Untranslatable Words - Page 5

mores · 05-10-2008, 08:05 AM

We can continue with the german for a long time, but it get's boring quite fast.
flugzeug - fly thing (airplane)
fahrzeug - drive thing (vehicle)
feuerzeug - fire thing (lighter)
Germans got lots of things

In Luxembourg, when you're really pissed at someone you say
Ech kenn him mam aarsch an d'gesiet sprangen - I could jump with my ass into his face

And a really nice expression that I picked up in Montreal, Canada is Asti tabernak ... carries weight like the f-word, but means housel tabernacle.

zelda_pinwheel · 05-10-2008, 08:33 AM

i like the german word "Dingsbums". in french the equivalent could be "trucmuche", which is sort of a nonsense word in french already. "truc" means thing, but "muche" is just a slang ending that at one time was added to a lot of words ; like, there is a neighborhood in Paris called Ménilmontant, sometimes people still call it Ménilmuche. it's sort of like in english now when you add "iz" to words. there have been a lot of different slang languages in french with adding syllables or endings, like "javanais" where you would add "av" in the middle of a word.

i also love the german word "Gnatz-Teufel".

mores · 05-10-2008, 08:37 AM

Well, the english thingamajig isn't bad either and means the same thing!
Hey, 3 languages and 3 funny words

zelda_pinwheel · 05-10-2008, 08:42 AM

right, thingamajig !!! excellent ! maybe every language has a "trucmuchedingsbumsthingamajig" word. we should try to make as exhaustive a list as possible. where are all the other language speakers on this site ???

montsnmags · 05-10-2008, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i like the german word "Dingsbums". in french the equivalent could be "trucmuche", which is sort of a nonsense word in french already. "truc" means thing, but "muche" is just a slang ending that at one time was added to a lot of words...

Would these, perhaps, be like the English words:

- thingamajig
- thingamabob
- whatsit
- whatchamacallit
- doohickey
- doodad

?

[Edit: Bugger. I've been answered while drafting my ask]

Cheers,
Marc

zelda_pinwheel · 05-10-2008, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

maybe every language has a "trucmuchedingsbumsthingamajig" word. we should try to make as exhaustive a list as possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Would these, perhaps, be like the English words:

- thingamajig
- thingamabob
- whatsit
- whatchamacallit
- doohickey
- doodad

?

Cheers,
Marc

or, alternately, we could try to list all the possible variations in english, since apparently there are plenty !!

[EDIT : you have to get up pretty early to slip a thingamajig past this crowd.]

Cthulhu · 05-10-2008, 08:55 AM

@ Mores:

There was a serious thread, about emergent digital reading devices and their possible uses, where someone brought up the concept of a device attempting to be far too many things for its own good.

In English we say "Jack (i.e. low-caste person) of all trades, Master (i.e. skilled craftsman) of none."

There was a German phrase about the "pork-egg-milk-cow" animal that is a delightful Teutonic conglomeration. Sadly, cannot remember the exact German or English counterpart. Any ideas?

MickeyC · 05-10-2008, 09:11 AM

I used to live in Germany but had forgotten about 'Dingsbums' which I found to be a handy word. The Aussies version of this is 'thingo' which I like.

And do you know what the single most recognized word in the entire world is? Okay

zelda_pinwheel · 05-10-2008, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassidym

I used to live in Germany but had forgotten about 'Dingsbums' which I found to be a handy word. The Aussies version of this is 'thingo' which I like.

And do you know what the single most recognized word in the entire world is? Okay

"thingo", i like that, we should add it to the list !

Dingsbums comes in particularly handy when you only know about 10 words in german (which is my case). so, for example, if you know how to say "Kannst-Du mir das Schwarzbrot (wein/bier/etc.) geben bitte" you can easily adapt this sentence to anything, by saying "kannst-Du mir das Dingsbums geben bitte" and pointing at the "Dingsbums" in question. really useful.

"okay", it's true, i've never met anyone from any country who didn't know that word.

zelda_pinwheel · 05-10-2008, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by montsnmags

A left-handed, or backhanded, compliment, is when an insult is couched or hidden within a compliment.

Examples might be something like...

(...)

"That beanie really suits you, Adrian".

Cheers,
Marc

i'm not sure if it's quite the same, but we do have the expression "faux compliment" which means a false compliment... it seems to me there is another expression as well, it's tickling my mind, but i can't think of it right now...

montsnmags · 05-10-2008, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

"thingo", i like that, we should add it to the list !...

...and "thingummy".

Cheers,
Marc

IceHand · 05-10-2008, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cthulhu

In English we say "Jack (i.e. low-caste person) of all trades, Master (i.e. skilled craftsman) of none."

There was a German phrase about the "pork-egg-milk-cow" animal that is a delightful Teutonic conglomeration. Sadly, cannot remember the exact German or English counterpart. Any ideas?

