I am a haochi-lanzuo*

*Chinese for “to be fond of food and averse to work”

I just polished off a delectable little book called The Meaning of Tingo, which takes a look at strange and wonderful words, phrases, and concepts from around the world. I highly recommend reading it. Some of my favorites:

• slappare (Italian) — to eat everything, even to the point of licking the plate

• ngaobera (Pascuense, Easter Island) — a slight inflammation of the throat caused by screaming too much

• neko-neko (Indonesian) — to have a creative idea which only makes things worse

• ulaia (Hawaiian) — to live as a hermit because of disappointment

• abbozzare (Italian) — to accept meekly a far from satisfactory situation (that’s the story of my life, yo)

• kopuhia (Rapa Nui, Easter Island) — someone who disappears instead of dedicating himself to his work

• bettschwere (German) — without the energy to get out of bed

• goyang kaki (Indonesian) — relaxing and enjoying oneself as problems are sorted out by others (literally, to gulp down flies)

• viajou na maionese (Portuguese) — to live in a dream world (literally, to travel in the mayonnaise)

• umudrovat se (Czech) — to philosophize oneself into the madhouse

• samlermani (Danish) — a mania for collecting
  
  
• dragostea e oarba, dar casatoria îi gaseste leacul (Romania) — love is blind, but marriage finds a cure

• boketto (Japanese) — to gaze vacantly into space without thinking or doing anything

• bosabosa (Japanese) — to sit around idly not doing what needs to be done

• gorogoro (Japanese) — to spend time doing nothing
  

• guzuguzu (Japanese) — to vacillate, procrastinate, or to stretch out a job

• bura-bura (Japanese) — to wander around aimlessly, looking at the sights with no fixed destination in mind

• bawwal (Persian) — one who pisses in bed

• osurgan (Turkish) — someone who farts a lot

• jerrkjerrk (Wagiman, Australia) — diarrhea

• chiasse (French) — diarrhea induced by fear

• fisselig (German) — flustered to the point of incompetence

• scheissbedauern (German) — the disappointment one feels when something turns out not nearly as badly as one hoped (literally, shit regret)

• dialogue des sourds (French) — a discussion in which neither party listens to the other (literally, dialogue of the deaf)

• mokita (Kiriwana, Papua New Guinea) — the truth that all know but no one talks about

• yerdengh-nga (Wagiman, Australia) — to clear off without telling anyone where you are going

• o ka la nokonoko (Hawaiian) — a day spent in nervous anticipation of a coughing spell (Hehehe….I had one of these on Monday when I was waiting for my plane at the Atlanta airport. I treated myself to a chocolate and peanut butter milkshake from Ben and Jerry’s, but milkshakes often make me cough [yeah, I don’t get it either], and I was so nervous about having a coughing spell, because I was afraid that my fellow passengers would think that I had bird flu and wouldn’t let me on the plane!)

• puangi (Cook Islands Maori) — the sensation of the stomach dropping away (as in the sudden surge of an elevator, plane, swing, or a tossed boat)

• dokidoki (Japanese) — rapid pounding heartbeats caused by worry or surprise

• in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni (Latin) — we enter the circle after dark and are consumed by fire

• viande à pneux (French) — reckless pedestrian (literally, meat for tires)

• ichigo-ichie (Japanese) — the practice of treasuring each moment and trying to make it perfect

• pulaka (Tulu, India) — hair that stands on end with ecstasy

• katahara itai (Japanese) — laughing so much that one side of your abdomen hurts

• uttori (Japanese) — to be enraptured by the loveliness of something

• yugen (Japanese) — an awareness of the universe that triggers feelings too deep and mysterious for words.

• termangu-mangu (Indonesian) — sad and not sure what to do

• mono-no-aware (Japanese) — appreciating the sadness of existence

• emakou (Gilbertese, Kiribati) — a secret sorrow

• bel hevi (Tok Pisin, Papua New Guinea) — the heavy sinking feeling that often accompanies extreme sadness (literally, belly heavy)

• kummerspeck (German) — the excess weight you will gain from emotion-related overeating (literally, grief bacon) (note: although I can’t sing or play any instruments, I desperately want to start a band called Grief Bacon)

• mukamuka (Japanese) — feeling so angry one feels like throwing up

• harawata o tatsu (Japanese) — to break one’s heart (literally, to sever one’s intestines)

• mahj (Persian) — looking beautiful after a disease

• bakku-shan (Japanese) — a girl who appears pretty when seen from behind but not from the front

• mamihlapinatapei (Fuegian, Chile) — the shared look of longing where both parties know the score yet neither is willing to make the first move

• rainen no kono hi mo issho ni waratteiyoh (Japanese) — this time next year let’s be laughing together (ie, a pick-up line)
  

• einfühlung (German) — an understanding so intimate that the feelings, thoughts, and motives of one person are readily comprehended by the other

• biodegradabile (Italian) — someone who falls in love easily and often

• alamnaka (Ulwa, Nicaragua) — to find one’s niche, to meet a kindred soul

• menggerumut (Indonesian) — to approach somebody quietly in the night for sex

• jalishgar (Persian) — to be addicted to sexual intercourse

• narachastra prayoga (Sanskrit) — men who worship their own penis

• batuta ni Drakula (Tagalog, Philippines) — penis (literally, Dracula’s nightstick)

• folterkammer (German) — a gym or exercise room (literally, a torture chamber)

• fucha (Polish) — to use company time and resources for one’s own purposes

• gorrero (Spanish, Central America) — a person who always allows other to pay

• gusa (Japanese) — to decapitate with a sword

• rejam (Malay) — to execute by pressing into mud

• ostranenie (Russian) — the process by which art makes familiar perceptions seem strange

• Pif! Paf! Pouf! (German) — the sound of Rice Krispies

• Cric! Crac! Croc! (French) — the sound of Rice Krispies

• Knisper! Knasper! Knusper! — (Dutch) the sound of Rice Krispies

• Cris! Cras! Cros! (Spanish) — the sound of Rice Krispies

• sunasorpok (Inuit) — to eat the remains of others’ food

• shitta (Persian) — food left at night and eaten in the morning

• ruttlin (Cornish) — the sound of phlegm rattling in the bronchial tubes

• paggiq (Inuit) — the flesh torn as a woman delivers a baby

• chigobami (Japanese) — bites inflicted on a mother’s nipple by a suckling baby

• kahala (Arabic) — to be an old fogey at the height of one’s life

• Torschlusspanik (German) — the fear of diminishing opportunities as one gets older (literally, gate-closing panic)

• bodach (Scottish Gaelic)— the ghost of an old man that comes down the chimney to terrorize children who have been naughty

• wewe (Indonesian) — an ugly female ghost with drooping breasts

• kuntilanak (Indonesian) — a ghost masquerading as a beautiful woman to seduce men who are then horrified to find that she actually has a large hole in her back

• jaaaarne (Estonian) — the edge of the ice

• gvbrdgvnit (Georgian) — you tear us into pieces

• wamadat (Persian) — the intense heat of a still, sultry night

• gumusservi (Turkish) — moonlight shining on water

• isblink (Swedish) — the luminous appearance of the horizon caused by reflection from ice

song heard most recently before posting:
Life is a Pigsty—Morrissey