"But what I am looking for are instances where the closest word doesn't quite convey the connotative meaning in the other culture/language."

I for one would argue that the vast majority of translatable words suffer from this issue - it varies in degree from case to case.

For example even a simple word like "wood" - in English can mean either

Wood

the hard fibrous material that forms the main substance of the trunk or branches of a tree or shrub, used for fuel or timber.

or

an area of land, smaller than a forest, that is covered with growing trees.

definition from oxford dictionary

There are a few sub-definitions as well, but we can ignore those for now.

What's interesting is that when you translate "wood" into spanish for definition 1, you get the word Madera

Madera

Hard and fibrous substance that forms the trunk and the branches of the trees. The trunk is thicker than the branches

Piece of wood cut or carved.

Talent or innate ability to do something. This child plays the piano very well, has wood as a musician; The young actress is very excited because Almodóvar said she has wood and, logically, should take this opportunity

Set of wind orchestra instruments that are blown directly or by means of one or two tabs.

Horny material of which the hull of the cavalry is composed.

definition also from oxford, translated through google

The first definition of both of these is the same, but the interesting thing is that they each have their own alternate definitions. In spanish, "Madera" never means "an area of land, smaller than a forest, that is covered with growing trees". In English, if you tell someone they "have wood" (Madera definition 3) they won't take it to mean "talent or innate ability". Believe it or not I had no idea what the spanish word for "wood" would throw up in terms of alternate defintions, it's pure happenstance that this example would be quite an amusing misunderstanding.

At the very basic, word for word level, it's this kind of thing that gets lost in translation. There are very few words which translate perfectly between languages, and even fewer that translate perfectly between all languages, because even if you can match up one definition, the alternate definitions are always slightly different.

And when you get beyond the word for word level - when you're working with phrases and sentences, the problem gets even worse. I don't know if the spanish say "touch wood" or "we're not out of the woods yet", but if not and you translate these phrases literally, you lose the fact that you're quoting a popular idiom.

Poems are completely different when translated, because the translated words don't necessarily rhyme, or they are different lengths, throwing the rhythm completely. Translating poems has to be insanely difficult if you want to preserve the artistry as well as the meaning.

"But what I am looking for are instances where the closest word doesn't quite convey the connotative meaning in the other culture/language."

I for one would argue that the vast majority of translatable words suffer from this issue - it varies in degree from case to case.

For example even a simple word like "wood" - in English can mean either

Wood

the hard fibrous material that forms the main substance of the trunk or branches of a tree or shrub, used for fuel or timber.

or

an area of land, smaller than a forest, that is covered with growing trees.

definition from oxford dictionary

There are a few sub-definitions as well, but we can ignore those for now.

What's interesting is that when you translate "wood" into spanish for definition 1, you get the word Madera

Madera

Hard and fibrous substance that forms the trunk and the branches of the trees. The trunk is thicker than the branches

Piece of wood cut or carved.

Talent or innate ability to do something. This child plays the piano very well, has wood as a musician; The young actress is very excited because Almodóvar said she has wood and, logically, should take this opportunity

Set of wind orchestra instruments that are blown directly or by means of one or two tabs.

Horny material of which the hull of the cavalry is composed.

definition also from oxford, translated through google

The first definition of both of these is the same, but the interesting thing is that they each have their own alternate definitions. In spanish, "Madera" never means "an area of land, smaller than a forest, that is covered with growing trees". In English, if you tell someone they "have wood" (Madera definition 3) they won't take it to mean "talent or innate ability". Believe it or not I had no idea what the spanish word for "wood" would throw up in terms of alternate defintions, it's pure happenstance that this example would be quite an amusing misunderstanding.

At the very basic, word for word level, it's this kind of thing that gets lost in translation. There are very few words which translate perfectly between languages, and even fewer that translate perfectly between all languages, because even if you can match up one definition, the alternate definitions are always slightly different.

And when you get beyond the word for word level - when you're working with phrases and sentences, the problem gets even worse. I don't know if the spanish say "touch wood" or "we're not out of the woods yet", but if not and you translate these phrases literally, you lose the fact that you're quoting a popular idiom, as well as the intended meaning.

Poems are completely different when translated, because the translated words don't necessarily rhyme, or they are different lengths, throwing the rhythm completely. Translating poems has to be insanely difficult if you want to preserve the artistry as well as the meaning.