The intense emotions we’re all experiencing right now—the yearning to see family and friends in person and without our faces partially obscured by a mask; the grief of losing loved ones, jobs, a sense of security; the restlessness with being stuck in one place—can often feel inexpressible, beyond words. But words in another language than your own just might be the key to giving voice to those emotions. To find such words, look no further than Eunoia, an online database created by Steph Smith in 2018 as part of a startup challenge. The database's name is itself an example of what it’s about: Eunoia is a Greek word meaning “well mind” or “beautiful thinking” that isn’t directly translatable in another language.
Here are five words with no direct equivalent in another language that express what so many of us are feeling these days, and five that remind us of the everyday pleasures still available.
1. VIRAAG // HINDI
Quarantine and social distancing are causing a lot of viraag, or the inner turmoil and pain we experience when we’re separated—not just metaphorically but also literally—from the ones we love.
2. CWTCH // WELSH
With physical contact severely restricted, most of us will connect immediately with this Welsh word that means to embrace another person to give them a sense of safety. Basically, what everyone could use right about now.
3. SIELVARTAS // LITHUANIAN
The literal translation of this Lithuanian word is “soul tumbling,” which itself is actually a pretty poetic, and accurate, way to describe the seemingly endless emotional tumult that is grief.
4. FERNWEH // GERMAN
When your circuit is the same almost every day—workplace or home office, supermarket, drugstore, bed—fernweh, the hunger to travel to faraway destinations, can be overwhelmingly strong.
5. GOESTING // DUTCH
Yes, Can’t Hardly Wait is the title of a...
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