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Hundreds Of Others, Because The English Language Is Emotionally Stunted
This list has barely scratched the surface of emotions we have no words for, because there are hundreds of them. One researcher found at least 216 foreign words for emotions that have no English equivalent. So like a therapist who's noticed there's only a minute left of the session, let's rattle some other complex emotions we haven't dealt with yet.
There are some that are immediately recognizable once someone tells you what it means. For example, the Koreans have the word ...
![6 Emotions You Had No Clue Actually Had Names]()
... which means your mouth is bored. It's that "peckish" feeling you get when you aren't hungry, but feel like eating to pass the time or avoid doing something else -- talking, most likely.
Koreans also have a similar word for hand boredom ...
![6 Emotions You Had No Clue Actually Had Names]()
... which means you want to do something like crafting. We're still holding out hope that they eventually discover eye boredom, explaining why we consider naps a valid way to kill some time.
Want some more? The Germans have schnapsidee, which is the phenomenon wherein you come up with the most brilliant plan ever despite being completely hammered. They also have sitzfleisch (literally "sit meat"), the specific fortitude used to sit through very boring things. Gula is Spanish for when you want to eat solely for the taste, a common desire among gourmands and cannibals. And the Bantu people of Africa have mbukimvuki, the sudden desire to burst out into a musical performance, which we could probably translate as "Bollywood syndrome."
So why is it so important to know such words? Because some scientists think that when you don't have a word for something, you might not be as likely to feel it. So maybe try to remember those 216 words. Your life (and vocabulary) will be all the richer for it.
At this point it might also be worth just investing in a French-English dictionary.
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For more, check out 9 Foreign Words the English Language Desperately Needs and 6 Foreign Words So Dark There Are No English Equivalents.
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