Mamihlapinatapai

Meaning: The look between two people who both want the same thing but neither is willing to initiate — a loaded, hopeful, hesitant glance.

Language: Yaghan

Literally: shared unspoken wish

Category: Social

Origin: Yaghan (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina); listed in the Guinness Book as the most succinct word.

More untranslatable words — Social

• Ubuntu — The philosophy that a person is a person only through other people — humanity expressed t…
• Jayus — A joke so unfunny, so badly delivered, that it becomes funny in its own right — a joke th…
• Yuánfèn — The invisible thread of fate that brings people together — the destined connection betwee…
• Cafuné — The tender act of running your fingers through someone's hair — an intimate gesture of lo…
• Backpfeifengesicht — A face that is just begging to be slapped — someone so smug you can't help the urge.
• Tartle — That panicky pause when you go to introduce someone and realize you've forgotten their na…

← Back to Untranslatable Words

Loading the full interactive collection…