coined by John Koenig
anemoia
Homesickness for a decade you were born too late to see, set off by a box of a stranger's 1960s slides or a song from before your parents met.
A dictionary of words for feelings that don't have one.
22 entries. Real words from other languages, John Koenig’s inventions, and a few of our own, each labelled for what it is, with its parts, its pronunciation and where it came from.
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coined by John Koenig
exulansis
Back from five months at a research station in Antarctica, you answer the third person who asks how it was with "cold" and start talking about their kitchen.
loanword
Fernweh
Standing at an airport departures board, reading out Windhoek and Montevideo, and aching to go somewhere you have never been.
loanword
Fremdschämen
The urge to cover your face when someone else embarrasses themselves and does not seem to notice.
viral fabrication
Freudenfreude
Your friend texts that she passed the exam you failed last month, and after one sour second you are honestly glad for her.
viral fabrication
Glückschmerz
The sting when the coworker who coasted all year is called up at the holiday party to collect the bonus you wanted.
loanword
hiraeth
A Welsh nurse in a London flat hears a male voice choir through the wall and grieves for a valley, and people, she cannot get back.
coined by John Koenig
kenopsia
The wrong-footed quiet of a stadium concourse the morning after a game, or any room built for a crowd and standing empty.
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Lists
- 8 German words for feelings, 2 of which are not German
Six German feeling words from Schadenfreude to Waldeinsamkeit, plus Freudenfreude and Glückschmerz, two English inventions that only look German.