They Have a Word for It
by Howard Rheingold · first published 1988
3mentions
3recommended by
3HN commenters
2010–2020first – last mentioned
100% recommend
A Fun and Lighthearted Lexicon of Words & Phrases considered Untranslatable.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
…David Olsen, Michelle Bevilacqua, and Justin Cord Hayes 21. The Thinker's Thesaurus - Peter E. Meltzer 22. Fiske Word Power - Fiske, Mallison, Mandell 23. The Well Spoken Thesaurus - Tom Heehler 24. They Have A Word For It - Howard Rheingold and remember, as Aldous Huxley said "The proper study of mankind is books". And on that note, may I recommend keeping a couple of books of quotations around. A good quote can be…
on “Ask HN: How to become a better at writing?” ↗For anyone who's interested in these I have a book that I like to flick through occasionally: They Have a Word for It by Howard Rheingold My favourite is Yugen - a Japanese word that encapsulates awareness and appreciation for nature and the universe. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/424092.They_Have_a_Wo...
on “Words that don't translate into English” ↗…distinct senses were counted, the total would probably approach three quarters of a million." English undoubtedly is the world's richest language in the sense of having the largest vocabulary. As for the "they have a word for it and we don't" thing: The examples given are delightful, also see the book "They Have a Word for It" for other interesting examples. I can give more examples from my native language, "kismet" "ayip" that…
on “20 Words from Around the World With No Single-word English Equivalent” ↗