All words

• Kopfkinothe film that runs behind your eyes — the private screening nobody else sees
• dushisweet in every sense, from the food to the person you say it to
• hüzünthe shared, low-grade sorrow a city carries about with it
• hana knot of long grief and grievance, carried by a family or a whole country
• poshlostself-satisfied bad taste, thoroughly pleased with how fine it is
• empalagarto be too sweet to finish — a pudding, or a person
• resfeberthe fizzing nerves of the hours before a journey
• nongkrongsitting about together for hours, with nothing in particular to do
• pyta shrug in one syllable — let it go, it does not matter
• goestingan eager wanting — appetite for the food and for the day itself
• culaccinothe pale circle a wet glass leaves on the table
• overskudthe surplus that leaves you something to give to somebody else
• załatwićto get a thing done, usually through somebody who knows somebody
• Frühjahrsmüdigkeitthe flat, heavy tiredness that arrives with the first warm weeks of the year
• tampoquiet, hurt withdrawal, held until somebody comes to coax you out of it
• löylythe wave of wet heat that comes off the stones when the water goes on
• filotimothe pull that makes you do the right thing when nobody is watching
• davkaprecisely this one, and often precisely to annoy
• tarabthe state music can put you in when it takes you over completely
• kuchisabishiithe mouth's own boredom — chewing something because there is nothing to do
• gunnento be glad that somebody has something good, with no envy in it at all
• desabafarto get the whole thing off your chest and breathe again
• koseligwarm, easy and good to be in — the room and the company both
• renaocrowded and loud, the good kind — the commotion you came for
• tingoto borrow a friend's things one by one until the house is empty
• hiraetha deep longing for a home you cannot return to — or that never was
• dyugudyugunoise, fuss, chaos — everything happening at once

• dépaysementthe pleasantly strange feeling of being far from everything familiar
• nunchithe knack of sensing a room's mood and acting on it
• uitwaaiento walk in the wind until your head is blown clear
• firgunopen-hearted, ungrudging delight in another person's success
• toskaa vague, aching restlessness of the soul, longing for it knows not what
• hanyaukuwalking on tiptoe across scorching sand
• sobremesathe unhurried time spent talking at the table after the meal is finished
• jayusa joke so corny it comes out the other side and gets a laugh anyway
• pålegganything you put on bread — cheese, ham or jam: one word for the lot
• gigilthe overwhelming urge to squeeze or pinch something unbearably cute
• overmorgenthe day after tomorrow — one word, no 'after' required
• mamihlapinatapaithe look between two people each waiting for the other to make the first move — a silent standoff
• Verschlimmbessernto make something worse by trying to improve it — a fix that backfires
• abbioccothe heavy sleepiness after a big meal — the food coma
• iktsuarpokthe restless urge to keep checking whether your visitor has arrived
• cafunétenderly running your fingers through someone's hair — a slow caress
• estrenarto wear or use something for the first time — to christen it
• niksendoing nothing, deliberately — idling as a pastime
• gluggaveður'window-weather': fine through the glass, bitter out of doors
• myötähäpeäembarrassment on someone else's behalf — pure cringe
• utepilsa beer outside in the sun — a sundowner in the beer garden
• friolerosomeone who always feels the cold — nesh, as the North says
• komorebisunlight dappling through the leaves — sunbeams in the woods
• voorpretthe pleasure you take in something before it happens — anticipation
• gezelligwarm, cosy and convivial — good company included

Words you can practise any time, apart from the word of the day.

