Home › Untranslatable Words

Tartle

Meaning: That panicky pause when you go to introduce someone and realize you've forgotten their name.

Language: Scots

Literally: to hesitate in recognition

Category: Social

Origin: Scots; the polite cover 'I'm sorry for my tartle' softens the awkward moment.

More untranslatable words — Social

  • Amae — The comfortable feeling of depending on another's goodwill — leaning into someone's indul…
  • Fremdschämen — The vicarious embarrassment you feel for someone who is doing something cringeworthy — ev…
  • Drachenfutter — A peace-offering gift brought home to a partner after staying out too late or doing somet…
  • Nunchi — The subtle art of reading a room — sensing what people feel, what they need, and what is…
  • Jeong — A deep emotional bond that forms slowly over time through shared experience — the invisib…
  • Gattara — A woman — often elderly — who dedicates herself to feeding and caring for stray cats in h…

← Back to Untranslatable Words

Loading the full interactive collection…