Untranslatable

Some feelings arrive before the words do.

A particular kind of longing. The strange wistfulness of an old bookshop. The disorientation of being gloriously lost somewhere foreign. The warmth of a table nobody wants to leave. In English, we reach for these feelings and sometimes come up empty - not because they aren't real, but because our language never found a name for them.

Other languages did.

Untranslatable is a beautifully illustrated collection of 22 words from languages around the world for the feelings, moments, and experiences we all quietly carry. From the Japanese concept of Komorebi - the interplay of sunlight filtering through leaves - to the Portuguese Saudade, a melancholy longing for something beautiful that is gone, each word is paired with a stunning full-page image and a meditation on what it means to finally name something you have always felt.

Words included: Fernweh, Wabi-sabi, Anemoia, Yūgen, Sillage, Dépaysement, Komorebi, Mudita, Hiraeth, Kalsarikännit, Sonder, Razbliuto, Mono no aware, Lagom, Nakama, Sehnsucht, Meraki, Vellichor, Ubuntu, Cafuné, Forelsket, Sobremesa, Tarab, Jayus, Hygge, Iktsuarpok, Dadirri.

Finding the right word can make you feel less alone. It connects you to a wider humanity - to everyone across time and place who felt exactly what you felt, deeply enough to name it.

A perfect gift for readers, word lovers, travellers, and anyone who has ever had a feeling they could not explain.