28 Genius Depictions Of Words With No Direct English Translation

28 Genius Depictions Of Words With No Direct English Translation

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But in this case, each image is worth just one.

Designer Anjana Iyer seeks to explain untranslatable words from non-English languages, with the help of a some quirky imagery. The New Zealand-based artist's series of illustrations, each of which is accompanied by a short explainer, effectively translates words that cannot be directly anglicized.

The series, "Found In Translation," draws from a variety of languages including Greek, Korean and Tshiluba (which is spoken in Democratic Republic of the Congo). Some of the terms Iyer chose to illustrate -- such as "schadenfreude," a German word that means the feeling of enjoyment derived from seeing the misery of others -- are more well-known examples of untranslatable words, while others are a bit less common.

Iyer began the series as part of the 100 Days Project, a web-based creative exercise out of New Zealand which asks artists to choose an activity and repeat it every day for the next 100 days. For the span of the project, Iyer will be illustrating a word that has no direct English translation. (She had already completed 41 images, as of Friday afternoon.)

See a sample of Iyer's illustrations of untranslatable words, below.

Anjana Iyer
Fernweh (German)
Anjana Iyer
Backpfeifengesicht (German)
Anjana Iyer
Bakku-shan (Japanese)
Anjana Iyer
Shlimazl (Yiddish)
Anjana Iyer
Tsundoku (Japanese)
Anjana Iyer
Waldeinsamkeit (German)
Anjana Iyer
Pochemuchka(Russian)
Anjana Iyer
Aware (Japanese)
Anjana Iyer
Radioukacz (Polish)
Anjana Iyer
Prozvonit (Czech)
Anjana Iyer
Gattara (Italian)
Anjana Iyer
Hanyauku (Rukwangali)
Anjana Iyer
Rire dans sa barbe (French)
Anjana Iyer
Friolero (Spanish)
Anjana Iyer
Lieko (Finnish)
Anjana Iyer
Papakata (Cook Islands Maori)
Anjana Iyer
Komorebi (Japanese)
Anjana Iyer
Cúbóg (Irish)
Anjana Iyer
Tingo (Pascuense)
Anjana Iyer
Utepils (Norwegian)
Anjana Iyer
Won (Korean)
Anjana Iyer
Iktsuarpok (Inuit)
Anjana Iyer
Ilunga (Tshiluba)
Anjana Iyer
Schadenfreude (German)
Anjana Iyer
Tokka (Finnish)
Anjana Iyer
Istories me arkoudes (Greek)
Anjana Iyer
Wabi-Sabi (Japanese)
Anjana Iyer
Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan)

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