Toska

Meaning: A dull ache of the soul; a great longing with nothing in particular to long for.

Language: Russian

Literally: spiritual ache

Category: Emotion

Origin: Russian тоска; famously glossed by novelist Vladimir Nabokov.

More untranslatable words — Emotion

Dépaysement — The disorienting yet often pleasant feeling of being far from home, immersed in the unfam…
Retrouvailles — The joy of reuniting with someone after a long time apart.
Mono no aware — A bittersweet awareness of impermanence — the gentle sadness and appreciation that arise…
Natsukashii — A warm, nostalgic rush triggered by something from the past — a smell, a song, a sight. N…
Yugen — A profound, mysterious sense of the universe that is too deep for words — the feeling of…
Koi no yokan — The intuitive feeling upon first meeting someone that you will inevitably fall in love wi…

Pochemuchka — A person — usually a child — who asks an endless stream of questions, one 'why?' after an…
Razliubit — To fall out of love — the process of ceasing to love someone you once loved, leaving behi…
Avos' — A blind, hopeful trust that things will somehow work out on their own — leaving the outco…

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