30 Untranslatable Words From Different Languages Illustrated By Anjana Iyer

New Zealand-based media designer Anjana Iyer searched through languages around the world for various interesting words that have no direct translation into English and attempted to capture their meanings with refined and humorous illustrations. The posters from her “Found in Translation” project provide literal explanations of the words' meanings as well.

The tongue-in-cheek illustration series is part of the “100 Days Project”, a web-based platform that invites various aspiring and acknowledged artists to repeat their chosen creative activity for 100 days, documenting their results on the project's site. Iyer is almost half-way through, so once you check out what she's already come up with to explain the untranslatable, make sure to follow her and see what else she creates!

Source: 100daysproject.co.nz | Behance (h/t)

1. Fernweh (German)

2. Komorebi (Japanese)

3. Tingo (Pascuense)

4. Pochemuchka (Russian)

5. Gökotta (Swedish)

6. Bakku-shan (Japanese)

7. Backpfeifengesicht (German)

8. Aware (Japanese)

9. Tsundoku (Japanese)

10. Shlimazl (Yiddish)

11. Rire dans sa barbe (French)

12. Waldeinsamkeit (German)

13. Hanyauku (Rukwangali)

14. Gattara (Italian)

15. Prozvonit (Czech)

16. Iktsuarpok (Inuit)

17. Papakata (Cook Islands Maori)

18. Friolero (Spanish)

19. Schilderwald (German)

20. Utepils (Norwegian)

21. Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan)

22. Culaccino (Italian)

23. Ilunga (Tshiluba)

24. Kyoikumama (Japanese)

25. Age-otori (Japanese)

26. Chai-Pani (Hindi)

27. Won (Korean)

28. Tokka (Finnish)

29. Schadenfreude (German)

30. Wabi-Sabi (Japanese)