The world’s most difficult word to translate

More than 1,000 translators around the world have agreed that the toughest word, in any language to translate is a word of the Bantu language of Tshiluba:

“Illunga” which means:

A person ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time.

In second place was the Yiddish word “shlimazl” which means “a chronically unlucky person.”

In third place was the Polish word “radioukacz” which means “a person who worked as a telegraphist for the resistance movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain.”

Others in the list:

Naa: Japanese word used only in Japan’s Kansai area: “to emphasise statements or agree with someone”

Altahmam: Arabic: “a kind of deep sadness” (apparently there are a few types of sadness)

Gezellig: Duth: “cosy” (was that too difficult to translate?)

Saudade: Portugese: “a certain type of longing”

Selathirupavar: Tamil: “a certain type of truancy”

Pochemuchka: Russian: “a person who asks a lot of questions” (I think this applies to inquisitive children too!)

Klloshar: Albanian: loser (but how difficult is it to translate that?!)

Source
The Times, 22nd June 2004

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