My niece wanders off the path at Versailles.
What word do we have to describe this?
Wabi-Sabi (Japanese)
A way of living that finds beauty in the imperfect.
Verschlimmbesserung (German)
Improvement that makes things worse.
Taarradhin (Arabic)
A way of resolving a problem without anyone losing.
Tatemae and Honne (Japanese)
What you pretend to believe. And what you actually believe.
Schadenfreude (German)
The feeling of pleasure derived from seeing another's misfortune.
Maya (Sanskrit)
Belief that the symbol of a thing is the same as the thing itself.
Wei-su-wei (Chinese)
Conscious nonaction.
Bricoleur (French)
Someone who starts building something with no clear plan.
Tsundoku (Japanese)
The act of leaving a book unread after buying it, usually by adding it to a pile of other unread books.
I totally want to incorporate
ReplyDeleteWabi-Sabi into my daily conversations now. I LOVE the meaning of that word.
Interesting post. I really like the image and the translated phrases. You got me thinking about what was on your mind when you posted it. Nice to see an Arabic word included.. yeayy :-) Happy WW
ReplyDeletethink I may be a Wei-su-wei sort of person...
ReplyDeleteI wonder how tsundoku works with Kindles?
ReplyDeleteHappy WW!
~EdT.
At least with Kindles you don't trip over the piles of books!
ReplyDeleteFun post and lovely photo! I'm not familiar with most of those words but do love wabi-sabi.
ReplyDeleteGreat post for WW. Love the photo and really love the non-English words and their meaning! Thanks for sharing.Happy WW!
ReplyDeleteThanks! for sharing these interesting words.
ReplyDeletehttp://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2013/03/wondrous-words-wednesday.html
Beautiful capture.
ReplyDeleteCute Cupcakes
Great photo, and you're right- the best English word I can come up with for the picture is "wandering." I love the foreign words you've shared- and I'm wondering how you know so many!" I feel like I've read schadenfreude before- I think through Kathy's meme!!
ReplyDeleteTaarradhin seems like such a worthy goal. It's nice to know there's a word for it in some language.
ReplyDeleteTsundoku - guilty as charged :) I do this all the time...
ReplyDeleteOh - I must remember Tsundoku!!
ReplyDeleteI've had a day of conscious nonaction today! Lovely post.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo ... 'wayfarer' sums it up for me ... out the gate and into the unknown ...
ReplyDeleteAs for the words in other cultures for which we have no corresponding word ... soo interesting!
Great post! I love wei-su-wei - sometimes not doing anything is the best thing to do. And I'm a real sucker for tsundoku.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo! Thanks for sharing the words, too.
ReplyDeleteHere's MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST
That photo should be a book cover and I love the list of words. I'm a definite Bricoleur when it comes to writing my books. I start and have no idea where it will end. Here's Mine
ReplyDeleteIts a beautiful picture... frame that one :)
ReplyDeletebeautiful shot -- it's like she's between two worlds.
ReplyDeleteAnd tsundoku - hmmm - I am very familiar with that one...lol
WOW....What a fantastic photo....thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnd..thanks for the words.
Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Saturday Snapshot
I'm not sure what that Chinese saying is... and I speak Cantonese. I think that's Mandarin. Great list, and intriguing photo. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's a great picture, but what interesting words you found to go with it. I particularly like wabi-sabi. My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/9qx5t
ReplyDeleteLove that picture, and learning all those fun words, too! Here's my Saturday Snapshot post.
ReplyDeleteLove your list♫ My newest vocab word I am loving to use is zephyrean: containing light breezes. I'm making a note of Wabi-Sabi♥
ReplyDeleteLove your photo, with the weathered gate.
ReplyDeleteI was here yesterday for Saturday Snapshot...but now I'm here with MY SUNDAY SALON POST
ReplyDeleteFun post. I love all these words. Moreover, I love the idea that there are words for things and ideas English has no words for. What does this say about the needs of each culture?
ReplyDeleteVery cool words. I remember wandering around Versailles in the rain a few years ago - it felt like such an adventure.
ReplyDeleteLovely words. Sometimes English is sadly lacking.
ReplyDeleteAnn
Fun and thought provoking post!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a really great one! Thanks for posting it :)
ReplyDeleteI like the word schadenfreude. I can find lots of uses for it!
ReplyDeleteTsundoku gets practiced a lot in my house. :) Lovely photo!
ReplyDeleteMy word for this photo would be "sehnsucht", I think. In simplified terms it means yearning, or wistful longing. I learned the word by way of reading C.S. Lewis -- he uses it a lot in his writing to describe what he called "an insatiable longing for we know not what."
ReplyDeleteIt represents thoughts and feelings about all facets of life that are unfinished or imperfect, paired with a yearning for ideal alternative experiences.
I don't know -- this photo, the clarity of the wood in the foreground and the misty background, a thoughtful person walking -- it makes me think of sehnsucht.
Oh my! Yes, that's the perfect word for this photo. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love words, the meanings of words and words which have no word in English are awesome! I'm going to save this list! I grew up in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and I have words my father said and words from my childhood I've never or seldom heard elsewhere. I think I may do a blog post about them! Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo! And wow, what an awesome list of words. :)
ReplyDelete