I was asked years ago to have a document translated from French into English. I decided to try to translate it myself. It didn't take me long to realize that I was the original author of the paper.
As I began to translate the document, I then realized that English has a much larger vocabulary than the French language. That triggered me to look at other languages and the richness of each one's vocabulary. I was surprised at the limited size of the vocabulary of many languages.
My research confirmed that English is a language of a very rich vocabulary. However, all of us English speakers shouldn't get too cocky. My Swedish friend gave me a list of Swedish words that had no single English word equivalent.
I suspect that I'd find similar lists in other languages.
These are the words that my friend gave me and their meaning in English:
Bädda
– to make the bed
Diska
– do the dishes
Övermorgon
– day after tomorrow
Träningsvärk
– training ache
Hen
– he or she
Somna
– to fall asleep
Snyt
– to blow your nose
Mil
– ten kilometers
Sugen
– something you have a real desire for
Sambo
– someone who lives together with their boyfriend or girlfriend
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