Comments on: Untranslatable Words: Sisu

By: Tib

Tib — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:55:30 +0000

Sisu for me is the will and spirit to quietly persevere with courage, heart and determination in the face of adversity. The very concept of sisu has given me…sisu.

By: Al

Al — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 04:07:38 +0000

Oh, I think Sisu is very translatable… If only we had a word for it. I feel quiet courage all the time. I think people have the capacity to feel it but no one word, you have to expound on it with a couple more words to get the feeling across. Everyone’s been bullied or crossed unfairly by people. Being that America is mostly based in the christian religion, the Bible teaches to overcome odds without wishing ill will on people or becoming aggressive. To persevere. In this case being the underdog can be slightly virtuous. Not all people share this belief, just saying it is there. and I know, a year late : )

By: First Look at the Nokia N9: A Testament Nokia’s Sisu — nanyate

First Look at the Nokia N9: A Testament Nokia’s Sisu — nanyate — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 10:40:06 +0000

[...] I talked about sisu a while ago. It’s a Finnish brand of perseverance — the quiet determination that allowed them to withstand the brutality of cold and invasion for centuries. [...]

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:12:30 +0000

I found this site while searching the web for a well articulated English translation of the word “Sisu.” You have done a great job making this translation attempt, thank you!
I am an American of Finnish descent and was raised simply understanding the concept Sisu. It definately is a word that must be felt to be understood. Sisu! It’s all you need to say and a Finn knows what you’re talking about.
With that said, I really enjoyed learning about some other words, including those found in English, which cannot be clearly translated.
I loved this site and found myself mesmerized by all the great comments. I learned so much, again thank you.

By: John G

John G — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 04:47:59 +0000

I really like your blog. After reading this post I came across another website while searching for untranslatable words.

http://www.betterthanenglish.com

Sisu isn’t on there but there are some other good ones.

By: BrasilMenina

BrasilMenina — Fri, 07 May 2010 21:43:05 +0000

I love to say “saudade” !!!!! I can not even begin express in English what “saudade” mean in Portuguese! Miss is closest word, but is just not the same!!!!
(sorry for my horrible english!)

By: Holly

Holly — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:35:29 +0000

Wow! That’s actually really interesting! I’d never heard of that Finnish word before, but having read your explanation it actually does make sense!

By: Henry

Henry — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 06:15:31 +0000

By: Henry

Henry — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 06:14:49 +0000

Hey, I found my self stopping by a second time, so thank *you* for this beautiful website
I really tried to come up with equivalents for “cool”, but I really cant find a perfect match. I think “kiva” is the closest alternative, and it’s something that one could say for nearly everything, but it translates as “nice”, and sounds way more gayish than “cool”. In other words: “kiva” is not as cool as “cool”
Btw, if you ever plan on visiting Finland, I suggest that you go to Lapland around midsummer. It really is amazing with the “nightless night” and all…

By: Skye

Skye — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:05:16 +0000

One of the hardest things I found when taking tagalog lessons last year was not having a direct translation for the word “please”. It was so hard for me to frame a question (e.g. “can you pass the rice [please]?”) without having a word for “please”. It has been drummed into me all these years that you it’s impolite not to say please that even with a distinction between polite and impolite phrases and suffixes, it stumped me every time…