This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedanta.

If you grew up speaking a language other than English, you probably reached for words

in your native tongue without even thinking about it.

Cochely, it's Verkse, Mal de Porco.

Olma polma.

There are phrases in every language that are deeply evocative and often untranslatable.

If you're studying a new language, you might discover these phrases not in your textbooks,

but when you're hanging out with friends.

My name is Jennifer Diakone Cruz.

Jennifer moved to Japan for graduate school.

And I ended up living there for 10 years.

It took just one week of living in Japan for Jennifer to pick up an important new term.

Mendo Kusai.

Here's what she says it means.

It's this phrase that describes something between, I can't be bothered or I don't want

to do it or I recognize the incredible effort that goes into something even though it shouldn't

be so much of an effort.

Still don't have a clear picture?

Imagine this.

It's a Sunday afternoon and it's raining outside and you're at home in your pajamas, all

nice and cuddly and maybe watching Netflix or something.

And you suddenly get a craving for potato chips and you realize that you have none in the

...