Weltschmerz

Meaning: The weariness and sadness you feel when the world as it is falls painfully short of the world as it should be.

Language: German

Literally: world-pain

Category: Emotion

Origin: German Welt ('world') + Schmerz ('pain'); coined by Jean Paul in 1827.

More untranslatable words — Emotion

Torschlusspanik — The anxious fear that time is running out — that the gates of opportunity, youth, or life…
Han — A deep collective feeling of sorrow, resentment, and longing born from historical injusti…
Forelsket — The overwhelming, almost dizzy euphoria of falling in love — that specific state of early…
Resfeber — The mix of nervous excitement and anticipatory anxiety you feel before a journey — your h…
Sisu — An extraordinary inner determination — stoic courage, grit, and resilience in the face of…
Hiraeth — A homesickness for a home you can't return to, or perhaps never had — a grief for lost pl…

Kummerspeck — The weight you gain from emotional eating — the extra pounds that accumulate during heart…
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…
Verschlimmbessern — To make something worse in a well-intentioned attempt to improve it.
Sturmfrei — The liberating feeling of having the house entirely to yourself — when parents or a partn…
Waldeinsamkeit — The serene, faintly mystical feeling of being alone in the woods, at peace with nature.

Loading the full interactive collection…