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Examples
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Another good one is mamihlapinatapei, which, in the Fuengian language of Chile, means "a shared look of desire or longing between parties who are both interested, but neither is willing to make the first move."
Archive 2007-03-01 Peggy 2007
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Another good one is mamihlapinatapei, which, in the Fuengian language of Chile, means "a shared look of desire or longing between parties who are both interested, but neither is willing to make the first move."
The Perfect Word 2007
sionnach commented on the word mamihlapinatapei
The look between two people in which each loves the other but is too afraid to make the first move.
February 1, 2008
john commented on the word mamihlapinatapei
“Mamihlapinatapai (sometimes spelled mamihlapinatapei) is a word from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘most succinct word’, and is considered one of the hardest words to translate. It describes ‘a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start.’
The word consists of the reflexive/passive prefix ma- (mam- before a vowel), the root ihlapi (pronounced iɬapi), which means to be at a loss as what to do next, the stative suffix -n, an achievement suffix -ata, and the dual suffix -apai, which in composition with the reflexive mam- has a reciprocal sense.�?
—Wikipedia
November 16, 2008
ajohnson1980 commented on the word mamihlapinatapei
succinct means concise...how in the world could a word that is hardest to translate be succinct...
November 20, 2008
mollusque commented on the word mamihlapinatapei
It's succinct in its language.
November 20, 2008
rolig commented on the word mamihlapinatapei
From the word's detailed analysis in Wikipedia, which you quoted, John, perhaps one might translate this as "shared perplexed hesitation", with the context providing the sense of its particular application to sexual or romantic overtures. The succinctness lies in the way a complex situation is expressed in a single word, especially in a word that is not a compound.
November 20, 2008
artoparts commented on the word mamihlapinatapei
Erroneously spelled with an "e" - many people list mamihlapinatapai. Sometimes not so succinct, but what do expect from a language with one native speaker.
April 22, 2009
eloquius commented on the word mamihlapinatapei
Quote, ajohnson1980:
"how in the world could a word that is hardest to translate be succinct."
You've got it backwards, mate. The fact that it's so succinct is WHY it's so hard to translate. It's a complex concept wrapped up in a single word. In English, it requires an entire sentence to basically explain. One word: succinct. Entire sentence: Not very succinct.
May 14, 2009
bilby commented on the word mamihlapinatapei
Hmmmm, I'd say semantically dense.
May 14, 2009