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揭秘:世界上最难翻译的二十个词!

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1. Toska

Russian – Vladmir Nabokov describes it best: “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.” 俄语,作家弗拉基米尔·纳博科夫对这个词的描述是:“英语中没有哪个词能精确表达toska的含义,这个词表达了一种深刻的精神上的痛楚,通常这痛楚是无由来的。它也可以表达程度比较轻的、灵魂的隐痛,一种没有思慕对象的渴求、一种忧愁的思念,一种微弱的忧虑不安感、精神上的剧痛、渴望。在某些特定情况下这个词可以表达对特定对象的渴求,比如乡愁、相思。这个词程度最轻的含义是无聊、烦闷。”

小编注:……以后不说什么忧伤了,说toska

揭秘:世界上最难翻译的二十个词!

2. Mamihlapinatapei

Yagan (indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego) – “the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start” 火地岛的一种土语,意为:两个同样抱有做某件事的决心但都不愿着手行动的人彼此间交换的一种无言而意味深长的眼神。

小编注:其实就是考试前想要好好背单词复习的两个人一起进行最后的思想斗争……

3. Jayus

Indonesian – “A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh” 印尼语:一个拙劣的笑话,太搓了以至于听者都觉得很好笑。

小编注:……其实就是冷笑话吧……好冷!

4. Iktsuarpok

Inuit – “To go outside to check if anyone is coming.” 因纽特语:出去看看是不是有人来了。

小编注:精炼啊!

5. Litost

Czech – Milan Kundera, author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, remarked that “As for the meaning of this word, I have looked in vain in other languages for an equivalent, though I find it difficult to imagine how anyone can understand the human soul without it.” The closest definition is a state of agony and torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery. 捷克语:米兰昆德拉说,这个词“其他语言中都无法找到对应的词语,我认为不懂得这个词语的含义的人,也就不懂得灵魂。” 最接近这个词义的解释是:一种因突然明了自身的困境而产生的痛苦感。

小编注:“了悟”说的是这个么0. 0

6. Kyoikumama

Japanese – “A mother who relentlessly pushes her children toward academic achievement” 日语:一个无情无义逼迫自己孩子学业有成的母亲

小编注:虎妈,解释完毕。

7. Tartle

Scottish – The act of hestitating while introducing someone because you’ve forgotten their name. 苏格兰语:介绍某人的时候因为忘记他的名字而犹豫的情形。

小编注:苏格兰人记性是有多差……

8. Ilunga

Tshiluba (Southwest Congo) – A word famous for its untranslatability, most professional translators pinpoint it as the stature of a person “who is ready to forgive and forget any first abuse, tolerate it the second time, but never forgive nor tolerate on the third offense.” 刚果西南部的奇卢伯语:以无法翻译著称,许多翻译大师都将这个词解释为:一个第一次受辱可以忘记、第二次可以原谅、但第三次就绝不容忍的人的思想境界。

小编注:刚果人民有君子风范!上海话中有对应表达:过一过二不过三~~

9. Prozvonit

Czech – This word means to call a mobile phone and let it ring once so that the other person will call back, saving the first caller money. In Spanish, the phrase for this is “Dar un toque,” or, “To give a touch.” 捷克语:这个词表示打某人手机,响铃一次就挂断,好让那个人再打回来,这样第一个打电话的人可以省钱。这个词在西班牙语中是Dar un toque,字面对应英语是To give a touch

小编注:你们考虑考虑要掏电话费的那个人的心情……

10. Cafuné

Brazilian Portuguese – “The act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair.” 巴西葡萄牙语:温柔地用手抚摸一个人的头发

小编注:穿过你的黑发我的手……

11. Schadenfreude

German – This refers to the feeling of pleasure derived by seeing another’s misfortune. 德语:从他人的苦难中获取乐趣

小编注:你有什么不开心的,说出来让大家开心开心,说的是这个意思么?

12. Torschlusspanik

German – Translated literally, this word means “gate-closing panic,” but its contextual meaning refers to “the fear of diminishing opportunities as one ages.” 德语:直译是“关门恐慌”,表示“因为年纪增长而对机会的流失感到恐慌”

小编注:廉颇老矣,尚能饭否?

13. Wabi-Sabi

Japanese – Much has been written on this Japanese concept, but in a sentence, one might be able to understand it as “a way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay.” 日语:在句子中看到这个词,可以理解为“在生活的不完美中找到美之所在、平静地接受万物作息的循环”

小编注:东方的禅意生活

14. Dépaysement

French – The feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country. 法语:居于异乡而产生的情感。

小编注:中文里的“客心”就是这个意思么?大江流日月,客心悲未央~

15. Tingo

Pascuense (Easter Island) – “the act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.” 复活节岛的当地语言:以一天借一点的方式,把你喜欢的东西从朋友家一点点都拿光。

小编注:复活节岛真可怕!!

16. Hyggelig

Danish – Its “literal” translation into English gives connotations of a warm, friendly, cozy demeanor, but it’s unlikely that these words truly capture the essence of a hyggelig; it’s likely something that must be experienced to be known. I think of good friends, cold beer, and a warm fire. 丹麦语:直译的话或许可以表达“热情的、有好的行为举止”这样的含义,但是这种词语不足以表达这个词的精髓,这也许是一种必须亲身经历才能体会的的感受,比如好朋友、冰镇啤酒、烤火之类的。

小编注:……于是这到底是个啥呢0. 0

17. L’appel du vide

French – “The call of the void” is this French expression’s literal translation, but more significantly it’s used to describe the instinctive urge to jump from high places. 法语:直译是“空虚的呼唤”,它描述的是一种本能地想要从高处跳下的冲动。

小编注:跳吧……你将融化在蓝天里……恐高的人才不会有这种冲动呢!

18. Ya’aburnee

Arabic – Both morbid and beautiful at once, this incantatory word means “You bury me,” a declaration of one’s hope that they’ll die before another person because of how difficult it would be to live without them. 阿拉伯语:又变态又美丽的一个词,意为“你埋了我”,表达一种想要比另一个人早死的愿望,因为无法忍受TA死后自己独活的痛苦。

小编注:阿拉伯人好浪漫!!!!!!突然有种想学阿拉伯语的赶脚肿么办!

19. Duende

Spanish – While originally used to describe a mythical, spritelike entity that possesses humans and creates the feeling of awe of one’s surroundings in nature, its meaning has transitioned into referring to “the mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person.” 西班牙语:最先表示一种神秘的、令人对周遭环境产生敬畏之心的存在,如今词义发生了变迁,表示“一件艺术作品所含有的打动人心的神秘力量”。

小编注:中文里最难翻译的“意境”,差不多可以对比一下么?

20. Saudade

Portuguese – One of the most beautiful of all words, translatable or not, this word “refers to the feeling of longing for something or someone that you love and which is lost.” 葡萄牙语,一切语言中最美的一个词,表达“对已失去的深爱之人或物的怀念之情”。

小编注:中文所谓“此情可待成追忆,只是当时已惘然”。