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38 Great, Yet Untranslatable Words

Posted on July 02, 2019

Ever wonder whether there are any absolutely untranslatable words? Mental Floss has assembled a list of 38, including:

  • Zhaghzhagh (Persian, #13)
    The chattering of teeth from the cold or from rage. (For more Persian, see our developing collection of literature from Iran.)
  • Ya’arburnee (Arabic, #21)
    This word is the hopeful declaration that you will die before someone you love deeply, because you cannot stand to live without them. Literally, may you bury me. (For more Arabic, visit our Egypt unit).

You can find the entire article here.