Hello and welcome to another episode of There's a Word for That,
Where in just a few minutes each episode,
We'll uncover a word from somewhere in the world for a feeling you've likely had many times but never knew had a name.
And so without further ado,
Let's get right into it.
Have you ever sat in traffic or passed a stranger on the street?
And had a sudden,
Almost dizzying realization.
Do they have a whole life going on,
Just as real and just as complicated as yours?
A past,
A family,
Their own worries,
Loves,
Hates,
Regrets and fears?
Well,
There's a word for that,
And it's called Sonder.
Sonder It's not an old word pulled from some ancient language.
It's an English word and it was invented in 2012 by a writer named John Koenig for a project called the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.
What a great name.
In this project,
He set out to write definitions for feelings that English had never bothered to name,
And Sonder was one of them.
It's the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and as complex as your own.
Most of the time,
Other people are just scenery,
Background characters in the story of our own lives.
And Sonda is the moment that that illusion cracks and you remember that you are the background character in millions of other stories,
Just as they are in yours.
Less than a decade after Koenig wrote it down,
Merriam-Webster added the word to the dictionary.
Sonder had earned its place as an official English word.
That's what makes a word like Sonder so valuable.
It didn't need centuries of use or entire cultures behind it.
It just needed someone to notice a feeling we've all had and decide that it deserved a name.
Perhaps someone has looked at you going about your business and felt sonder themselves.
Or maybe you've felt it yourself.
In fact,
I'm certain you have.
And now,
You finally have a word for it.
Sonder.
Thank you for listening.
I hope you found this enjoyable,
And until next time,
Take care.
