10 German Words I Wish We Had in English

The other day I made a post about 10 Japanese words I wish we had in English.

Another language that I often hear cool words from that we don't have in English is German, so I thought to create another one.

Once again, I’ve asked AI to give me a list of these unique German words and have added my own misguided thoughts.

1. Waldeinsamkeit - The feeling of being alone in the woods.

This is one of my favorite feelings. In fact, hiking in the woods, or just in general is one of my favorite pasttimes.

People who have no experience with it may feel scared, but if you can get past that then I’m sure you will feel a type of serenity that is almost unmatched. There is just something very special about being alone in nature. Try to do it at least once a month.

2. Fernweh - "Farsickness"

At first thought this made me think of the term “itchy feet”, which I tend to get after about 3 to 6 months of being in a single place.

After a bit more consideration, it could be closer to “wanderlust”, which I guess is more of the feeling of wanting to travel and explore in general.

Fernweh goes a step further. It is specifically the desire to be somewhere far away.

I wonder if this could apply to just wanting to get away from an awkward social situation, in which case, I get “fernweh” quite a lot.

3. Torschlusspanik - "Gate-closing panic"

This is the fear that time is running out to act. I don’t really get this, but I know lots of people do, especially as they get older.

I think the cure to this is to act. If you want or need to do something, do it.

4. Kummerspeck - "Grief bacon"

Apparently this refers to the excess weight gained from emotional overeating. I’m happy I don’t get this.

For those of you that do, replace emotional eating with exercise. Anytime you would engage in emotional eating, go for a run or something instead.

Easier said than done.

5. Treppenwitz - "Staircase joke”

You know when someone says something and you only think of a comeback after the fact. That’s “treppenwitz.”

Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode “The Comeback.”