Untranslatable wordEmotionRussian

Avos'

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

Literally: Maybe / with luck

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.

More Russian untranslatable words

  • 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.

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