Lost in translation

Pretty JAPANESE words that describe a moment, feeling or sentiment that don’t exist in the English language ♡

かんび な なまえ だ – kanbina;  a beautiful word, pleasant to the ear

If we spoke another language – would the way we perceive the world be different? The Japanese are deeply thoughtful poets and writers and have the highest life expectancy on Earth. Does their gentle and subtly beautiful prose translate into their everyday lives?  Honouring beauty and pain – finding meaning in the daintiest observations and valuing purpose and grace in all that ties things together.

1. Tsundoku つんどく– purchasing too many books and never reading them. Guilty  
2. Kogarashiこがらし – the first cold & somber breeze that brushes your skin foreshadowing wintertime. wow.
3. Mamori taiまもりたい – I will always protect you. Use sparingly for someone who you really care about romantically ✿ very cute.
4. Shouganaiしょうがないよ – It just can’t be helped. Wisdom, beauty & pain in this phrase. An irreparable situation, despite how much we wish we could change things, and stoically accepting that fact. It is thought this phrase is what keeps the Japanese so centred & calm following devastating natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. It is what it is.
5. Komorebi 木漏れ日 – Sunlight filtered through leaves. beautiful.
6. Wabi-Sabi  侘寂 – Beauty in imperfection. A pot with a small chip is more beautiful than that with a perfect smooth edge; and so mirrors the nature of life. A concept that resonates with many Japanese craftsman, such that, after finishing a piece – a small crack or groove is added.
7. Mono no aware 物の哀れ – the poignancy and sadness of transient things. Childhood. Adolescence. The last day of school. University. The transient nature of these periods in hindsight heighten their beauty in reflection. In Japanese culture, this phrase is used prominently to describe the beauty of the cherry blossom flowers during their fleeting window of existence each year.
8. Natsukashii 懐かしい – Bringing back happy memories from the past. Nostalgia. I’m still trying to decide how beneficial nostalgia is to the human mind. Psychologists have debated its a safe haven of catalogued happy memories to turn to in dark times as a somewhat protective mechanism and to promote positivity and endurance. Think of the Holocaust – the only thing fuelling many prisoners’ morale was the comfort and reminder of past joys and the hope that they will be experienced again. However, can living in the past in our day to day life too often keep us ‘stuck’. I think there is certainly a level of toxic nostalgia, if one is not progressing in the now. Either way, nostalgia is bittersweet and its another topic I’d like to psychologically deconstruct further.
9. Shinrinyoku 森林浴 – ‘Forest bath’. Taking a walk through the woods to cleanse the soul. A practice heavily exercised in Japan as a natural mood and vitality restorer, recommended by many health practitioners and supported by research. Breathing in the fresh forest air dense in phytoncides (the aromatic compound released by plant matter) has been shown to improve numbers of natural killer cells in the human body – crucial in the immune response and cancer prevention.
10. Takane No Hana 高嶺の花 – Flower at the highest peak. An unattainable goal. How can something so depressing be put into such a delicate aesthetic. To walk on the moon and be in space is my Takane No Hana – but maybe one day it won’t be. #elonmusk
11. Tsukimi (月見) – Viewing the moon. Tsukimi forever.
12. Bureikou 無礼講 – Just be yourself. ‘Break in’. Break into yourself and let the real you overflow without consequence.
13. Koi no Yokan 恋の予感, – Premonition of love. Not love at first sight, but the feeling upon first meeting someone that you will inevitably fall in love with them, even if the spark lies dormant initially. Perhaps this is your true soulmate, a bond where the love only grows with time rather than tarnishes. All things new and shiny grow dull, but their sentiment remains forever if they are special enough.
14. Ikigai 生き甲斐 – Reason for being. Your purpose in life; what motivates you to draw breath and charge through the day. A concept heavily ingrained in Japanese culture as the secret to profound individual happiness and long life. From a young age, children are taught to find and reflect on their ikigai.
15. Kawaakari – 川明かり- The gleam of last light on a river’s surface at dusk. A word that holds so much extrapolative beauty, both in the imaginative landscape and the heart. To be compared or likened to kawaakari would be an honour – to be so hauntingly beautiful, a shining mysterious light in the darkness; prompting pause and appreciation. Almost ethereal.
16. Yugen 幽玄 – “A profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe…’. The feeling when you look up at the expansive sky and almost lose yourself in a trance of dissociative wonder at the brilliance of its existence, and of your own existence in that moment of time. When you find beauty in suffering; understanding that while your sadness may run deep, so does the intensity of your ability to feel love and joy. The beauty of the human condition, earth, matter and time in its full spectrum. This word is my favourite. ❦