POPULAR GERMAN WORDS IN ENGLISH FULL

Torschlusspanik translates as “gate-shut-panic”, referring to the fear of opportunities closing forever as you get older. Torschlusspanik – the Fear of Time Running Out Kummerspeck refers to the excess flab that appears on your body as a side effect of this situation. You might find yourself in a vicious cycle of emotional eating to distract yourself from bad feelings. Kummerspeck has a wonderful literal translation – it means “grief bacon”. Kummerspeck – Excess Weight Gained from Emotional Eating The audience tries to laugh encouragingly, but their insides are twisting in shame for that person. Have you ever been at a wedding when the Best Man/Maid of Honour has tried to give a speech, while being off-their-face drunk? They ended up telling embarrassing stories that no one wants to hear or cracking jokes that aren’t funny. On the flip side, Fremdschämen is a word to describe the empathy you feel for someone else in a truly humiliating situation. “Harm-joy” – that’s Schadenfreude, and anyone who’s human has probably felt it at some point in their life! Fremdschämen – the Shame You Experience From Watching Another’s Humiliation You feel that they’ve finally got their comeuppance and you’re more than happy to gloat over it. They’re devastated and you pretend to sympathise, but inside you’re dancing with glee. Perhaps they get made redundant for their job. You pretend to feel happy for them, but there is the odd twinge of jealousy. You normally wouldn’t care one way or another, but they make a point of rubbing these successes in your face. There might be one person in your particular social circle who seems to have an insane amount of good luck. It refers to the pleasure gained from another’s misfortune.

The Germans have coined a word for this: Schadenfreude. Is there someone in the world that you truly despise? Do you revel in happiness anytime they encounter bad luck in their life? Schadenfreude – Taking Pleasure in Someone Else’s Misfortune You don’t want to have one particular home – rather you’re content travelling the world, drifting from place to place, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures.įernweh is the word used to describe true nomads, those with an incurable case of “itchy feet”.

Time not spent travelling leaves you feeling sad and lost. It means “distance-sickness”, almost the opposite of homesickness. Where the German word Wanderlust is used for someone who is literally lusting to travel, Fernweh means you have an overpowering desire to travel. Have you ever had a feeling that you’re not currently where you truly want to be? There’s a word to describe that: Fernweh, which indicates an acute desire to travel. Here are a few of my favourites.įernweh – the Feeling of Wanting to be Somewhere Else German is one language that has plenty of words for the gaps that English has neglected to fill. The word that describes the emotion you’re feeling may actually exist – you’re just searching for it in the wrong language. Learning a new language opens the doors of communication in more ways than one. You know that moment when you can’t find the word to describe what’s happening.

POPULAR GERMAN WORDS IN ENGLISH FULL

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Popular german words in english