Strange Words Indeed
“Fahrvergnugen,” I said with a grin. It’s the German word that actually means ‘car that gives a great driving experience.’ Yes folks, I remembered the old Volkswagen commercial. Celtic Woman and I were talking about cars and driving recently, even though she lives in a large city and has never learned how to drive. For some strange reason, she wants a Porsche, which to me seems like buying a supersonic fighter jet when you really want to learn to fly a kite. She giggled when I told her that. Then she surprised me. Instead of talking more about cars, she mentioned how words in different languages, like the German Fahrvergnugen, can express more than you think from the literal translation.
I immediately thought of another one of those strange German words that means more than you think:
Schadenfreude – means the pleasure you get from another’s misfortune or bad luck. We had a fun conversation about other such words, then said goodnight.
This really got me thinking and I found a few more foreign words that seem to mean much more than a first reading would imply. Here are a few:
Kummerspeck: German. This compound word literally means ‘grief-bacon’ and describes the excess weight gained from emotion-related overeating.
Drachenfutter: German compound word, translated as ‘dragon fodder.’ What it really means is the peace offerings made by guilty husbands to their wives. Tiger – I hope you are reading this…
Here is a real German train-car word – handschuhschneeballwerfer‘, which means ‘somebody who wears gloves to throw snow balls.’ It is used in general for all cowards.
azbliuto: Russian derivation. The sentimental feeling you have about someone you once loved but no longer do.
bakku-shan: Japanese. A girl who appears pretty from behind but not from the front.
The next day she emailed part of an article she read in the British magazine, “The Observer”:
Jeffery Eugenides, author of The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, was asked in an interview about describing shifting life course moments and responded that he regretted not having at his disposal, "complicated hybrid emotions, Germanic train-car constructions like, say, …’the disappointment of sleeping with one’s fantasy.’ … I’d like to have a word for ‘the sadness inspired by failing restaurants’ as well as for ‘the excitement of getting a room with a mini-bar.’"
I was touched by reading this because I have felt emotions, some serious, and some humorous, that there were no simple words to express. I will list some ideas here and welcome you to make up some words to express these feelings. Even better, give ideas and words of your own. The only rule is your made up word should sound like real English word.
The feeling of satisfaction when you see your ex has gained a lot of weight
The emotion you feel when that mean bully from high school now has to meekly pump your gas at the local filling station.
The awkward feeling you experience when people stare at you and you realize you have lettuce stuck between your front teeth
The terrible feeling when you sit for an important exam, and realize you have no idea how to answer the questions.
The disappointment when you finally meet that extremely good looking person you have been thinking
about for weeks, and you find they are a total waste of oxygen.
The act of repeatedly pushing an elevator button even though you know it will not come any faster. I see, and do this, in the hospital every day.
The act, when you are vacuuming your rug, of going over and over (and over…) the same hunk of dust that refuses to get sucked into the machine, instead of just bending over to pick it up.
The utter frustration you feel when you are running very late for an important event, and as you tie your shoes, the damn shoelace picks that VERY MOMENT to break.
Lastly dear readers, I leave you with another compound word from the German, which means – ‘I’m constipated and know I will not find relief for a while.’ Farfrumpoopin
#5 makes me think of someone becoming “uninpornant” and #4 sounds like “nidea”
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Mine would be the satisfaction you feel when the person who fired you loses HER job. (yeah, I know, major lack of compassion here). Have to think up a good word for that.
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the elevator one is already a word from sniglets: elexceleration.
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omg, the second time someone has explained kummerspeck to me in two days. I am in grief mode, and as always lose all excess weight…
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The feeling of disgust you have when a cute girl you are having coffee with you and has a booger/dead tooth. The feeling of embarassment you have when someone tells you that you forgot to do your zippper. The rage you feel when a friend sticks a finger in a hole in your pants and makes it bigger. The curiosity you have when you fuck the shit out of someone and wonder if they liked
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it or it actually hurt but have no idea what to ask. as usual, great entry!!!!! 🙂 love,
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1. Chanribution 2. Karoy 3. Emshy 4. Farb 5. Disap 6. Frusimpa 7. Fushitzy 8. Bashifuc
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So the Japanese bakku-shan is the equivalent to the American butter-face?
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Duke stole my note! ~pouts~ notusinterruptus
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Disgruntous: The feeling of utter disappointment when you run into your ex and see them with a very hot/sexy date. Disamuse: The feeling you get when you go to sleep knowing there is pie/cake/something yummy and not normal in the fridge for breakfast and can’t wait to wake up and eat it only to discover someone woke up before you…
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It hit me on the way home from work- people who repeatedly press the elevator button, or click their mouse, in a futile effort to speed up a mechanical process are suffering from Manic Pressive Disorder.
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How about the feeling you get when you pick up a newspaper onlyto discover that someone else has already done the crossword? ~
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Are you sure the Germans don’t have words for those things? They seem to have a pretty useful and descriptive language overall.
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Well I’d have to say that I’m not familiar with the terms kummerspeck or drackenfutter and the source I discused this with wasn’t familiar with these words either. Now that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist it just means I’m not familiar with them. But farfrumpoopin; oh doc, come on now.
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let’s see if OD will let me post this…. my word: Goddamnification. definition: The realization that your world has entered a downward spiral and there’s nothing you can do at the moment to improve it (even if you can improve it at a later date).
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also: That feeling you get when you know you’re being so weird that people would pretend not to know you. That special look a virgin has after being laid for the first time the annoyed feeling you get when it’s raining all day and you have to walk to the supermarket.
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ryn: i look like that about as much as you look like a big black man named bubba.
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#4: Studummy 🙂 last one: shudamned 🙂
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That last one doesn’t even look like a German word, nice try. 😛 Where’d you learn those phrases? As a Germanic studies major, I should know more of them. Everyone knows Schadenfreude, and Fahrvergnügen is self-explanatory…but the double-meanings of Drachenfutter and Handshuhschneeballwerfer are interesting. Luftkissenfahrzeug is another great German word-creation.
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ahhhh fantastic entry! Farfrumpoopin!! That literally made me ‘LOL’. Thanks for making me smile on a ‘notsofarfrumpoopin’ day! (a crappy day!)
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I love German (though speak it terribly) because you can link so many words together to make such EXACT words 🙂 Oh and I LOVE Jeffery Eugenides – I wrote a 20 page paper for my senior capstone course on his novel Middlesex 🙂
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I’ve always loved this about the German language. You can create words and phrases that just become exponentially long as you add meaning to them. It’s brilliant. Also helps in translating back to English – you can work a lot of it out by logic!
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No problem 🙂 I forgot the joy of ‘hovercraft’ (Luftkissenfahrzeug – air cushion vehicle). I also like ‘Krankenschwester’ (meaning ‘sick sister’ or nurse to you and me). ‘Brustwarze’ is my least favourite word. Literally ‘breast warts’, it translates to ‘nipples’. Shudder. You might enjoy this article: http://andrewhammel.typepad.com/german_joys/2005/11/german_words_of.html
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