Misanthropy Today

Foreign people not only make up queer English words, they also have interesting words of their own. Please add any that you know of in the comments. Queer means odd by the way. My friend Chris’ dad hated gay people because he felt they took a perfectly good word and made it mean something perverted.

1. Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo): a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time
2. Taarradhin (Arabic): a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face (not the same as our concept of a compromise - everyone wins)
3. Razbliuto (Russian): The vacant feeling you have for someone you once loved, but no longer love.
4. Meraki (Greek): doing something with soul, creativity, or love
5. Yoko meshi (Japanese): literally ‘a meal eaten sideways’, referring to the peculiar stress induced by speaking a foreign language:
6. Duende (Spanish): a climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art, which might be fulfilled in flamenco dancing, or bull-fighting, etc.
7. Pochemuchka (Russian): a person who asks a lot of questions
8. Tingo (Pascuense language of Easter Island): to borrow objects one by one from a neighbour’s house until there is nothing left
9. Manqué (French) having failed to become what one might have been
10. Litost (Czech): a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery
11. Waldeinsamkeit (German): the feeling of being alone in the woods
12. Dai Lu Maozi (Chinese) Translates to “He wears the green hat”; Meaning his Wife is sleeping with someone else.
13. Faire Du Leche-Vitrines (French) Literally, “to lick the windows”; Window Shopping.
14. Harami (Arabic) An electrical plug adapter that allows more than one plug to be plugged into the same socket. Literally means “thief”
15. Guanxi (Mandarin): in traditional Chinese society, you would build up good guanxi by giving gifts to people, taking them to dinner, or doing them a favor, but you can also use up your gianxi by asking for a favour to be repaid.
16. Handschuhschneebalwerfer (German) Germans like to smash words together into one. This one translates to “Somebody Who Wears Gloves To Throw Snowballs”, used in general to describe cowards.
17. Geisterfahrer (Austria) Someone driving the wrong way on the Autobahn. Literally: Ghost Driver.
18. Shitta (Farsi) Leftover dinner eaten for breakfast.
19. Schadenfreude (Guess Who) To derive pleasure via someone else’s pain or misfortune
20. Gorerro (Spanish) Someone who never picks up a check.
21. Rujuk (Indonesian) To Remarry your ex-wife.

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