Untranslatable wordEmotion
Japanese
JapaneseKoi no yokan
Meaning: The intuitive feeling upon first meeting someone that you will inevitably fall in love with them — not love at first sight, but its foreshadowing.
Literally: Premonition of love
Origin: Japanese 恋の予感; distinct from love itself.
More Japanese untranslatable words
- Amae The comfortable feeling of depending on another's goodwill — leaning into someone's indul…
- Shinrin-yoku Immersing yourself in the atmosphere of a forest — soaking up its calm through all your s…
- Boketto Staring off into the distance with your mind pleasantly empty, thinking of nothing at all.
- Komorebi The dappled light that filters through leaves and scatters across the ground.
- Wabi-sabi Finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the worn or incomplete.
- Tsundoku Buying books and letting them pile up unread — a habit, not a crime.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- 能ある鷹は爪を隠す (Nō aru taka wa tsume wo kakusu) Truly able people don't show off their abilities.
- 笑う門には福来たる (Warau kado ni wa fuku kitaru) Happiness and good fortune come to cheerful people.
- 三つ子の魂百まで (Mitsugo no tamashii hyaku made) Character formed in early childhood lasts a lifetime.
Keep exploring