bemused.

Ulster Scots (dialect not a language though some beg to differ) has some classics. For example, "Dafty Weans" is the charming term for disabled children.

Bizi-alargun. Basque for 'divorcee', literally 'life widow'.

There are some pretty cool ones in Basque, not least 'hotz' which means, as you might have guessed, 'cold'.

Durchfall

is Diarrhoea in german, it literally means 'fall through'

that always made me chuckle

Phonetically, "in bed poopa" is Dutch for "sh!t the bed".

Good one Samukin, we got the same word in Danish.

Støvsuger Dust sucker vacum cleaner in Danish.
Sygehus Sick house Hospital in Danish

And in Danish Gift means both Poison and Married

L'esprit de l'escalier - the wit of the staircase; when you think of the perfect retort much later.

A finish friend told me about Takatalvi; the feeling when you think winter is over, then it snows again.

What the British call a 'woolly hat' or a 'bobble hat' is in Canada called a 'tuque' (variably spelt 'touque' or 'toque').

I still use it, as I love the sound of it.

Wikipedia informs us that...

The word toque is from Middle Breton, the language spoken by Breton immigrants at the founding of New France. In Modern Breton, it is spelled "tok", and it just means hat. In Old Breton, it was spelled "toc".

The tuque is similar to the Phrygian cap, and, as such, during the 1837 Patriotes Rebellion, a red tuque became a symbol of French-Canadian nationalism. The symbol was revived briefly by the Front de libération du Québec in the 1960s.[6] It is considered outerwear and is not commonly worn indoors.

The word tuque is etymologically related to the name of the chef's toque, an alternate spelling. Also occasionally spelled touque, although the latter is not considered a standard spelling by the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.[7][8]

In Finnish "Sissi" is special army unit well trained to work behind enemy lines in small groups and practice sabotage, reconnaissance etc. Doesn't sound very scary!

In Spanish the word for Wife and Handcuffs is the same: Esposa/Esposas!

Some might say apt!!

the opposite is sometimes as daft as our literal translations - the french decided that 'Le Corner Kick' is too anglicised and officially call it 'un coup de pied au coin' - LIT - a hit with the foot in the corner.

There are no swear words in Gaelic.

"Sitting on the Fence" in French translates to "Being both sides of the bridge"

With my French sailing friends we used the following (small minds I know). The "jib" is called a "foc", so instead of "trim" and "ease" we used to say foc-on and foc-off 🙂

The French use food terms for many things, always amuses me that calling someone a cabbage is a term of endearment, "mon chou". Also instead of a "stud" you may be called a "canard" - a duck isn't quite so manly !

Well Be-Jaysus you certainly make up for it when speaking English

🙂 It's a strange one isn't it. We're probably the sweariest speakers of english (on average). One assumes we were so delighted to have a language with taboo words, that we overdosed on it and never really stopped.

@dd my favourite Irish saying is "fierce idjiot" (I can't work out how to write the way you say fierce)

Yeah, "fierce" is a popular qualifier...as in "I'm fierce ****ing hungry" etc. The second word you're looking for is eejit. "You ****ing eejit" is actually quite a friendly way of saying "ah, I see you've done something rather silly there old chap."

No Welsh speaker has ever used popty ping.

I can see how they might start though, it's appealing 🙂

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/fun-stuff/24-welsh-words-phrases-just-6387661

deadlydarcy - Member

There are no swear words in Gaelic.

This is not exactly true. There are quite a few, certainly enough to get your point across should you have a disagreement in west Donegal, eg [i]"Feisigh do thoin fein"[/i].

What I think is true(ish) is that there is technically no word for hello as Gaeilge as every greeting is a variant of "god be with you", "god bless you" or "god be upon you" etc etc

I see poppy ping has raised its head again.
No Welsh speaker has ever used popty ping.
We use an old Saxon word -"Microwave"

I'd like to know how you came to this conclusion!? There's a girl in work that regularly uses the phrase to describe a microwave, and I think I may have even used it myself

In Spanish the word for Wife and Handcuffs is the same: Esposa/Esposas!

In a similar vein, the Spanish for pregnant is "embarazada". Not "embarrased"!

The Spanish for "engagement" as in to be married is "el compromiso".

This is not exactly true.

It is indeed true. What I should have said of course, was that there are no "taboo" words like the shedloads we have in English. There are a few phrases made up to tell someone to do one, but none that have words not used in everyday speaking anyway (even though it's hardly an everyday language anymore.)

What I think is true(ish) is that there is technically no word for hello as Gaeilge as every greeting is a variant of "god be with you", "god bless you" or "god be upon you" etc etc

True, although lots of other languages have similar cobbled together phrases which have come to mean "Hello". The funniest thing with Irish is that in response to "Dia dhuit" (God be with you), you then have to say "Dia is Muire dhuit" (God and Mary be with you). If someone says "Dia is Muire dhuit" to you as an initial greeting, you then have to reply with "Dia is Muire is Pádraig dhuit" (God, Mary & Patrick be with you). Bloody minefield. 😀

german's got good ones.

The word for nipple translates as "breast wart" (brust wart I think. Larverly.

Anyway I don't know german but lived in turkey for a while. Can't think of any funny ones. Oh yeah 'beter' means 'worse'.

The turks use mi at the end of a word to denote a question.

The have a whole tense for third party info, 'I hear that...', 'it is said that...' putting mish or mush on the end of words.

