You can learn a lot by studying the words other cultures create—especially the ones that have no clean English equivalent. A few classics:
Schadenfreude (German): taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune.
Lagom (Swedish): just the right amount—not too much, not too little.
Tartle (Scots): that awkward moment when you’re about to introduce someone and realize you’ve forgotten their name.
The fact that these concepts are encapsulated in a single word says something about the values and experiences of the cultures that coined them.
Recently I learned another foreign word in this category—one that stops you cold:
Karoshi (Japanese) – death from overwork.
It’s a legally recognized phenomenon in Japan, severe enough that there are laws governing excessive work hours and employer responsibility.
Which is part of why Japan erupted recently when its new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, held a three-hour staff meeting that began at 3 a.m.
The fax heard ’round the country
Takaichi had a 9 a.m. appearance before the Diet. As she explained it, she needed to rewrite briefing materials—and the fax machine at her home jammed, which forced her to go to the prime minister’s official residence to rework everything with staff.
(For the idea file: Wait, Japan still uses fax machines?)
So she walked out at 3 a.m. and convened her aides in the middle of the night. The optics were immediate and intense.
The backlash
Critics said she pushed staff into the same unhealthy patterns the country has been trying to move away from—patterns tied directly to karoshi. A former prime minister called her timing “crazy,” saying that during his tenure, they started at 6 or 7 a.m., not in the dead of night.
Supporters defended her. Some said she was simply doing what the job required. Others blamed opposition lawmakers for submitting questions too late.
Takaichi acknowledged the “inconvenience” but stood by the decision.
Whatever side you take, the moment fits into a much larger conversation.
Have you heard of Elon Musk?
Think of Tesla, where Elon Musk has held 1 a.m. company-wide meetings, including a Sunday all-hands during the Model 3 “production hell” years.
Employees have described being summoned with almost no notice—and expected to show up because the CEO was awake and wanted answers.
In 2025, Tesla did it again: Staff got a surprise late-night meeting announcement that left people scrambling.
Going past Tesla, in the AI and tech world, we’re seeing a U.S. adaptation of 996 culture—the 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six-days-a-week schedule that became so extreme in China that courts eventually barred employers from requiring it.
U.S. startups now openly advertise 70- to 80-hour weeks. Some founders brag on social media about 90-hour stretches. Hacker-house teams work, sleep, and brainstorm together so they can whiteboard at 1 a.m. without calling it overtime.
The framing is always the same: This is what it takes.
But Is It?
Is a 3 a.m. prep session truly unavoidable?
Is a 1 a.m. all-hands meeting the only way to solve a problem?
Is a 72-hour week the price of admission for innovation?
Or are these simply habits get normalized—not because they’re necessary, but because intensity gets mistaken for competence, or urgency for strategy, or exhaustion for commitment?
Or maybe even for ego? “You’re probably wondering why I’ve called you all to this meeting in the middle of the night. It’s because I can.”
We don’t have a single English word that captures that entire dynamic. Not one I am willing to put in a newsletter that my mom will probably read, anyway.
Five letters, starts with H
Since we started with untranslatable words, let’s end with one from the opposite end of the spectrum:
Hygge (Danish) – a warm, cozy feeling from simple comforts—soft light, good company, calm.
A lot less dramatic than a 3 a.m. meeting, and, frankly, a lot healthier.
7 other things
Ukraine’s president spoke optimistically Monday about the progress of revising the Trump administration’s peace plan, saying “it looks better” and the work will continue during talks on how to end Russia’s nearly four-year war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke after meeting with France’s president, the latest in discussions aimed at brokering the terms for a potential ceasefire in the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. (AP)
Costco joined a fast-growing list of businesses suing the Trump administration to ensure eligibility for refunds if the US Supreme Court strikes down the president’s signature global tariffs policy. During arguments before the Supreme Court last month, key justices appeared skeptical of Trump’s tariffs, which have generated tens of billions of dollars a month. (Bloomberg)
Back to the office at Meta: Instagram chief Adam Mosseri is ordering most US staff in his organization in-office five days a week starting February 2. Earlier this year, Amazon told many corporate employees to return to the office five days a week. Other tech giants such as Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft have taken a slightly softer approach, generally requiring staff to be in the office at least three days a week. (Insider)
India’s Department of Telecommunications is giving phone manufacturers 90 days to comply with an order to pre-install a state-owned app on new phones and push it to existing phones through software updates. In August, Russia issued a similar order requiring phone manufacturers to preload a state-backed messenger app, Max. (Verge)
For years it has seemed no sticker price was too high for American car buyers. Even as average new car prices approached $50,000 this year, dealers fretted more over depleted inventories than losing customers to sticker shock. Those days are coming to an end. Increasingly stretched consumers are starting to draw the line on what they will pay for a new car, according to dealers, analysts and industry data. (WSJ)
Criminals who modify vehicles to smuggle people, drugs and weapons into the UK face five years behind bars under new laws. Under legislation expected to get Royal Assent this week, it will be a criminal offense to create concealed spaces for traffickers to use. The new laws also make it an offense to possess or supply templates for making 3D-printed firearms components, pill pressers and pill encapsulators – used to make drugs like MDMA. (The Mirror)
A widow and widower fell in love during water aerobics. They wed in the pool. “We just don’t take life seriously,” said Marlene Parsons, 78. “I mean, life’s too short.” (The Washington Post)
Thanks for reading. Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash. I wrote about some of this before at Inc.com. See you in the comments!
Love the word “tartle”. It happens a lot with me and has for years long before I became a senior. Google didn’t seem to like it much so it redirected me to The Scotsman where I found this about it:
“When confronted with the above scenario, you can excuse your apparent rudeness by saying:
“Sorry for my tartle.”
What makes the word so special is that it doesn’t apply when you forget the person’s name entirely. Oh no. It’s exists only to encapsulate the brief awkwardness while you rummage around your brain for the answer.
Tartle has frequently appeared in lists around the world of perfect words that don’t translate to other nations. Word envy!”
As for crazy, insane working hours, I thought all the “new” technology(when it was new)was supposed to make our lives so much easier. At least that was a selling point then. Guess it’s really turning us into screen zombies.
Question! Re:…”Trump’s tariffs, which have generated tens of billions of dollars a month “”.
(Bloomberg). Where is this revenue going? Paying down the national debt or building a White House ballroom?