Appreciating The Places We Love Before They’re Gone
B2 English listening practice · Canadian English · Curated for upper-intermediate learners
What does “topophilia” mean?
Standing where his dad’s childhood farm once stood, this speaker names a feeling most of us never had a word for: «the love we feel for places… it’s actually been given its own word. Topophilia.» Topophilia means a strong love of, or emotional bond with, a particular place, your hometown, a bedroom, a favorite bookstore.
It joins Greek topos (“place”) with philia (“love”), the same philia in “Anglophile.” The talk’s twist is that English has no matching word for losing a place, so it borrows the language of grief instead. A rare, lovely word for something everyone feels but rarely says out loud.
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this B2 English listening practice listening practice?
General English frequency
Spoken English frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s B2 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸English TED-style talks on memory, home, and belonging.
- ▸In conversations about hometowns and the places that shaped you.
- ▸English vocabulary content on unusual words for everyday feelings.
- ▸Writing on grief, nostalgia, and the places we lose.