Every language has words that don't have an English equivalent and describe a situation or feeling better than one singular English word. A classic is the German 'Schadenfreude - delight at the misfortune of others'.

Recently I've been having Japanese conversation lessons after many years' break and all these wonderful Japanese words are coming back...to my utter and total delight! 

The Japanese language has numerous, fabulous words that I personally think we should adopt and start using!.

These are some of my favourites (I plan to add to this list):

Wasuremono - forgotten things.  eg: 'Make sure there are no wasuremonos before we leave.

Genki - feeling on top of the world.  eg: How are you today? Genki?

Itai - it hurts.  English equivalent of 'ouch'.

Natsukashii - used when feeling nostalgic.  In English we might say, "Oh, that brings back memories...".

Sodai gomi - The word for 'retired man' which is the same word as 'large sized waste' (always thought it meant 'pile of leaves'...) - love that one!

Itadakimasu - Said before eating with a gusto!

Have you any favourite Japanese or other language words that describe something better than an English word? Share below!

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