I love learning -- and occasionally throwing around in conversation -- foreign words that describe a very particular quality, or emotion, or state of being. Think of words like the Japanese "wabi sabi" or the French "jolie laide" (look them up, it's worth it).
My absolute favorite is the German word "schadenfreude." Even the sound of it is appealing -- it starts with a soft "sch" sound and concludes with a harsh "freude" which, when over-articulated, makes me think I sound smart and multi-lingual.
It's the meaning of the word in particular that I find so fascinating. Merriam-Webster defines schadenfreude as "enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others" -- not a particularly admirable quality, but an all-too-human one. It's the feeling you get when you hear about the mean girl from high school's nasty divorce... when your work nemesis gets fired... when someone you love "wins" at the expense of someone you dislike.
You've got to admire the Germans for creating a word that describes a feeling most people don't want to admit to publicly (but will snarkily enjoy in private)... a word that addresses the direct balance between your pleasure and someone else's pain (sado-masochism doesn't count -- plus, its origins are French)... a word that's as interesting to think about as it is to say.