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A word for saying things indirectly because you do not know the correct word

Is there a word that describes the act, common of language learners, of using a cumbersome way to say something because they do not know a concise word (almost like I am doing here...).

For example:

That woman is the sister of my father.

Could be more efficiently said as

That woman is my aunt.

But the speaker may not know the word aunt even though they know father and sister.