Foreign words that don't have direct translation into English

It does have an entry in the Scot's Language dictionary.
It's roots are actually, Germanic I think. So it's a foreign word.

Marydoll, all over Scotland, 'am fair scunnered the day' fits just perfectly.

There is no English equivalent to the French "^sympathique^".

There are some lovely ones here

Vampire, I am 'frum' the East Midlands as are a few other people on the forum.

There is no equivalent to the French word 'chez', which is useful, as is your suggestion of 'sympathique', grandMattie

kittylester

Have we had “wabbit “ (to rhyme with rabbit)?
It means a bit fragile, pale, peely wally even, lacking in energy when your get up and go, got up and went.

Lucca

Marydoll

There is a Scottish word scunnered, which doesn't quite translate into English. It however, sums up a feeling of being extremely fed up. In fact it describes my mood very accurately today.

Is that because it’s a dreech day ? Ex Is Scottish and I picked up some useful words from him like describing someone as “fushionless “

'Dreich' is a great wee word. It's very useful in England as well as being perfectly descriptive of a Glasgow day like yesterday. At least Glasgow gets straight to the point.

"Schadenfreude - pleasure in someone else’s misfortune."

Actually, we have a perfectly good English word for that. Epicaricacy.

Having never heard of it, I just looked that up in my colossal fat Oxford dictionary, @Brahumbug - it’s not there! Nowt between epicardium and epicedium.

Anyway, Schadenfreude rolls off the tongue much better, and to me it does sound much more like wot it means.

Epicaricacy flows much better and is a good English word, better than a german one

I think you need a new dictionary

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I would say that chez (moi, toi etc) is translated by "home" in English.

Callistemon

Hiraeth which is a Welsh word that means more than just a longing or homesickness.

That would be like "saudade" in Portuguese.

A couple of words in everyday use in German for which, despite speaking the language for 40;years now, I still haven't found something similar in English:

Stulpen - to turn something inside out (like a sock) or to pull something over something (best example I can think of is a condom, sorry)

Feierabend - the free time after work, or the time you knock off work.

Fernweh - the urge to go on travels, just to get away and see foreign lands - as far away as possible.

Another guid Scots word is "fantouche" meaning something that is very fancy and making itself out to be more than it is.

The Spanish "exigente" doesn't translate well into any other language - you need both insistent, demanding and a right pain in the neck to convey its meaning in English.

Cwtch which means so much more than a hug or a cuddle - it encompasses cosiness, warmth and a feeling of safety too.

Oops, an old thread (but a nice one )

There's a Cumbria word 'scrow' meaning an untidy mess. (pronounced 'ow' as in how).
I once walked into the staff room at the school I worked in at that time, and said "What a score" (because it was in a real mess with papers and books and dirty teacups everywhere) and no-one knew what on earth I meant.

Blast auto-correct
What I said was "what a scow" nor "score"

-even thats wrong! SCROW

What an interesting thread. I'm originally a Scot, now Italian. I wash the towels and hang them out, when there is a drooth in it, dry, abive all a breeze, just right for drying laundry. I'm fair scunnert when, unexpectedly, there is a bomba d'acqua, literally a water bomb, a downpour. I love language!

Gosh, normally I'm the first to notice it's an old thread that has been revived by someone trying to sell something, but I just jumped right in here. Never mind, the subject certainly wasn't exhausted at the time, there's plenty more to say.

Not quite a foreign language - all one word Oharey - Scouse elision Oh, Ah, Hey - translates as - Oh, I say, you can't do that here, or How unfair - tone and context tell you which.