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[-] Fleppensteijn@feddit.nl 6 points 5 hours ago

English speakers always seem to like mierenneuken: nitpicking, or literally, ant-fucking.

Or maybe fokker, meaning breeder (and a famous last name; and speaking of names, we have first names such as Fokko and Fokje).

[-] apotheotic@beehaw.org 3 points 5 hours ago

Worcestershire

[-] Moonguide@lemmy.ml 4 points 9 hours ago

I think this is specific to my own neck of the woods, but the words "pija" and "verga". It can be used in a variety of different contexts and will mean anything between the bee's knees to absolute shit.

For example, "la mera pija/verga", literally "the very dick", means "the best"; while "la pija/verga" m, literally "the dick", means "the absolute fucking worst/incapable/incompetent". "Pijin" means rave, "pijeada/verguiada" means either a scuffle that ended with one side getting beaten very badly, or something that is very hard to do.

An example of the last one: "Darle pija a Malenia, Blade of Miquella, es pijeado", meaning "To beat Malenia, Blade of Miquella, is hard".

... Lots of phallic turns of phrase. But its usage probably isn't so different to the versatility of the word "fuck" in the english language.

[-] DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone 5 points 12 hours ago
[-] hossein@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)
[-] DerisionConsulting@lemmy.ca 46 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

In English, it has to be any of the Contronyms. We have so many, and it really makes it hard for newer speakers to understand some things.

You dust a cake by adding powder, you dust a table by removing powder.
You seed a field by adding seeds, you seed a fruit by removing the seeds.

[-] poweruser@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 8 hours ago

Shelled and unshelled both also mean unshelled and shelled, respectively

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 15 points 20 hours ago

Cleave is my personal favorite

[-] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 8 points 19 hours ago

Almost as good as Greater Cleave

[-] joelfromaus@aussie.zone 3 points 17 hours ago

I hear that when a greater cleave consumes enough souls it becomes a Cleave Lord.

[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 9 points 20 hours ago

Seeded is, indeed, the most worthless of adjectives.

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 3 points 13 hours ago

Seeded is, indeed, the most worthless of adjectives.

... until someone uses 'literally' as an adjective; and in that moment you are enlightened.

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[-] drathvedro@lemm.ee 11 points 16 hours ago

Some Russian ones:

недоперепил: недо - not quite, пере - overdid, пил - drank. Sounds weird due to opposing suffixes, basically means "haven't drunk enough to get completely wasted", in my circles we use it to describe displeasure when the alcohol runs dry on events we've set to get wasted all along.

опердень: Due to how it's only used in professional circles and how language is structured, someone hearing it for the first time might think it's a word rooted from "пердеть" (to fart), and based on the suffixes assume it relates to some kind of creature that farts (or get farted) all over. But it's actually a shorthand for Операционный День (processing day) which is how finance guys call their banking software as it basically replaced said processing day in their work.

Same for "опсос" - sounds like "someone who sucks all over something" but is just a shorthand for "оператор сотовой связи" - phone service provider.

[-] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 28 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

"Rævsnerk"

Noun: That moist substance between your ass cheecks on a hot and humidity day when you haven't showered for too long.

Ræv = ass.
Snerk = that membrane-like substance that forms on top of soups and sauces that have been left in room temperature for too long.

[-] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 13 points 15 hours ago

In English this is called swamp ass.

[-] RicoPeru@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 19 hours ago

what language is that? that’s so interesting that there’s some very specific words out there that can’t be explained in other languages.

[-] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 12 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

Norwegian. Middle-north dialect, to be specific

[-] joelfromaus@aussie.zone 8 points 16 hours ago

I’ll admit I read that as Middle-Earth dialect on first glance.

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[-] RicoPeru@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 18 hours ago

awesome to see more people speaking norwegian, im trying to learn it a little because my mom has some norwegian ancestry :)

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[-] superkret@feddit.org 14 points 17 hours ago

Klabusterbeeren
Klabusterbeeren are "berries" out of cotton and hair, which you can only harvest from your ass crack.
Also known as Winterkirschen (winter cherries).

[-] NichtElias@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 hours ago

I'd like to add the longest German one-syllable word: schleichst

[-] mub@lemmy.ml 6 points 16 hours ago

We call those Clag nuts or Dangle berries.

[-] BurntBlueberry@literature.cafe 5 points 15 hours ago

I'm heard dingle berries, dingle like single

[-] Object@sh.itjust.works 9 points 16 hours ago

연패

Can mean "to lose multiple times in a row" (連敗) or "to win multiple times in a row" (連霸).

[-] msage@programming.dev 3 points 4 hours ago
[-] Object@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 hours ago

No, not a mix of both. Either exclusively wins only, or losses only. Only way to tell these two apart is to see if this information is being celebrated or not...

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 4 points 13 hours ago

skookum. It's borrowed from, like, old Aboriginal trade language. It means "deal's done" - with its own hand-brushing gesture - but it also means "strong" or "resilient", I think.

And now it's almost a common 'Canadianism' -- if your Newfie buddy says " 'At's a skookum blow we gots, b'iys", you know there's a sad BC Ferry-tale on the way, and you're not getting Over tonight.

[-] Comtief@lemm.ee 2 points 12 hours ago
[-] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 18 hours ago
[-] davel@lemmy.ml 4 points 18 hours ago

Ya can’t beat a superlative is what I always say.

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[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 13 points 20 hours ago

Flammable, Imflammble, and Inflammable.

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 15 points 19 hours ago

"imflammable" is not a word.

[-] GB19@lemm.ee 6 points 18 hours ago

it is if you try hard enough

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[-] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 6 points 16 hours ago

Inflammable and flammable mean the same thing? What a country!

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 6 points 20 hours ago

Those burn me up!

Ooops, time for my meds..

[-] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 11 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)
[-] Akasazh@feddit.nl 9 points 19 hours ago

'Zuignapje' -> a little suction cup to attach things to windows.

[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 6 points 19 hours ago

Hey, using any Dutch word is cheating!

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[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 11 points 20 hours ago

It's not weird, and it's not my first language, but "equivocado" is one of the funnest words to say in the world.

[-] Mothra@mander.xyz 5 points 18 hours ago

... You're wrong :)

[-] RicoPeru@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 20 hours ago

i always think of avocados when i see it

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 10 points 20 hours ago

The word 'weird' is pretty weird.

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[-] PandaDEV@lemmy.ml 8 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

„Chrüsimüsi“ belief me or not but it means chaos

[-] cazssiew@lemmy.world 3 points 12 hours ago

We have tohu-bohu in french, same meaning

[-] PandaDEV@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 hours ago

Yeah I know it as „Thou-Wabohu“

[-] auraithx@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

Scots - I like fannybaws.

(Vagina testicles)

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[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 8 points 20 hours ago

Fustigate and discombobulate are a couple of my faves.

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this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2025
49 points (100.0% liked)

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