“Hygge,” the Danish word of an extreme coziness, has infiltrated the English language. It’s the latest obsession of wellness bloggers, lifestyle coaches and pretty much every stay-at-home mom during the winter months. You know what? Fuck hygge! Rather than dawdling around with comfort and coziness, let’s embrace words with some practicality, words like Backpfeifengesicht, the German word for a face that’s begging to be slapped or Sahat, the Tunisian word for getting high off shoe polish. Here’s a guide to some words we should be using instead of hygge.
Torschlusspanik (German): Literally, it means “the fear of gate closing.” This is the fear of missing out on something, often leading to a decision you impetuously make and subsequently regret.
Vitutus (Finnish): The Finnish word for “I can’t even deal with this shit.” E.g., how you feel about politics.
Gråtrunka (Swedish): Crying and masturbating at the same time.
Shemomedjamo (Georgian): The feeling of extreme fullness, but, because your meal’s so delicious, you can’t stop devouring it. If Thanksgiving encapsulated one word, it’d be shemomedjamo.
Trúnó (Icelandic): The act of getting into a very private, confessional conversation with someone, usually when drunk. E.g., every karaoke bar at 2:00 a.m. when some asshole sings “Tears in Heaven.”
Gruglede (Norwegian): The feeling of being so excited for something that you both look forward to it while simultaneously dreading it.
Gyakugire (Japanese): Getting pissed at somebody because they got pissed at you for something you did.