The 10 European phrases to learn and live by now we have left the EU

Author and journalist Helen Russell takes a look at unique cultural terms from Europe and what we can learn from them

The German ‘gemutlichkeit’ refers to a state of comfort earned by good, hard endeavour (iStock)

I have been in love with Europe since 1987 when I first took the ferry to France from Folkestone, aged seven. I was very taken with the crepes and the fact that “chocolate in a baguette” was considered an acceptable gouter. In the decades that followed, I went on 24-hour coach journeys to the Alps (an experience); hitchhiked to Amsterdam; took budget airlines to Berlin, Barcelona, Bruges; attended fashion weeks in Paris and Milan; and holidayed everywhere else I could afford. Then I moved to Denmark in 2013 and took things up a notch. I began researching the unique concepts that various nations use to stay happy and healthy.

Last year, I wrote The Atlas of Happiness – the global secrets of how to be happy – and my love of Europe only deepened. As we inch ever closer to leaving the European Union, it’s important to embrace European cultural terms that can’t so easily be translated into English, and never forget the happiness and comfort they bring. From arbejdsglaede to dolce far niente, click in the gallery below to see a few of my favourite terms and what we can learn from them.

Helen Russell’s book, The Atlas of Happiness: the global secrets of how to be happy, is out now (Two Roads, £16.99).