Untranslatable Words FOA

Japanese

Nick Bachelder

言語

Culture and life in Japan revolves largely around morals of respect, dignity, and a philosophical world view. Mental harmony is key in Japan and emotions are analyzed deeply. The Japanese language directly reflects Japan's extremely philosophical culture; it affects and structures the world view in Japan and represents good examples of the Sapir-Whorf theory and Linguistic determinism.

Wabi-Sabi

"侘寂"

A way of living in which one always focuses on looking for beauty in the imperfections of the world.

Directly relates to Japans morals of a philosophical world view

Kuidaore

To eat until you are economically unstable or until you have ruined your life

食い倒れ

*Japans large amount of renowned

food is valued

Yatta -

The feeling of accomplishment ad joy after completing a job or task

やった

*Elaborates on emotion, a staple of philosophy in Japanese culture

Yoisho

A word with no exact meaning; it expresses an exclamation like a grunt or sigh.

Directly affects how one expresses themselfs on a daily basis

Komorebi

木漏れ日

Taking delight in other peoples joy; contagious happiness; empathetic joy

*Connects to Japan's morals of living in unison and avoiding selfish tendencies. "Western=Selfish"

Aware

The bittersweet feeling when observing a beautiful yet fading moment or object in time

Again, dwelling on and analyzing emotion and nature philisophically

Citations

Mukherjee, Supriyo. "20 Cool Japanese Words That The English Language Cannot Boast Of." ScoopWhoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
"11 Beautiful Japanese Words That Don't Exist In English." Odyssey. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
Turnerwright, By. "37 Weird Japanese Words You Won’t Believe Exist." FluentU Japanese. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016