• borravalóa tip, literally money for wine
• cwtcha hug that is also a safe place — a cuddle
• desenrascançothe art of wriggling out of a tight spot — improvisation
• döstädningsorting out your belongings while you can, so nobody else has to
• dreichwet, grey and cheerless weather — dreary
• duendethe dark force that grips a great performance — soul
• działkaa plot of land, usually an allotment with a little summer house
• Fernwehan ache for far-off places you've never seen — wanderlust
• gedogento officially tolerate what is technically against the law
• gotong royonga community shouldering one job together — cooperation
• gurshaa mouthful of food placed by hand into someone else's mouth, as affection
• ikigaiwhat makes a life worth living — a reason to get up
• imieninyyour name day, the feast of the saint you are named after
• jokamiehenoikeuseveryone's right to walk, camp and forage on land they do not own — the right to roam
• jugaada clever, cheap fix with whatever is to hand — a hack
• keyifunhurried pleasure in the moment — contentment
• kintsugimending broken pottery with gold, so the crack stays visible
• kohaa gift or contribution, as much as you think fair — a donation
• kuierdropping in on someone and staying for hours — a proper visit
• l'esprit de l'escalierthinking of the perfect reply only once it is too late
• madrugarto get up very early, in a single verb — early rising
• mångatathe road of moonlight across water — a moonpath
• mărțișora small token on a red and white string, given on the first of March
• merakidoing something with soul and full attention — love in the work
• na pososhokthe last drink before leaving — one for the road
• noflikcomfortable and at ease — cosy (or cozy)
• ojalálet's hope so, if only — hopefully
• pareayour group of friends, and their company
• pasalubonga gift you bring home from a trip for the people waiting
• påskekrimthe crime novels and TV series Norway saves for Easter
• passeggiatathe slow evening stroll through town, to see and be seen
• pochemuchkaa child who never stops asking why — a little questioner
• ppalli-ppalliquickly, quickly — hurry up
• rentréethe great return to school, work and politics after the summer
• retrouvaillesthe joy of finding each other again after long apart — a reunion
• saudadea bittersweet ache for what's absent — longing
• senysteady, practical good sense
• shanzhaia cheeky copy of a famous product — a knock-off
• shinrin-yokua slow, restorative soak in the woods — forest-bathing
• sisustubborn courage past the point of reason — grit
• sprezzaturastudied carelessness that hides the effort — nonchalance
• tachleslet's get to the point — the bottom line
• tartlethe hesitation when a name escapes you mid-introduction — blanking
• tertuliaa regular get-together to talk, often in a café — a salon
• Torschlusspanikthe fear that time is running out to do what you meant to do
• tsundokubuying books and letting them pile up unread — book-hoarding
• whānauthe extended family, cousins and all
• xodóthe person or thing you dote on — your darling
• yuanfenthe binding force that brings people together — fate, kismet
• Zugzwangbeing forced to move when every move makes things worse

Words you play blind: no language and no story up front.

• arbejdsglædejoy that comes from the work itself — job satisfaction
• Brückentaga working day taken off to bridge a public holiday and the weekend
• campanilismoloyalty to your own town above all others — parochialism
• cúpla focalthe few words of Irish most people kept from school — a smattering
• dadirrideep inner listening and quiet, still awareness
• døgnvillhaving lost track of day and night — jet-lagged
• dolce far nientethe sweetness of doing nothing at all — delicious idleness
• enchufeconnections that get you a job — string-pulling
• Feierabendthe moment work ends, and the evening that follows — knocking off
• fikathe shared coffee break, with something sweet on the side
• gökottagetting up at dawn to go out and hear the first birds
• goûterthe afternoon snack, above all the children's one at four
• hanamiflower viewing: a picnic under the cherry blossoms
• hoesikthe team meal and drinks after work, often with the boss paying
• hongbaoa red envelope of money, given at New Year and weddings
• hoofdpijndossiera long-running issue that gives whoever holds it a headache
• jeongthe deep attachment that grows between people over time
• joothafood or drink that someone's mouth has touched, no longer fit to share
• kalsarikännitdrinking at home in your underwear, with no plan to go out — päntsdrunk
• kiligthe shiver of romantic excitement — butterflies in the stomach
• kolay gelsinmay it come easy, said to anyone who is working
• koumbarosthe wedding sponsor, often godparent to the first child — the best man
• kringverjaardaga birthday at home with the guests seated in a circle
• kuidaoreruining yourself through extravagance on food
• Kummerspeckthe weight you gain from comfort eating — literally 'grief bacon'
• lusco-fuscothe half-light between day and night — twilight
• machatunimthe parents of your child's spouse — your co-in-laws
• mokitathe truth we all know and agree not to speak of — the open secret
• natafelenstaying at the table to talk on after the meal — lingering
• noosh-e janmay it do your soul good — said to someone eating or drinking
• pana po'oscratching your head to shake a memory loose
• plámásflattery, soft talk meant to win you over
• podstakannika metal holder with a handle for a glass of hot tea
• poronkusemaan old Lapland measure: how far a reindeer goes before it stops to pee
• sajiaoacting sweet, coy or petulant to get attention or your way
• scunneredthoroughly fed up, sick of it
• shemomedjamo'I accidentally ate the whole thing' — cheerful overeating
• Sitzfleischthe ability to sit still until the job is done — sheer stamina
• struisvogelpolitiekrefusing to face a problem — burying your head in the sand
• ta'arofthe ritual back-and-forth of polite offers and refusals — courtesy, Iranian-style
• tafaddalplease, go ahead, come in, help yourself — one word for all of them
• takk for sistthanks for last time, said when you next meet
• tamadathe toastmaster who leads a Georgian feast
• tretåra second refill of coffee, the third cup
• tūrangawaewaea place to stand: where you belong through your ancestors
• txokoa Basque gastronomic society, where members cook for each other
• uitbuikenleaning back to let a big meal go down — digesting
• xe ôma motorbike taxi, where you hold on to the driver
• yakamozlight on the night sea, from moonlight to plankton glow — the moonglade
• þetta reddastit will all work out somehow