There's no gender, you can't say 'he' or 'she', though stuff gets translated as 'he'. So above the school door is the slogan 'ne mutlu turkum diyene' - which word for words is "how happy I am a turk the one who says" - "how happy is the one who says I'm a turk". Translated as how happy is the man who say's he's a turk.

Enough turkish? I've loads where that came from...

deadlydarcy - Member

This is not exactly true.

It is indeed true. What I should have said of course, was that there are no "taboo" words like the shedloads we have in English. There are a few phrases made up to tell someone to do one, but none that have words not used in everyday speaking anyway (even though it's hardly an everyday language anymore.)

Lets not get into it. What is, and isn't a swear word is very subjective. Part of the reason it's believed there are no swear words is that Irish was a banned language that all but died out. The people who attempted to revive it in the latter half of the 19th century were ultra consertive by todays standards and were more interested in romantic lyrical whimsy than the how to say **** or bugger.

Fair enough, but if you can find me a single taboo word, then I'm all yours. I'm not even sure there were any historically - it has nothing to do with the revival movement being ultra-conservative.

Bengali for winter is pronounced 'Shiit" iirc

Fair enough, but if you can find me a single taboo word, then I'm all yours. I'm not even sure there were any historically

Apart from the C word and the F word, what others are genuinely rude? It's all in the context. Until relatively recently Ireland was an extremely catholic country, any public talk about sex was extremely taboo in any language. If you walk up to an elderly lady and say "show me your vagina", "eat my shit" or "suck my ****" that's pretty rude.

The closest Irish equivalent to the F word is Feisigh. It's not as wonderfully versatile as the english language version but said in context it gets the point across.

Apart from the gaeltacht most Irish people learn the language at school, not a place for reveling in mucky words unless you have a very liberal minded teacher, that doesn't mean there are none.

You're just listing various reasons why there aren't any taboo words, but that's fair enough. You're making my point for me, thanks. I haven't searched, but there would be plenty of records of words that were considered taboo at one time or another, but I don't know of any. Do you?

what others are genuinely rude

There are plenty that say, might not get written in a broadsheet article or would mean a film might get a 12 or 15 rating for example. Not a single one (that I know of anyway) in Irish Gaelic. There's hardly even slang, the gateway for taboo.

Hey, dd:

Dia is Muire is Pádraig dhuit

😉

(what happens now?)

(what happens now?)

**** knows. 😀

EDIT: Apparently, Bríd (St Bridget, our lady patron saint) can be added next.

ARAF!

I usually wheel this one out.

Kummerspeck is the German word for emotional over-eating.

Literally, grief bacon.

Microwave is Anglo-Saxon? I rather think not. The Austrian for a gentleman's pride and joy translates as "shame".

The Turkish for bastard sounds like peach.

What freshly pressed juice would you like today?

2 little girls jumping up and down yelling peach, peach, peach!

In German, if someone is being a bit wimpish or soft you might call them a Schattenparker or a Warmduscher, ie. someone who parks in the shadows or who takes warm showers.

eg,

And, much like the gaelic argument above, we have no record of any genuine Anglo Saxon (ie. Old English)taboo swear words.

It was all written down by monks.

we have no record of any genuine Anglo Saxon (ie. Old English)taboo swear words

MTB related word info...

SRAM in Russian means "shame".

Apparently, the Russian for "pineapple" sounds similar to the Russian for "****er".

My wife caused a great deal of amusement when she asked for a glass of ****er juice...

(The asterisks are a colloquial expression for self-manipulation, rhyming with banker).

In Gaelic, [i]'s math sin[/i] means good. You pronounce it [i]smashin[/i]

For a while, Marks and Spencers had a line of 'mature' women's clothes called Per Una - presumably equating to 'for her' in Italian, land of designer clothes. Peruna is also Finnish for potato.

mushy (as in mushy peas) is an interesting word to say in Germany

'Handy' is a slang word for a Mobile phone in germany.

^ Not really slang as it is an everyday word. Still, always sounds cute when someone offers their handy nummer 🙂 Not sure what else they would call a mobile in fact, mobiltelefon? Not a common word in everyday German

If "handy" is the word that they use all over the websites of the operators, then that must be the word, not "slang".
but now the word "Smartphone" seems to be used (but everyone calls them a "handy").

Mushy peas :-S

I love the practicality of some german - a penalty kick is 'elfmeterschuss'. Or eleven meter shot.

Art is Kunst, fox is Fuchs. I love fox art.

In Cantonese - bicycle is uni + cycle

Pronounced 'hendy'

Here's a weird one. Maybe a linguist (cunning or otherrwise) can shed some light on it for me.

There's a hill in the NW of Scotland called A'Mhaighdean. It translates as The Maiden in English and if I write it highlighting some letters (A'[b]M[/b]h[b]ai[/b]gh[b]de[/b]a[b]n[/b]) you'll conclude that it's another made-up Gaelic word like [i]telebhisean[/i].

However, when I explain the pronunciation, it takes on a different form;

[i]Mh[/i] at the beginning is a [i]v[/i] sound.
The [i]ai[/i] is more of an [i]a[/i] (as in apple).
[i]gh[/i] is a [i]j[/i] (as in juice).

Put together, you'd say [i]A vagin[/i], which is scarily close to the english word [i]virgin[/i], another word for maiden.

Possibly coincidence, but there are lots of examples of words being absorbed into two different languages from a third source and being heavily altered over the years. However in that case the word should be one of those really old ones that derive from ancient common roots.

you'd say A vagin, which is scarily close to the english word virgin

That wasn't where I thought you were going with that...