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Something happens in my chest. There is a tightening, a little pressure, a sensation I don’t like. Within seconds, I have identified the problem: It is anxiety. Or perhaps frustration. Maybe it’s envy, which would explain why it arrived just as I was reading about somebody else’s six-figure book deal.

Lately, I’ve noticed how quickly I try to explain a sensation to myself. Something happens, and before I’ve had much chance to feel it, I’m telling myself what it is, why it’s there, and what I should do about it.

Then last week, a Ukrainian word made me wonder what might happen if I waited a little longer before giving a sensation a name.

A Word for the Uncomfortable Middle

On my podcast, Fifty Words for Snow, my cohost Emily John Garcés and I explore words that don’t have easy English equivalents. This week our guest Alexandra Shunrun introduced us to nezruchno, a Ukrainian word that describes something uncomfortable, inconvenient, or awkward.

Alex explained that a meeting time could be nezruchno if it didn’t fit your schedule. A pair of shoes could be nezruchno if they pinched your feet. You might feel nezruchno asking someone for a favor or admitting that you’d forgotten their name. You could also feel nezruchno if you failed to do something you’d promised someone.

If I failed to keep a promise, I would probably say I felt guilty. But Alex described a more complicated experience: feeling empathy for the person you let down, feeling stress about an upcoming confrontation, and perhaps also feeling uncomfortable with yourself for being a person who let someone down. The feelings might overlap, and it might be hard to........

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