When you study a foreign language, you develop a mental list of favorite words. Maybe these words sound cool, or they have unique, difficult-to-capture meanings. One of my favorite Russian words is кстати (kstati). First of all, it's fun to say--that instantaneous transition from a "k" to an "st" forces my English-speaker tongue to do things it just wasn't designed to do. And кстати has a cool meaning: It's a parenthesis, meaning that it is used to lead in to a new topic of conversation. It's roughly translated as "by the way."

I love this word because something interesting always follows it--some new turn of conversation, some unexpected question, perhaps an invitation. It's a bright word that promises change and spontaneity. It's quick and fun to say--what a cool word.