10 words commonly used in English from 10 different languages

Hello, everybody, Greg here.

Now, I’m sure most of you watching know this already,

but English has been heavily influenced by many other languages.

We’ve taken words and inspiration from French,

Hindi, Japanese, Turkish, German,

Spanish, Italian, to name just a few.

And so, in today’s video, we’re looking at ten words

that we commonly use in English from ten different languages.

But before we look at these ten words, please remember to hit the like button

and subscribe to the channel.

Okay, so let’s begin our language journey by going

to Spain and the Spanish word siesta.

Siesta is a rest or sleep taken after lunch,

especially in hot countries.

After lunch, I love nothing more than having a siesta.

So, our next word is from Europe as well, Germany,

to be precise, and it’s the word doppelgänger.

Doppelgänger means a spirit that looks exactly like a living person

or someone who looks exactly like someone else,

but who is not related to that person.

We look exactly the same. You’re my doppelgänger.

He’s my doppelgänger.

So, for our next word, we’re going to be moving on to Asia,

and specifically, Japan.

We’re looking at the Japanese word karaoke.

Karaoke is a form of entertainment, originally from Japan, in which

the recordings of the music, but not the words, of popular

songs are played, so that people could sing the words themselves.

I mean, Greg loves karaoke...

But he’s really not very good at it. Yes.

Thank you. Thank you.

Right, let’s come back to Europe next for the Italian word paparazzi.

Paparazzi are the photographers who follow famous people everywhere

they go, in order to take photos of them for newspapers and magazines.

Greg became so famous after being on Learn English with Cambridge

that the paparazzi followed him everywhere,

and I mean everywhere.

Okay, now we’re looking at Sanskrit, a classical language from

Southeast Asia, and the word avatar.

Avatar is an image that represents you in online gaming, chatrooms, etc.,

and that you can move around the screen.

Greg updated his Facebook profile picture with an avatar of himself.

Okay, so we’re staying in Asia now, but we’re looking at the language Malay,

a language that’s widely spoken in both Malaysia and Indonesia,

and our word here is sarong.

Sarong is a long piece of thin cloth worn wrapped around the waist.

Greg, you know it’s a formal dinner, right? Uh, huh.

And you have to wear formal clothes. Yes.

What’s the sarong all about? It matches, don’t you think?

Right, so we’re coming a bit closer to home now and we’re

looking at the Turkish word yogurt.

Yogurt, as most of you will already know,

is a slightly sour, thick liquid,

made from milk with bacteria added to it.

Sometimes eaten plain, and sometimes eaten with sugar,

fruit, etc., added.

Greg? Have you seen my yogurt?

Right, on to the Scandinavian leg of our video now and the Danish word hygge.

Hygge is a quality of cosiness that comes

from doing simple things, such as lighting candles,

baking, or spending time at home with your family.

Yes, so for me, it will really add to the hygge in your home.

Okay, and from Denmark, on to Finland and the Finnish word sauna.

Sauna is a room or small building, often with wood attached to the walls,

that is heated to a high temperature, usually, with steam.

Yes, a sauna is lovely, but just, you know, a bit hot for my liking, I think.

Thanks.

So, the last leg of today’s video brings us very close to home to

France and the French phrase bon appétit.

Bon appétit is a phrase, originally from French,

meaning good appetite, said to someone who is

about to eat, meaning, I hope you enjoy your meal.

Ah, yes. Bon appétit.

Um...

Okay, so let’s recap on today’s list of ten words commonly used in English

from ten different languages.

Okay, so we’ve looked at ten words from other languages

that we commonly use in English.

However, there are thousands more.

I do literally mean thousands more.

So, could you please comment below with other examples

that you might know, and then we can have

a look and see which language has influenced English the most.

And as ever, thanks for stopping by and I’ll see

you next time for more language fun.