<p>Sonder/ ˈsɒn dər/ noun</p><p>1. The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own</p><p>As humans, we are often so caught up in their own lives that we don’t realise everyone around them is living a life just as complex and layered.</p><p>Be it a stranger sitting next to you, a person you pass on the street, or faces you barely notice in a crowd, each one carries their own ambitions, anxieties, routines, relationships, and memories.</p><p>And believe it or not, this feeling has a word: ‘sonder’.</p><p><strong>What does it mean?</strong></p><p>As per Cambridge dictionary’s definition, “the strong feeling of realizing that every person you see has their own life story in which they are the most important person: Sonder can encourage compassion. Sonder can have a profound impact on our wellbeing.”</p><p><strong>Where does it come from?</strong></p><p>The word was coined by writer John Koenig around the year 2102, as part of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a project that names emotions we all experience but rarely articulate. Though not traditionally rooted in classical languages, sonder has found a strong place in contemporary vocabulary.</p><p><strong>How can you use it?</strong></p><ul><li><p>Watching the city from a window, she felt a quiet sense of sonder.</p></li><li><p>A long train journey often brings moments of sonder.</p></li></ul><p>In a fast-paced world where people are reduced to profiles, labels, or fleeting impressions, sonder offers a moment of perspective. It reminds us that everyone we encounter is the centre of their own story, just like we are of ours.</p>
<p>Sonder/ ˈsɒn dər/ noun</p><p>1. The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own</p><p>As humans, we are often so caught up in their own lives that we don’t realise everyone around them is living a life just as complex and layered.</p><p>Be it a stranger sitting next to you, a person you pass on the street, or faces you barely notice in a crowd, each one carries their own ambitions, anxieties, routines, relationships, and memories.</p><p>And believe it or not, this feeling has a word: ‘sonder’.</p><p><strong>What does it mean?</strong></p><p>As per Cambridge dictionary’s definition, “the strong feeling of realizing that every person you see has their own life story in which they are the most important person: Sonder can encourage compassion. Sonder can have a profound impact on our wellbeing.”</p><p><strong>Where does it come from?</strong></p><p>The word was coined by writer John Koenig around the year 2102, as part of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a project that names emotions we all experience but rarely articulate. Though not traditionally rooted in classical languages, sonder has found a strong place in contemporary vocabulary.</p><p><strong>How can you use it?</strong></p><ul><li><p>Watching the city from a window, she felt a quiet sense of sonder.</p></li><li><p>A long train journey often brings moments of sonder.</p></li></ul><p>In a fast-paced world where people are reduced to profiles, labels, or fleeting impressions, sonder offers a moment of perspective. It reminds us that everyone we encounter is the centre of their own story, just like we are of ours.</p>
