fbpx
Skip to content
Flâneur-test-2
  • Recommendations
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Quotes
  • Contact
  • Recommendations
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Quotes
  • Contact
Search
Close
QUARANTINE Challenge
QUARANTINE Challenge
  • Recommendations
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Quotes
  • Contact
Search
Close
Search
Close
Quarantine Challenge
  • Recommendations
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Quotes
  • Contact
Terminology World Travel

17 Eye-Opening Travel Words From Foreign Languages (For the Journey)

  • November 11, 2020

FREE CHEAT SHEET: 19 SUCCESSFUL SIX-FIGURE ONLINE BUSINESS IDEAS

Get inspired with these breakdowns of simple businesses that earned the founders their freedom.

Download Now
  • Home
  • Terminology
  • 17 Eye-Opening Travel Words From Foreign Languages (For the Journey)
Last Modified: November 11, 2020
7 Comments
Untranslatable Foreign Words Journey Traveler

Here’s an evolving collection of thought-provoking foreign words all related to travel. Each explains a concept that isn’t as simply or easily expressed in English.

Blake Miner

Blake Miner

Blake is a traveling social scientist (MSocSc) and entrepreneur who writes about the psychology of personal freedom, travel, and location independent business. He's the founder of Flâneur Life, an internet home for free range humans.
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn

1. Flânerie 

Definition: Aimless strolling or sauntering without a set plan or defined destination; walking at a leisurely pace, simply observing as you’re being taken along. 

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: French

2. Fernweh

Definition: A longing or craving for distant, far-off places; “homesick” for places you’ve never been to. Literally: farsickness. 

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: German

3. Alpas 

 Definition: To become free or untied; to break loose.

Part of Speech: Verb

Origin: Tagalog

4. Novaturient

Definition: Desiring to alter your life; a feeling that pushes you to want to travel. 

Part of Speech: Adjective

Origin: Latin

5. Metanoia

Definition: The journey of transforming your mind, heart, self, or way of life.

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: Greek

6. Yugen

Definition: A deep, profound awareness of the universe; an unfathomable realization that triggers an emotional response.

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: Japanese

7. Peripatetic

Definition: A person who spends his time walking or traveling from place to place.

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: Greek

8. Saudade 

Definition: A deep, nostalgic, melancholic yearning for something or someone absent; accompanied by the realization that what you’re longing for will never be experienced again.

Part of Speech: Noun 

Origin: Portuguese

9. Lebenskünstler 

Definition: A “life artist” who is able to deal with any arising problems in a very artful, almost magical manner. Literally: someone who has mastered Lebenskunst (the art of life).

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: German

10. Hygge 

Definition: A quality of coziness and comfort accompanied by feelings of well-being, relaxation, contentment and presence; often likened to the feeling of drinking a warm cup of cocoa on a snowy day.

Parts of Speech: Noun, adjective

Origin: Danish

11. Resfeber

Definition: The restless feeling before starting out on a journey; a mix of anxiety, excitement and anticipation.

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: Swedish

12. Shinrin-yoku 

Definition: The practice of going into the woods seeking out a mentally soothing experience; taking in the forest atmosphere with your senses. Literally: “forest bathing.” 

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: Japanese

13. Nefelibata

Definition: Someone who doesn’t conform to the conventions of society, literature, or art; an unconventional, unorthodox person who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams. Literally: “cloud walker.”

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: Portuguese

14. Toska

Definition: A vague sense of unease, sadness, melancholy, nostalgia or yearning; a type of spiritual anguish.

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: Russian

15. Dérive

Definition: Drifting; a spontaneous, unplanned journey in which the traveler relinquishes control and is guided solely by the landscape and architecture.

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: French

16. Rasāsvāda 

Definition: The sensation of bliss in the absence of all thought.

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: Sanskrit

17. Trouvaille

Definition: A chance encounter with something wonderful; a valuable discovery; a lucky find.

Part of Speech: Noun

Origin: French

Filed Under: 
Terminology, World Travel
  • Flânerie Definition: What Does it Actually Mean? » Flâneur Life says:
    August 27, 2019 at 5:17 pm

    […] This entire list of foreign travel words […]

    Reply
  • Avatar Corina at Chasing our Financial Freedom says:
    August 29, 2019 at 10:08 am

    Interesting list. I’m curious to also know how you discovered these words.

    Reply
  • Avatar Kimmy Lamb says:
    August 29, 2019 at 4:58 pm

    I know the feeling of yugen well. It’s being moved to tears when you watch the sunrise from a mountain top, or suddenly realizing how very small you are when confronted with the vastness of the ocean.

    Reply
  • Avatar Soph says:
    August 30, 2019 at 7:57 am

    Aw I love these words! I know a little French and an even smaller amount of Spanish but putting these words from all different languages is such a good idea. Alpas is a great one!
    Soph – https://sophhearts.com x

    Reply
  • 9 Famous Thinkers from History Who Were Habitual Walkers says:
    August 30, 2019 at 3:58 pm

    […] and learn. Just like Socrates before him, Aristotle conducted his lectures to his students, the peripatetics, while walking the grounds of the Lyceum with his books in hand. The early Greek philosophers […]

    Reply
  • What I'm Committing to Overall in 2020 » Flâneur Life says:
    January 30, 2020 at 12:25 am

    […] 17 Eye-Opening Travel Words From Foreign Languages (For the Journey) […]

    Reply
  • Flâneur Quotes: A Collection of Words Related to Flâneurs and Flânerie says:
    February 4, 2020 at 1:19 am

    […] 17 Eye-Opening Travel Words From Foreign Languages (For the Journey) […]

    Reply
  • Let’s Connect

    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    Instagram
    Youtube

    Blog CATEGORIES

    Categories

    MOST RECENT Posts

    29 Quotes About Society From Famous Figures

    24 Quotes About Identity (Psychology & Philosophy)

    23 Quotes About Relaxation to Help You Slow Down

    Quotes About the Unknown for the Adventurous

    GET RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
    Join the Facebook Group
    LEARN THE BUSINESS MODELS
    • Related Posts
    quotes-about-distance

    20 Quotes About Distance For Those Apart from Loved Ones

    vacation-quotes

    16 Vacation Quotes For When You’re Craving a Break

    Movies-That-Make-You-Want-to-Travel

    20 Movies That Make You Want to Travel

    Get Started

    • Blog
    • Recommendations
    • Quiz

    Learn

    • Our Story
    • What’s a Flâneur?
    • Business Models

    Connect

    • Contact
    • Join the Community

    Read

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms and Conditions

    Follow Along

    Facebook
    Instagram
    Twitter
    Youtube
    Pinterest

    © 2021 Flâneur Life. All rights reserved.

    Made for free range humans 🐢🚶

    Session expired

    Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.

    >