There is something very special about die deutsche Sprache.
And while a life is not enough to master the German language, there are certain German words that are worth the effort.
Some of them have been happily adopted in the English language – we all know Zeitgeist, Doppelganger and Wanderlust.
But others are less common. We have previously highlighted three untranslatable German words, recommended by our in-house German translators, and today will add up three new ones to the list:
1. Zugzwang
Zugzwang describes one’s compulsion to move. It covers the concept of the disadvantage and pressure of having to make a strategic move, when you would prefer not to move and do nothing instead. The word consists of Zug, that means ‘move’ and Zwang – ‘compulsion, being compelled to do something.’ The word gained popularity in the 1930s through chess magazines. In chess a player is said to be in zugzwang, when any possible move will only worsen their position.
2. Treppenwitz
There is hardly any of us who have never experienced that. Here is the scenario that best describes this word: all the witty retorts that should have occurred to you, but never did, while you were in a conversation about something and rush to your mind the very moment you leave the scene. That is a quite unsatisfactory situation, commonly described as a tongue-tied or a brain fart. Well, that is exactly the lack of Treppenwitz. Treppenwitz translates literally as a ‘staircase joke.’ In French, the expression is “L’esprit de l’escalier”, as yeah, seems like this is a universal phenomenon.
3. Schnapsidee
Schnapsidеen had come to almost all of us, but it is only in the German language that those drunken inspirations have a unique name to describe their disastrous creativity. A Schnapsidee literally translates as a ‘liquor idea’. Schnaps is the German water of life and may refer to any strong alcoholic drink out there. And when comes to idee, we are certain that you have an idea. The term can be used to literally describe plans and idea which have come from a drunken mind, but could also refer to any stupid idea in generally.
