Does Not Translate - Words That Don't Translate

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Ljugarbänk (lit. liar’s bench)·Bench where old people sit and tell fanciful stories.

Swedish

Eti kemik geçiyor·A common answer someone without a wristwatch gives if you ask them the time without making sure they have a watch. Literally means It's bone past meat (said after making the gesture of checking time on your non-existent wristwatch).

Turkish

Backwash·The saliva and/or drink that gets into the drink when you finish taking a sip.

English

गाऊथी·Gauthi Slang word used by urban Indian kids (like me) to describe something or someone that looks like it would belong in an Indian village.

Hindi

Auslauf·Describes a state where an animal or person has sufficient space to move around.

German

Soler·Handy short verb to indicate 'to usually do'.

Spanish

Przymykać·To close something incompletely, leaving a gap.

Polish

auf Lücke lernen·To selectively study only certain topics for an exam in the hope of getting lucky with what's being asked.

German

Raaskia·To not want to do something due to financial reasons.

Finnish

Gezellig·Having a good time with friends/family/lovers or having a good or cozy atmosphere.

Dutch

Smultronställe (lit. wild strawberry place)·A location you love to return to that's difficult for others to find.

Swedish

kursailu·An act to refuse serving/offering in modest manner to show courtesy.

Finnish

Moppemusche (lit. moped ‘stache)·The thin fuzzy mustache teens grow before they figure out shaving.

Queer·Something that doesn't follow a society's expectations of sex and gender.

English

Chest-onality·Having large, shapely breasts as compensation for having a defective personality.

Spanish

Tutear·To address someone informally, in the tú form.

Spanish

Žnj·Something extremely low-ranked.

Croatian

Bahala na si Batman·Whatever happens happens/Leave it all to Batman.

Tagalog

qatıqlamaq ( to yogurt )·To speak silly / nonsense / foolish.

Azerbaijani

Хлебен [khlében·Adj. An otherwise juicy fruit that's too dry and unpleasant to eat, making you feel like you're eating bread.

Bulgarian

Ser un mangó bajito·Literally to be a low mango, To be gullible or easily picked on.

Puerto Rican Spanish

Rechtsstaat·A state that has the rule of law.

German

Aufwendig·Describes something that takes a lot of time and resources.

German

Gravata-borboleta·Literally, Necktie-Butterfly, but it is actually the bow tie.

Portuguese (brazilian only)

固唾 Katazu·Saliva held in one's mouth during times of tension.

Japanese

Pesado/a·(lit. Heavy)- An unpleasant person that thinks is better than you.

Spanish

江湖(Jiāng Hú)·Lit. rivers and lakes.

Chinese

Pommy shower·To use deodorant instead of having a shower.

Australian English

To clothesline somebody·To hit someone in the neck area with your inner arm, usually when they are moving at a high rate of speed, causing them to fall down (video of clotheslining in description).

English

flygskam; the shame of using the form of transport with the biggest impact on climate·Aircraft.

Swedish