7. Inshallah
Similar to “God willing,” this word translates to “if God wills it.” You might think of this as more of an expression than a feeling, but it conveys a feeling of being uncertain while hoping for the best.
You might say it to a friend this way: “I’ll be going home for the holidays—Inshallah” with two fingers crossed for good luck.
8. 분위기
Pronunciation: boon-wee-gi
This is the atmosphere or mood of a situation. You could also translate it to “ambiance.” By combining it with different terms, you might say something like 갑분띠: 갑자기 분위기 띠용 or 갑분싸: 갑자기 분위기 싸해졌다 which both mean the atmosphere is suddenly ruined (turned cold).
9. Mágoa
A heart-breaking feeling—usually by being hurt by someone—that leaves long-lasting traces, visible in gestures and facial expressions.
10. Lebensmüde
This word translates to “life tiredness” and means basically what it sounds like. It’s the feeling of being tired or weary of life. It could be used when one is depressed, but also to justify some adventurous, out-of-character behavior that one wouldn’t otherwise partake in: blame the life-tiredness!
11. Meraki
Language:
Greek
Meraki means doing something with passion, devotion, and creativity—in other words, putting your soul or self into something. It may be an artistic task, but it doesn’t have to be. The word is related to the Turkish “Merak,” or labor of love.
12. Forelsket
Language:
Norwegian
Forelsket is being in love, but specifically the ecstatic, all-consuming feeling at the beginning of a relationship when you can barely think of anything else. Thank the Norwegians for recognizing the nuance here, since this isn’t a feeling that lasts forever!
13. Jijivisha
Language:
Hindi
This one’s especially hard to translate though we all know someone who fits the description. Used as a noun, jijivisha is the intense desire to live (or continue living) in the highest sense of being.
You might hear a Hindi speaker using it to describe someone who lives their life to the fullest.
14. Eudaimonia
Language:
Greek
A state of well-being. It means to be content, to flourish, to be grateful, and live well. Considered by some to be a more useful word than “happiness,” Plato and Aristotle used it to mean something closer to “fulfillment” and to recognize that this state of well-being can accommodate moments of suffering and pain while remaining joyous.
15. Ailyak
Language:
Bulgarian
The art of doing things calmly, without the need to rush. You can enjoy life and have a carefree attitude. It also conveys resistance to placing value on overworking and a refusal to get caught up in the rat race.
16. Weltschmertz
Literally translated as “world-weariness” or “world pain,” this term is now used to describe the melancholic feeling of being overwhelmed at the state of the world while being a part of it.
“Weltschmerz is the sense both that one is personally inadequate and that one’s personal inadequacy reflects the inadequacy of the world generally,” says Joachim Whaley, a professor of German history and thought at the University of Cambridge.
17. Sielvartas
Language: Lithuanian
This term means deep sorrow, or “soul tumbling,” for example caused by someone’s death. It can also simply be a state of seemingly endless grief or emotional turmoil.
18. Litost
A state of agony or humiliation caused by a sudden glimpse of one’s own misery. A very specific emotion, it is also connected to a feeling of seeking revenge over whoever or whatever has caused one harm in order to even the score.
19. Resfeber
A state of jitters or nervous anticipation accompanying the time leading up to a journey. It captures the emotional mix of looking forward to the trip while also being a little anxious. We’ve all experienced it—but the Swedes actually have a word for it.
20. Duende
El duende is an emotional response to art. Any time you’ve seen an artistic performance and gotten chills—that’s el duende. It often encapsulates a response to both pain and pleasure, suffering and joy, reflected by the human condition.
Discover some basic expression in Spanish here.
