Valentine’s season – let’s be real, it’s a two-week long season lasting from Feb. 1 through Feb. 14 — is loaded and complex.
As a cam model, you’re likely called upon to explore and express a fair share of Valentine’s sentiments with your members and fans, not to mention dealing with your own personal feelings about romance, etc. Sometimes in these situations, there aren’t enough words. And sometimes, there aren’t the correct words either.
Some feelings and emotions don’t have a direct English translation. Take the Portuguese word saudade, for instance. Saudade means a deep, nostalgic longing for an absent something or someone that may never return. The closest thing in English is maybe “missing,” which isn’t nearly emotional enough.
Point being: Sometimes it might be nice to have words like saudade at the ready when working your way through Valentine’s season. Luckily, I recently received this list of love-related words and phrases that don’t have direct English translations. Maybe some of these will help you communicate with your members or help you express the previously unexpressable this month.
Sparkly Words & Phrases
Tiám – This is a word in Farsi that describes the twinkle in your eye that you get when you meet someone you know is going to play a huge part in your life for the very first time.
Koi No Yokan – This Japanese expression describes the feeling you have when you first meet someone who you know you are going to fall in love with.
Kilig – This Tagalog word describes the butterflies you feel after something good happens in your love life, like kissing someone for the first time or bumping into the person you like-like.
Forelsket – This Norwegian word is used to refer to the indescribable joy we feel when we fall in love.
Gruchać jak dwa gołąbki – This Polish expression translates literally to “to coo like two pigeons.” It’s used to describe two people who are very much in love and not afraid to show it. Think two lovebirds still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship.
Cafuné – This is a Brazilian Portuguese word that refers to the act of running your fingers softly through your loved one’s hair.
Naz – This Urdu word describes the pride and reassurance we feel knowing we are loved unconditionally by someone.
The Morbid & the Meh
Ya’arburnee – This Arabic noun translates directly into English as “you bury me.” It’s not used to express murderous intentions though. It actually describes the feeling of hope that you will die before your partner because living without them would be just too painful – romantic, yet slightly morbid.
Cavoli riscaldati – This Italian phrase translates as “reheated cabbage.” Not exactly sexy, but it refers to an attempt to restart a failed relationship — something that might not always end well.
La douleur exquise – This French expression describes the unbearable pain of wanting someone you know you can’t have.
Razliubit – This Russian verb describes the act of falling out of love with your partner – an awful feeling that you know there’s no way of stopping.
Check out the curation via Tongue Tied — a language agency that provides specialist translations from and into any language — here.
Check out more neat word stuff in Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World by Ellen Frances Sanders.
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Erika is a sex positive people watcher (and writer). Email her at erika@ynotcam.com.
Oh so relevant, Love Actually…
