Avos'

Meaning: A blind, hopeful trust that things will somehow work out on their own — leaving the outcome to luck.

Language: Russian

Literally: maybe / with luck

Category: Emotion

Origin: Russian авось; a famously fatalistic streak in the national character.

More untranslatable words — Emotion

Vergüenza ajena — The squirming embarrassment felt on behalf of another person, who may be entirely untroub…
Koselig — Warmth, intimacy and ease at once — a room, a meal or an evening can be koselig, and so c…
Nadryv — An uncontrolled outpouring of buried feeling, often strained past anything the person tru…
Saudade — A deep, nostalgic yearning for someone or something absent — tinged with the bittersweet…
Hygge — The warm contentment of simple, cozy pleasures shared with people you love — candles, bla…
Schadenfreude — The guilty little pleasure of taking satisfaction in someone else's misfortune.

Poshlost' — Not merely the trashy, but the falsely important, falsely beautiful and falsely clever —…
Yurodivy — One who plays the fool deliberately as a religious act, and is therefore licensed to spea…
Khalyava — Something good got for free and without effort — and, strictly, something you were never…
Beloruchka — Someone who dodges dirty or hard work — a person whose hands stay conspicuously clean.
Zapoi — A bender running for days, in which a person drops out of ordinary life entirely.
Toska — A dull ache of the soul; a great longing with nothing in particular to long for.