Unit 25: Foreign words in English

faux pas ( noun) a socially embarrassing mistake

joie de vivre (noun ) great enjoyment of life
deja vu (noun) the feeling that you have already experienced what is happening now
fait accompli (noun) something that has happened and can't be changed
carte blanche (noun) complete freedom to take whatever action you want
entre nous (adj/adv) used to say that something should be a secret 'between ourselves'
en route (adv) on the way to or from somewhere
nuance ( noun) a very small difference in meaning, appearance, etc.
doppelganger ( noun) a person who looks exactly like you but is not related to you
realpolitik (noun) practical politics, decided by immediate needs rather than by principle
wanderlust (noun) the wish to travel far and to many different places
incommunicado (adj) not communicating with anyone
mañana (adv) tomorrow
El Nino (noun) an unusual current in the Pacific Ocean that temporarily changes world
weather patterns
cognoscente ( noun) a person who has a lot of specialist knowledge, particularly of the arts -
plural: cognoscenti
prima donna (noun) someone who thinks they are special and should be treated in a special
way
bonsai ( noun) a very small tree that has been stopped from growing to its full size
kimono (noun) a loose piece of outer clothing with side sleeves
origami (noun) making decorative objects by folding paper
feng shui ( noun) an ancient Chinese belief that the way your house is built and the way that
you arrange objects affects success, health and happiness
lychee ( noun) a fruit with a rough brown shell and sweet white flesh
typhoon (noun) a violent wind which has a circular motion, found in the West Pacific Ocean
French:
denouement (noun) the end of a book or play where everything is explained
nouvelle cuisine (noun) a style of cooking in which a small amount of food is served in an
attractive pattern on the plate
bete noire (noun) a person or thing that particularly annoys you or that you dislike
cause celebre (noun) a controversial event that attracts a lot of public attention
de rigueur (adjective) describing something you must have or do to appear fashionable
clientele (noun) the customers or clients of a business
contretemps (noun) an embarrassing small disagreement
en suite (adverb/adjective) describing a connected bathroom and bedroom
nom de plume (noun) a false name used by a writer
savoir-faire (noun) the ability to do or say the right thing in any situation
Chinese:
gingseng ( noun) the root of a tropical plant used to improve health
kumquat ( noun) a small, oval orange-coloured fruit
Italian:
diva (noun) a famous female singer
sotto voce (adjective) said in a very quiet voice
German:
ersatz (adjective) describes something used instead of something else because the original is
rare or too expensive
schadenfreude (noun) a feeling of pleasure you get when something bad happens to someone
else
Japanese:

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 Unit 25: Foreign words in English

haiku ( noun) a poem made up of 17 syllables only

ninja ( noun) a Japanese sword-carrying fighter
Spanish:
macho (adjective) behaving forcefully and without emotion in a way that was thought
typical of a man
pronto (adjective) quickly and at once
Russian:
glasnost (noun) a policy of making government more open and accountable to its
people
intelligentsia (noun) the highly educated people in a society who are interested in arts and
politics
politburo (noun) the main governing group in a Communist country
samovar (noun) a large metal container used to heat water for tea
troika ( noun ) a group of three powerful politicians