Showing posts with label vocabulary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vocabulary. Show all posts

15 Wonderful Words With No English Equivalent

15 Wonderful Words With No English Equivalent

The Global Language Monitor estimates that there are currently 1,009,753 words in the English language. Despite this large lexicon, many nuances of human experience still leave us tongue-tied. And that’s why sometimes it’s necessary to turn to other languages to find le mot juste. Here are fifteen foreign words with no direct English equivalent.
1. Zhaghzhagh (Persian) 
The chattering of teeth from the cold or from rage.
2. Yuputka (Ulwa)
A word made for walking in the woods at night, it’s the phantom sensation of something crawling on your skin.
3. Slampadato (Italian)
Addicted to the UV glow of tanning salons? This word describes you.
4. Luftmensch (Yiddish)
There are several Yiddish words to describe social misfits. This one is for an impractical dreamer with no business sense. Literally, air person.
5. Iktsuarpok (Inuit)
You know that feeling of anticipation when you’re waiting for someone to show up at your house and you keep going outside to see if they’re there yet? This is the word for it.
6. Cotisuelto (Caribbean Spanish)
A word that would aptly describe the prevailing fashion trend among American men under 40, it means one who wears the shirt tail outside of his trousers.
7. Pana Po’o (Hawaiian) 
“Hmm, now where did I leave those keys?” he said, pana po’oing. It means to scratch your head in order to help you remember something you’ve forgotten.
8. Gumusservi (Turkish) 
Meteorologists can be poets in Turkey with words like this at their disposal. It means moonlight shining on water.
9. Vybafnout (Czech) 
A word tailor-made for annoying older brothers—it means to jump out and say boo.
10. Mencolek (Indonesian) 
You know that old trick where you tap someone lightly on the opposite shoulder from behind to fool them? The Indonesians have a word for it.
11. Faamiti (Samoan) 
To make a squeaking sound by sucking air past the lips in order to gain the attention of a dog or child.
12. Glas wen (Welsh) 
A smile that is insincere or mocking. Literally, a blue smile.
13. Bakku-shan (Japanese)
The experience of seeing a woman who appears pretty from behind but not from the front.
14. Boketto (Japanese) 
It’s nice to know that the Japanese think enough of the act of gazing vacantly into the distance without thinking to give it a name.
15. Kummerspeck (German)
Excess weight gained from emotional overeating. Literally, grief bacon.
Many of the words above can be found in BBC researcher Adam Jacot de Boinod's book 'The Meaning of Tingo and Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World.'

10 Most Difficult Words to Remember

10 Most Difficult Words to Remember

1. NONPLUSSED

filled with bewilderment
If it looks like there's a negative at the beginning of this word, it's because etymologically speaking, there is—it's from Latin non plus, "no more, no further." Still, there is no wordplussed, and that can get confusing.

2. INCHOATE

only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
It may look like the in- at the start of this word would be the same as the one at the start of words like incomplete or inadequate. Although that may be a good way to remember it, the first letters of this word are not a negative. The word comes from Latin inchoare, which meant "to begin." Inchoate things are often just beginning.

3. AND 4. CACHET AND PANACHE

an indication of approved or superior status;
distinctive and stylish elegance
Shades of meaning between cachet and panache are often confused. Cachet is more about prestige, and panache is more about style. Having high tea at Buckingham Palace can have a lot of cachet in your social circle, but the genteel way you sip your tea can have a lot ofpanache.

5. INDEFATIGABLE

showing sustained enthusiastic action with unflagging vitality
In Latin, it was possible to defatigare or "to tire out," but only the negative version prefixed with in- survived the journey into English (via French). Indefatigable is a word you almost have to say quickly, and if you get through all those syllables, it's almost as if you've proven the definition: it takes "unflagging vitality" to reach the end.

6. UNCANNY

surpassing the ordinary or normal
The word canny is rare but not unknown as a word that means "cunning" or "sly." The only problem is that that's not the meaning of canny contained in uncanny. Canny used to mean "knowing and careful," and therefore uncanny meant "mischievous," coming to refer to supernatural spirits who toyed with mortals. Comic book fans have a huge head start with this word, having grown up with the "Uncanny X-Men," who all have supernatural powers.

7. UNABASHED

not embarrassed
This word is one where the positive version did exist but has fallen out of use. Abash meant "perplex, embarrass, lose one's composure" in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, sounabashed means "not embarrassed."

8. DILATORY

wasting time
This word is confusing because it sounds like it's potentially related to words like dilate or evendepilatory. It's not related to either of those words, but luckily there are ways to remember what dilatory actually means—the word almost sounds like delay or dilly dally, both of which relate to the word's definition.

9. MARTINET

someone who demands exact conformity to rules and forms
This word looks and sounds like marionette, the stringed puppet, which is a pitfall to avoid, because it can lead you to believe that martinet means the exact opposite of what it actually means. A martinet has some power, and no one is pulling their strings.

10. HOI POLLOI

the common people generally
This is confusing because it's an obscure word for the common folk, and sometimes it's hard to keep straight whether the upper or lower crust is being discussed. Hoi polloi literally means "the many," with polloi being the plural of the well-known Greek prefix poly.


