Words That Shape Perception

The author comes from a multicultural background and appreciates words from other languages that don't have direct English equivalents. These terms expose what cultures prioritize and can influence perception. Russian, for instance, distinguishes between light and dark blue, and studies suggest this helps speakers differentiate those shades more quickly. In essence, words function as tokens constructing our worldview.

Ten Untranslatable Words

  • Fingerspitzengefühl: German for "fingertip feeling." Describes a fine sense of judgement from years of experience, needed for delicate craftsmanship like fixing a watch, machining metal, growing plants, or engineering cell lines.
  • Genchi genbutsu: Japanese for "actual place, actual thing." A core Toyota principle referring to physically handling and examining the actual material, equipment, or defective product itself, rather than relying on photographs, spreadsheets, or written reports. Tell your team to "go and see for yourself" in the customer's lab instead of reading reports or having remote discovery interviews.
  • Nemawashi: Japanese for "going around the roots." Refers to building support with individual stakeholders before making a formal decision in a bigger meeting. Like gardeners digging around and trimming roots before transplanting a tree, investing in laying groundwork for consensus may slow you initially but enables quicker movement once agreement is reached.
  • Sisu: Finnish representing stoic determination, grit, bravery, and resilience in adversity. Admired in a spouse who has jumped through embassy hoops, weathered visa delays, and endured cold winters. The closely related English word "stubborn" has been removed from personal vocabulary.
  • Omoshiroi: Japanese covering funny, interesting, and amusing all at once. Humor is the fastest way to make a friend. Moving to Japan as a teenager, one word covering what English splits into several observations was found omoshiroi.
  • Gezellig: Dutch conjuring warm, cozy feeling of being with friends or family. Unlike "cozy," it emphasizes that feeling from hanging out together with good people. Nothing is more gezellig to the author than a good hang with childhood friends.
  • Jam karet: Indonesian translating to "rubber time." Describes a flexible interpretation of time. Comes in handy when running late but is not always appreciated by the party waiting.
  • Gemas: Indonesian for the overwhelming urge to violently squeeze something because it is unbearably cute, like a baby. One of the author's new favorite words after becoming a dad. A Filipino word gigil means the same thing and is thought to be even better; it makes me giggle.
  • Saudade: Portuguese denoting a deep longing for an absent person, place, or time. Combines love, loss, memory, and longing in a way that "nostalgia" does not fully capture. Conjures a time flying into Portugal to attend a friend's wedding, dancing till late. Cue "1979" by the Smashing Pumpkins.
  • Mir: Russian meaning both "peace" and "world." Hence the Mir Space Station, named to symbolize peace and the global community. "Peace" and "world" were spelled differently (mirъ vs. miraux) and considered separate words until a 1918 spelling reform dropped the distinction. The two words always sounded the same, but the merger made the phrase "miru mir" ("peace to the world") a paper pun amusing to many Russian dads.

What other words should I know about? Let me know in your internet community of choice: LinkedIn, Hacker News, or X.