They say the language of love is universal, but we (unfortunately) have to disagree. Love is everywhere, but every language has its own words, phrases, and concepts when it comes to communicating just what love is. It stands to be one of the most contextually challenging ideas to effectively translate and is one that even the most experienced language service providers must be on guard against.
LinguaLinx is on a mission to help the people across the world with all their translation needs, from legal to healthcare to educational, and everywhere in between. Along with the capability to translate into 98% of the world's known languages, we also have a love for other cultures and the ways that these languages came to be.
Context is crucial when translating from one language to another. You can translate word for word, but throw those sentences together and you might end up saying something less than.....lovely.
Or, in these cases, there are no active translations for these words at all. That's the beauty of translation; there's a heartbeat behind each language.
This article covers 10 romantic phrases that just can't quite be perfectly translated into English.
10 Romantic Phrases That Can Never Be Correctly Translated
1. Ya’aburnee – Arabic
Translated into English, Ya'aburnee means "you bury me." In Arabic however, it represents the idea that you hope the person you love will live longer than you, so you don't have to live without them.
2. Yuanfen – Chinese
Not a single English word is available to describe this "relationship by fate or destiny."
3. Razbliuto – Russian
When you used to love someone, but no longer do. In English, this feeling is not even summarized by a word.
4. Viraag – Hindi
The emotional pain of being separated from a loved one. We compare this to the feeling of "missing someone" or "longing for someone" though even those do not collectively summarize the same concept as "Viraag."
5. Cafuné – Brazilian Portuguese
Tenderly running your fingers through someone's hair.
6. Kara sevde – Turkish
In English, this means "blind love" - but "Kara sevde" actually means the idea that you feel an intense, passionate blind love for another person.
7. Koi No Yokan – Japanese
The moment you meet someone, you know that you are destined to fall in love with one another.
8. La douleur exquise – French
Wanting someone you cannot have, and the intense pain that follows.
9. Retrouvailles - French
The feeling of joy after seeing someone whom you have not seen for a long time. Hard to believe we don't have a compound word for this beautiful feeling.
10. Cavoli riscaldati – Italian
In English, this phrase means "reheated cabbage." The Italians use this phrase to describe a moment you attempt to restart a failed relationship or love affair.
Do You Need Your Love Letters Translated?
In this article, you learned 10 phrases that just don't quite translate, deepening our universal understanding of love.
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