If you love to travel, you probably know that one of the little frustrations is trying to find words for how your experiences around the world make you feel. There are tons of words to describe scenery but there are very few single words in English that really captures certain feelings and emotional responses. Look to other languages though and there’s a whole lexicon of fabulous sounding words with meanings that say it all.
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Sturmfrei – German Origin
This is an adjective that describes the feeling of freedom that comes from being alone and having the ability to be able to go anywhere that you want to without having to compromise.
Numinous – Latin Origin
You come across many special sights when you travel, and this is the word to use when you are both fearful but in awe of what lays before you.
Resfeber – Swedish Origin
This great word refers to that special feeling of excitement mixed with fear that every person gets when they are about to embark on a new amazing adventure.
Fernweh – German Origin
You have heard of wanderlust, right? Well fernweh is a German term that takes that feeling of farsickness even further. It’s an even bigger desire to travel as far as possible.
Livsnjutare – Swedish Origin
You can use this word to describe a person who loves life in a really deep way and way takes pleasure in living it to the absolute extreme.
Dérive – French Origin
This is a word that can be used for the type of traveller that likes to move around the world in a completely unplanned fashion, letting the power of the scenery guide them instead.
Schwellenangst – German Origin
This is a fear of crossing a threshold and taking the plunge before embarking on something new; a feeling many travellers will be familiar with.
Strikhedonia – Greek Origin
This Greek word encompasses that great feeling of just saying “to hell with it” and taking your travel experience exactly how it comes.
Vagary – Latin Origin
A vagary is what can be described as a journey that is less structured and goal orientated, and more roaming and wandering instead.
Sehnsucht – German Origin
This is a sort of pensive term that refers to a longing for travel, but not just future travel; also the memory of travel that you have done in the past.
Eleutheronmania – Greek Origin
Put simply, this means an intense desire for ultimate freedom, a freedom that is most commonly felt when you are travelling the world.
Solivagant – Latin Origin
An adjective of Latin origin that can be used to describe a person who revels in the act of wandering alone, preferably in destinations and locations that they have not previously visited.
Saudade – Portuguese Origin
An old Portuguese word that refers to a nostalgia and a love that remains for something, and a desire to be near and close that something or someone that is currently distant.
Yugen – Japanese Origin
This refers to an awareness of the wider universe that leads to an emotional response that is too profound and too deep to really put into words.
Acatalepsy – Greek Origin
This is the idea that it is truly impossible to comprehend anything in the universe, and grand travelling adventures can often evoke it.
Trouvaille – French Origin
This French word refers to the act of finding something lovely and wonderful out of pure luck and chance.
Hygge – Danish Origin
The Danish word for the feeling of overwhelming satisfaction that you get as you enjoy the small things in life with people that you love.
Fun aren't they? I want to use them all!
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