Source: vocabulary.com

6 Words That Can Ruin Your Sentence - 6

obviously
Obviously
[ob-vee-uhs]
This word should signify an action which is readily observable, recognized, or understood. Speakers tend to use it, however, to emphasize their point with regards to things that aren't necessarily obvious: "Obviously he should have thrown the ball to first base." What crutch words do you rely on?____________________________________
obviously
ˈɒbvɪəsli/
adverb
adverb: obviously
  1. in a way that is easily perceived or understood; clearly.
    "she was obviously unwell"
    synonyms:clearly, evidently, plainly, patently, visibly, discernibly, manifestly,
    noticeably; 
    unmistakably, undeniably, indubitably, incontrovertibly,
    demonstrably, unquestionably, undoubtedly, without doubt; 
    of course,naturally, needless to say, it goes without saying, doubtless;
    informalobvs
    "obviously, she didn't want to see you"
    antonyms:perhaps

6 Words That Can Ruin Your Sentence - 5

like
Like
[lahyk]
The cardinal sinner of lazy words like is interspersed in dialogue to give a speaker more time to think or because the speaker cannot shake the habit of using the word. Likeshould describe something of the same form, appearance, kind, character, or amount. But, very often, it is used involuntarily in conversation, just like um. Our next and final word is not so obvious.
_____________________________________
like1
lʌɪk/
preposition
preposition: like
  1. 1.
    having the same characteristics or qualities as; similar to.
    "he used to have a car like mine"
    synonyms:similar to, the same as, identical to
    "you're just like a teacher"
    antonyms:unlike
    • in the manner of; in the same way or to the same degree as.
      "he was screaming like a banshee"
      synonyms:in the same way as, in the manner of, in the same manner as, in the same way that, in a similar way to, after the fashion of, along/on the lines of, as, tantamount to
      "the figure landed like a cat"
      antonyms:unlike
    • in a way appropriate to.
      "students were angry at being treated like children"
    • such as one might expect from; characteristic of.
      "just like you to put a damper on people's enjoyment"
      synonyms:characteristic of, typical of, in character with
      "Richard sounded mean and spiteful, which isn't like him"
      antonyms:unlike
    • used in questions to ask about the characteristics or nature of someone or something.
      "what is it like to be a tuna fisherman?"
  2. 2.
    used to draw attention to the nature of an action or event.
    "I apologize for coming over unannounced like this"
  3. 3.
    such as; for example.
    "the cautionary vision of works like Animal Farm and 1984"
    synonyms:such as, for example, for instance, in particular, as, namely, viz.
    "physical decay extends across whole areas of cities like Birmingham, Glasgow, and Leeds"
    antonyms:except for
conjunction
informal
conjunction: like
  1. 1.
    in the same way that; as.
    "people who change countries like they change clothes"
  2. 2.
    as though; as if.
    "I felt like I'd been kicked by a camel"
noun
noun: like; plural noun: likes
  1. 1.
    used with reference to a person or thing of the same kind as another.
    "the quotations could be arranged to put like with like"
adjective
adjective: like
  1. 1.
    (of a person or thing) having similar qualities or characteristics to another person or thing.
    "I responded in like manner"
    synonyms:similar, much the same, more or less the same, not unlike,comparable, corresponding, correspondent, resembling, alike,approximating, analogous, parallel, equivalent, cognate, related, of a kind, akin, kindred; More
    antonyms:different, dissimilar
    • (of a portrait or other image) having a faithful resemblance to the original.
      "‘Who painted the dog's picture? It's very like.’"
adverb
adverb: like
  1. 1.
    informal
    used in speech as a meaningless filler or to signify the speaker's uncertainty about an expression just used.
    "there was this funny smell—sort of dusty like"
  2. 2.
    informal
    used to convey a person's reported attitude or feelings in the form of direct speech (whether or not representing an actual quotation).
    "so she comes into the room and she's like ‘Where is everybody?’"
  3. 3.
    archaic
    in the manner of.
    "like as a ship with dreadful storm long tossed"
Origin
Middle English: from Old Norse líkr ; related to alike.
like2
lʌɪk/
verb
verb: like; 3rd person present: likes; past tense: liked; past participle: liked; gerund or present participle: liking
  1. 1.
    find agreeable, enjoyable, or satisfactory.
    "all his classmates liked him"
    synonyms:be fond of, be attached to, have a soft spot for, have a fondness for,have a liking for, have regard for, think well of, look on with favour,hold in esteem, admire, respect, esteem; 
    be attracted to, fancy, find attractive, be keen on, be taken with;
     
    informaltake a shine to, be into,rate
    "I rather like Colonel Maitland"
    enjoy, have a taste for, have a preference for, have a liking for, have a weakness for, be partial to, delight in, find/take pleasure in, be keen on, find agreeable, derive pleasure from, be pleased by, have a penchant for, have a passion for, derive satisfaction from, find enjoyable, take to, appreciate;
    love, adore, relish, savour, lap up, revel in;
    informalget a kick from/out of, have a thing about, be into, get off on,go for, be mad about/for, dig, groove on, get a charge from/out of, get a buzz from/out of, get a bang out of, be hooked on, go a bundle on
    "Maisie likes veal"
    antonyms:dislike, hate
    • indicate one's liking or approval of (a web page or posting on a social media website) by means of a particular icon or link.
      "more than 15,000 Facebook users had liked his page by Monday morning"
  2. 2.
    wish for; want.
    "would you like a cup of coffee?"
    • used as a polite formula.
      "we would like to apologize for the late running of this service"
    • feel reluctant to do something.
      "I don't like leaving her on her own too long"
    • choose to have (something); prefer.
      "how do you like your coffee?"
    • feel about or regard (something).
      "how would you like it if it happened to you?"
      synonyms:feel about, regard, think about, consider
      "how would she like it if someone did that to her picture?"
noun
noun: like; plural noun: likes
  1. 1.
    the things one likes or prefers.
    "a wide variety of likes, dislikes, tastes, and income levels"
    • an instance of indicating one's liking or approval of a web page or posting on a social media website.
      "pages that rank well are likely to receive high numbers of likes because they are highly visible in the search engines"
Origin
Old English līcian ‘be pleasing’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lijken .
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