Saudade
Portuguese: melancholic longing for something loved and absent.
Glückschmerz
German: the pain of someone else's good fortune.
Mono no aware
Japanese: gentle sadness at the passing of things.
Hiraeth
Welsh: homesickness for a home you cannot return to.
Toska
Russian: a deep spiritual anguish without a specific cause.
Hygge
Danish: the cosy warmth of simple pleasures shared.
Gigil
Filipino: the urge to squeeze something unbearably cute.
Ikigai
Japanese: the sense that your life has a worthwhile purpose.
Wabi-sabi
Japanese: finding beauty in imperfection and transience.
Fernweh
German: longing for a place you have never been.
Waldeinsamkeit
German: the feeling of being alone in the woods.
Koi no yokan
Japanese: the premonition that you will fall in love.
Litost
Czech: the torment of seeing your own misery clearly.
L'esprit de l'escalier
French: thinking of the perfect reply too late.
Ya'aburnee
Arabic: hoping to die before a loved one, to avoid the grief.
Mamihlapinatapai
Yaghan: the silent look between two people who both want to start something.
Voorpret
Dutch: the pleasure of anticipating a fun event.
Torschlusspanik
German: the fear that time is running out to act.
Gezelligheid
Dutch: the cosiness of being with friends and family.
Kilig
Filipino: butterflies and blushing from romantic excitement.
Duende
Spanish: the mysterious power of art to move deeply.
Meraki
Greek: putting your soul into your work with love.
Ubuntu
Zulu: I am because we are. Shared humanity.
Tarab
Arabic: ecstasy and emotional transport through music.
Mudita
Sanskrit: vicarious joy in another person's good fortune.
Commuovere
Italian: being moved to tears by a story or act of kindness.
Fremdschämen
German: cringing embarrassment felt on behalf of someone else.
Weltschmerz
German: world-weariness. Sadness about the world's imperfection.
Joie de vivre
French: exuberant enjoyment of life.
Dolce far niente
Italian: the sweetness of doing nothing.
Spleen
French: a poetic, refined form of melancholic tedium.
Craic
Irish: fun, entertainment and good conversation.
Sobremesa
Spanish: lingering at the table after a meal, talking.
Fika
Swedish: a pause for coffee and connection.
Retrouvailles
French: the joy of reuniting with someone after a long time.
Desenrascanço
Portuguese: the art of improvising a solution on the spot.
Tsundoku
Japanese: the act of buying books and never reading them.
Querencia
Spanish: a safe place where you feel strong.
Forelsket
Norwegian: the euphoria of falling in love.
See how the untranslatable family sits among the other emotions.
Open on the interactive wheel