Found in Translation: Hyppytyynytyydytys

Language is a funny thing, even when you’re trying to learn your native one. One of today’s quirky encounters with words foreign to the English language is one that’s not even commonly used among Finnish themselves. Ahh, but we are sure everyone in the world is familiar with this feeling of hyppytyynytyydytys.

Hyppytyynytyydytys — what a mouthful! It loosely translates to ‘bouncy cushion satisfaction’. For the BBC, it's the relaxing feeling of sitting down in a comfortable chair.

You’d mostly encounter this feeling when you’ve just finished a long morning jog outdoors, body tired from the exercise so you come home with limbs spread across the couch. It’s also the deep long sigh with your body on the sofa on a hard day’s night. Shoes off, feet up on the table with your aching back as you lean. Happy is also that kind of feeling you have on a hot summer day at the patio and all you can do is relish the view and fresh juice on hand as you fan yourself. It’s warm, but also cool, because nothing beats the art of absolutely doing nothing.

The word hyppytyynytyydytys may not be of any practical use for your everyday life (we have trouble enunciating it, too!) but it's a useful concept to know for your poetic and artistic life. Go on, try to snap different ways people relax on a bouncy couch. The living room is called the ‘living room’ for a reason after all, maybe make a summer project of how your family members plop down the couch and their unique ways of sitting habits and relaxation!

2018-07-27 #culture #found-in-translation #hyppyytynytyydytys