Eierlegende Wollmilchsau. It would literally translate as: egg laying wool-milk-sow. And yes it's much like the phrase "Jack of all trades, Master of none", but it's applied only to things not humans.

Btw, you can make really long words in German if you want to, like: Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitänskajüte (anyone want to translate that? :P)

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i also love the german word "Gnatz-Teufel".

What is that? I've never heard that word before ...

BenG · 05-10-2008, 12:17 PM

English doesn't really have a word equivalent to the German Schadenfreude. We know the feeling but we have to use a few words to describe it: Pleasure felt from other people's misfortune, malicious gloating
Katzenjammer (cats yammering), mentioned in another thread, can also be used to describe a hangover. Does anyone remember the cartoon "The Katzenjammer Kids"?

zelda_pinwheel · 05-10-2008, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceHand

Eierlegende Wollmilchsau. It would literally translate as: egg laying wool-milk-sow. And yes it's much like the phrase "Jack of all trades, Master of none", but it's applied only to things not humans.

Btw, you can make really long words in German if you want to, like: Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitänskajüte (anyone want to translate that? :P)

that's exactly what i think is so brilliant about german ! but i cannot even try to translate that, i'm sure it's not made with my 10 words...

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i also love the german word "Gnatz-Teufel".

What is that? I've never heard that word before ...

ha, this must be a made-up word as well then, it comes from "vergnatz" (it means sulk or be angry, i think) + "Teufel" (devil) ; a long time ago a german friend of mine gave me a little red toy devil and told me it was a "Gnatz-Teufel", and i could let it have all my bad moods and keep only the good moods for myself.

Taylor514ce · 05-10-2008, 12:45 PM

This is exactly what I wanted this thread to become. We are pleased.

- His Eminence, Brucie the MoE.

05-10-2008, 08:33 AM	#62
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	i like the german word "Dingsbums". in french the equivalent could be "trucmuche", which is sort of a nonsense word in french already. "truc" means thing, but "muche" is just a slang ending that at one time was added to a lot of words ; like, there is a neighborhood in Paris called Ménilmontant, sometimes people still call it Ménilmuche. it's sort of like in english now when you add "iz" to words. there have been a lot of different slang languages in french with adding syllables or endings, like "javanais" where you would add "av" in the middle of a word. i also love the german word "Gnatz-Teufel". Last edited by zelda_pinwheel; 05-10-2008 at 08:43 AM.

05-10-2008, 12:17 PM	#73
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,730 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	English doesn't really have a word equivalent to the German Schadenfreude. We know the feeling but we have to use a few words to describe it: Pleasure felt from other people's misfortune, malicious gloating Katzenjammer (cats yammering), mentioned in another thread, can also be used to describe a hangover. Does anyone remember the cartoon "The Katzenjammer Kids"? Last edited by BenG; 05-10-2008 at 12:23 PM.

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05-10-2008, 08:05 AM	#61
mores Guru Posts: 834 Karma: 102419 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Vienna, Austria Device: iPhone	We can continue with the german for a long time, but it get's boring quite fast. flugzeug - fly thing (airplane) fahrzeug - drive thing (vehicle) feuerzeug - fire thing (lighter) Germans got lots of things In Luxembourg, when you're really pissed at someone you say Ech kenn him mam aarsch an d'gesiet sprangen - I could jump with my ass into his face And a really nice expression that I picked up in Montreal, Canada is Asti tabernak ... carries weight like the f-word, but means housel tabernacle.

05-10-2008, 08:37 AM	#63
mores Guru Posts: 834 Karma: 102419 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Vienna, Austria Device: iPhone	Well, the english thingamajig isn't bad either and means the same thing! Hey, 3 languages and 3 funny words

05-10-2008, 08:42 AM	#64
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	right, thingamajig !!! excellent ! maybe every language has a "trucmuchedingsbumsthingamajig" word. we should try to make as exhaustive a list as possible. where are all the other language speakers on this site ???

05-10-2008, 08:55 AM	#67
Cthulhu Technologist Posts: 488 Karma: 585237 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: I'm between Cities Device: SONY Reader PRS-500	@ Mores: There was a serious thread, about emergent digital reading devices and their possible uses, where someone brought up the concept of a device attempting to be far too many things for its own good. In English we say "Jack (i.e. low-caste person) of all trades, Master (i.e. skilled craftsman) of none." There was a German phrase about the "pork-egg-milk-cow" animal that is a delightful Teutonic conglomeration. Sadly, cannot remember the exact German or English counterpart. Any ideas?

05-10-2008, 09:11 AM	#68
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	I used to live in Germany but had forgotten about 'Dingsbums' which I found to be a handy word. The Aussies version of this is 'thingo' which I like. And do you know what the single most recognized word in the entire world is? Okay

05-10-2008, 12:45 PM	#75
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	This is exactly what I wanted this thread to become. We are pleased. - His Eminence, Brucie the MoE.

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