Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
by John Koenig · first published 2021
19mentions
6recommended by
18HN commenters
2017–2026first – last mentioned
33% recommend61% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Invented words paired with short, lyrical definitions for emotions that lack everyday names. It has an art-project feel and suits lovers of language and anyone who enjoys thinking about feelings.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a compendium of new words for emotions. Its mission is to shine a light on the fundamental strangeness of being a human being—all the aches, demons, vibes, joys, and urges that are humming in the background of everyday life.
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Midly related: John Koenig recently released a book called "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows"--a continuation of the amazing homonymonous YouTube channel[1]--which contains new words he created to describe emotions. Personally, I strongly recommend it to all those that love languages and would…
on “Does Not Translate” ↗Sonder is also a made-up word that means "the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own." Originally from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, which has a lot more beautiful neologism definitions like this you might enjoy. I felt deep sonder thinking about the all the people who looked up this word along with me." [1] And in German Sonder means…
on “Sonder Raises $135M to Turn Airbnb Apartments into Hotels” ↗For the fellow logophiles out there: http://phrontistery.info It's one of the coolest dictionaries of obscure words I've run across! Similarly, the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is quite excellent: http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/
on “Words we don’t want to lose” ↗This is beautiful. The simple paragraph accompanied with links to "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" so eloquently expresses what I've been mulling on.
on “Homebrew Website Club” ↗I think of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows as an art project. I never got the impression that we were supposed to start using these words. It's interesting and entertaining, like when I learned the Czech word "litost" from "The Book of Laughter…
on “It's not what the world needs right now” ↗Reminds me of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: https://www.thedictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/
on “Words for the Heart: A treasury of emotions from classical India” ↗…the article is debatable as to whether it's a word. It's a word invented in 2012 by a guy that wrote a book about inventing new words for emotions. >Coined in 2012 by John Koenig, whose project, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, aims to come up with new words for emotions that currently lack words.[1][2] Related to German sonder- (“special”) and French sonder (“to probe”).[3] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sonder#Etymology
on “Coolest Things I Learned in 2018” ↗…as your own. They experience hopes, dreams, friendships, routines, worries and an inner life, all of which you'll likely never know about or fully understand. The term was coined by John Koenig in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a compendium of newly invented words for powerful feelings that don't have a descriptive term in the English language. I had a sponser do me a favor once and tell me "you're a special case of the same…
on “It's not what the world needs right now” ↗for the record, the "Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" (in which anemoia appears) was an art project by John Koenig. every word defined in this dictionary was constructed/invented specifically for the book. afaik, none of them have entered "mainstream" dictionaries…
on “The Payphone Project” ↗Three books. These two feel especially relevant: Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered - E.F. Schumacher Tools for Conviviality - Ivan Illich and The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - John Koenig
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗…pro-solar bill meant to make solar more competitive. Much in the same way anti-NN is often sold as a method of making it easier for smaller ISPs to compete with the giga-ISPs. The word "wytai" from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows comes to mind when I think about how much of the US political process is based almost entirely on deception and tricking people into voting your way.
on “Congress wants to extend the copyright on some sound recordings to 144 years” ↗Appears term was invented in the book “The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows” in 2012 to create new words for emotional expressions, concepts, etc: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32676647
on “Random Google Street View” ↗I believe they all come from the single book, Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, referenced in the blog. All the terms in there are new words! (The breakdown you have is what I would've guessed too, though.)
on “Watashiato” ↗Many if not all of the words in the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows are unelegantly made up/coined tbh.
on “Watashiato” ↗Related: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32676647 - Sept 2022 (2 comments) The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30476541 - Feb 2022 (1 comment) The Dictionary of Obscure…
on “The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows” ↗