29 WORDS WITH NO ENGLISH EQUIVALENT. The Mental Floss links for wonderful words with no English equivalent include this list of 14 compiled here by Haley Sweetland Edwards and this list of 15 words compiled here by Bill De Main. One source for these words is Adam Jacot de Boinod’s book ‘The Meaning of Tingo and Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World.’
Some words that strike me as particularly interesting:
Tartle (Scots)
“that panicky hesitation just before you have to introduce someone whose name you can’t quite remember.” The word has more applicability for me with each passing day.
Fremdschämen (German); Myötähäpeä (Finnish)
” both these words mean something akin to “vicarious embarrassment.†There are certain scenes in movies and TV shows, where somebody is about to be humiliated, that make me want to leave the room, yet are apparently considered very funny by most people.
Tsonga (South Africa)
“to sleep on the floor without a mat, while drunk and naked.†Seems useful.
I always thought Tsonga was a southern African ethnic group or a professional tennis player!