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Sometimes they describe an attribute. Or a moment. Or maybe just a vibe.

These are the words from other languages that don't have a direct equivalent in English, and yet carry so much meaning.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary set out recently to gather some of these words on Twitter, and was flooded with responses from people offering their own.

Everything from "jugaad" in India (a flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources) to "tsujigiri" in Japan (trying out your newly-acquired sword by decapitating a random passerby) was put forward.

So we asked four people to tell us more about their favorite non-English words, and how they personally try to translate them.

Submitted by Julie Cafley — Ottawa, Canada

Submitted by Rafa Martínez-Avial — San Francisco, California

Submitted by Kyle Wark (Tlingit names are X'ulteen and L'aakaw Éesh

Arts and Culture

Alejandra Marquez Janse

Author

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary set out recently to document some of these words on Twitter, and was flooded with responses from people offering their own.

Lost in translation: 4 perfect words that have no English equivalent

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