Favorite words in a foreign language that don't exist in your native language

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StringerBell
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Re: Favorite words in a foreign language that don't exist in your native language

Postby StringerBell » Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:01 pm

cjareck wrote:My favourite Russian word (I will think about Hebrew and Arabic one later) is автоматчик which means infantryman with a submachine gun. In Russian - Polish military dictionary I found a translation to "Fizylier" (Fusilier), but that is also a name for line infantry from Napoleonic Wars.


Interesting...the Italian word for rifle is "fucile" and I think an infantryman in Italian is "fuciliere" which looks very similar to the Polish word.
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Re: Favorite words in a foreign language that don't exist in your native language

Postby tarvos » Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:45 pm

That word is probably a loanword through French.
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Re: Favorite words in a foreign language that don't exist in your native language

Postby cjareck » Wed Sep 19, 2018 8:28 pm

tarvos wrote:That word is probably a loanword through French.

Exactly this is a loan word from French -> Fusilier
What is interesting however is that French call Russian and Soviet rifle divisions as "divisions de fusiliers" (see: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusilier#URSS/Russie). But in Russian their name is entirely different - стрелковая дивизия and has nothing in common with автоматчик.
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Re: Favorite words in a foreign language that don't exist in your native language

Postby Tristano » Fri Sep 21, 2018 10:00 am

Italian: abbiocco. The feeling of drowsiness and sleepiness after having eaten a very large meal.

Dutch: gezelligheid. The feeling of comfort and pleasure of being in a certain environment with or without (But mostly with) other people. It can be gezellig also with plants, or pets, or fine furnished and decorated rooms.
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