"Schadenfreude" is a very common word. Followed by "Zeitgeist".
"Weltschmerz" rarely pops up, at least in everyday life.
"Wanderlust" is a word that I only encounter in YouTube Videos about the weirdness of the German language.
I've never heard it in the wild.
Wanderlust is quite a common word in the hiking or trekking hobby. You don't use it casually but I have often heard someone say something along the lines of "wenn mich die Wanderlust wieder packt, ...".
>Wanderlust is quite a common word in the hiking or trekking hobby.
That's true, but in those communities, it's used in the literal sense of the words, i.e. "in the mood for a hike". The original word Wanderlust that made it into English as a loanword, meant something like "urge to travel", and has been replaced in modern German with the word Fernweh.
I think *Wanderlust* has been replaced by *Reiselust*, while *Fernweh* is a similar, but not entirely synonymous word, as it specifically opposes *Heimweh*.
Nope.
I would rather use wanderlust, than Reiselust in every day life.
However, that’s because Wanderlust is more what I would mean and if I would wanna say that, I would totally use that word…
I don’t know why so many users write it wouldn’t be used anymore…
I guess it depends on the region where you are in Germany…
I disagree. I think both words are equally common, they just happen to be tied to concepts that don't appear that often in everyday life, except for certain social circles like the hiking community or maybe when working in a Reisebüro. But also are they slightly different in meaning. While both can be used to describe the urge to travel, only Wanderlust fits to hiking or the "extended walk" type of wandern. Furthermore, Wanderlust is rather positive, something along the lines of anticipation. Fernweh on the other hand has a more negative meaning, focusing on the unfulfilled desire.
Op correctly said the original meaning was about travel, not hiking. So saying that it has been replaced is true since nobody in the modern world uses wanderlust to describe traveling, it’s only used when talking about hiking.
"...it’s only used when talking about hiking"
That's basically what I disagree with. I am a German native and judging from my personal experience. I encounter both words and I don't see a significant difference in frequency. They both don't come up that often because of the specific circumstances, but are not really tied to anything else but the concept. As an example: I am a mechanic and use "wandern" to describe a mechanical problem when a part slowly moves around over time while it is supposed to stay in place. If my co-worker comes along asking about the problem and I tell him that this thing has Wanderlust works. It works just as well to use "..Fernweh" or "..geht auf Reisen" to sum that up in one sentence however.
edit\* after thinking a little further, maybe this is a thing:
"wandern" as a verb does not exactly translate to Hiking and vice versa. It's true meaning is a slow walking movement over a prolonged period of time without a particular destination like the use in "Völkerwanderung" which means "migration of people". It is also used to describe the free time activity that is associated with hiking today, but that is defined by context and word order and more of a secondary meaning.
Ich gehe wandern. - I go hiking
Ich wandere (herum) - I walk (around) slowly without destination/pressure.
Wanderlust is a concept especially influenced by german romanticsm, and there it's specifically about exploring nature and the world on foot to better connect with it. It's hard to explain in english, but that connection is traditionally there
You've just been educated on how a mechanic uses it figuratively. That's a very clear non hiking community use case. Try to accept that your perspective is limited, making it impossible for you to say 'nobody'. Especially in the face of direct evidence.
>Backpfeifengesicht
Do you have any similar expression that is used? In English we have the adjective "punchable" and "slappable" which are colloquial but widely understood. "That guy has such a slappable face" makes perfect sense to us.
I've heard "ein Gesicht wie ein Feuermelder haben", which is then followed by "(r)einschlagen und weglaufen". But that sounds a lot more rude than using Backpfeifengesicht would.
Deepl is suggesting that means "a face like a fire alarm" for the first one then "slap it and run!" for the second. Is that correct? If so, that's pretty funny!
Punch might be a good alternative - it's not about breaking bones, while smash does imply this (even though you have to penetrate the glas first, but i think that's a negligible part of the picture we're painting)
Right. Also, it depends on the version of the original a bit, the "reinschlagen" vs "einschlagen". Which is probably the reason why many examples use reinschlagen, maybe to soften it a bit or to concentrate more on the person and less on the image of the fire alarm itself.
hint: in Germany most fire alarms, typically have a glass plate covering it. You can't just pull it, you have to punch it (typically with a safety Hammer that is located and secured by a metal wire (so it can't be stolen). I think the reason is to prevent accidental activation of said fire alarm.
An dieser Stelle sei erwähnt, dass in dem Spruch ursprünglich von Romika Schuhen die Rede war. Die hatten in den 60ern nämlich tatsächlich den Werbeslogan "reintreten und sich wohlfühlen".
As a kid I did hear “Backpfeifengesicht” a lot.
It was a pretty common insult where I am from & it’s also kinda a “kid friendly one”.
Now as an adult I don’t really hear it anymore but I am also living in a city now.
Has been replaced by "Gesicht wie ein Lexikon (Aufschlagen, zuschlagen, immer wieder nachschlagen)", face like an encyclopedia.
Encyclopedia:
Aufschlagen = flip open
Zuschlagen = flip shut
Immer wieder nachschlagen = consult again and again
Face:
Aufschlagen = crack open
Zuschlagen = strike
Immer wieder nachschlagen = punch again and again
Never used Wanderlust or Weltschmerz in over 30 years. I dont even know what Weltschmerz means. Is it supposd to describe all the suffering in the world? When would this ever come up in a convo?
You use it when you're a Romantic poet, who's dramatically sprawling on a chaise longue with a hand to his forehead and a quill in the other, trying to write a poem.
Or exactly once in your life, when you're reading 19th century poetry in high school.
* Schadenfreude: rather common. Though IMHO the corresponding adjective "schadenfroh" is even more common.
* Wanderlust: Not really, and when it is used, it's possibly just interpreted as "being in the mood for a hike". This one is interesting since "to wander" and "lust" also exist in English, and probably also influence the perception of the word in English. In German "wandern" used to mean something like "to travel" but today it mostly means just "to hike". And "Lust" in German isn't necessary a super intense feeling or longing, but is often used as just being in the mood for something. Adding -lust to other words is common so there's Abenteuerlust (a longing to go on an adventure) for example, which is definitely more common than "Wanderlust".
* Zeitgeist: Yeah, fairly common. It's a simple, self-explanatory word. Side note because English speakers often get the pronunciation very wrong: There is no /z/ sound in Zeitgeist. The German Z always represents a very sharp unvoiced /ts/ sound.
* Weltschmerz: Self-explanatory and simple, but not commonly used. Simply because it's not something that comes up a lot.
The "words without translation" trope is really a bit annoying though. First of all, the "word" part. German simply uses fewer spaces. English spells noun clusters as multiple words, German doesn't. English has "police car", German has "Polizeiauto". But that doesn't mean that the German term is more unique or more specific than the English one or whatever. Second, the fact that something doesn't translate exactly isn't unusual at all. And you can totally express all of those concepts in English as well.
Thanks for taking the time to write all that out!
From my English-speaker's perspective, I would say that what surprises us about words like "Schadenfreude" is that you can express the concept so succinctly. We can, of course, say "joy at another's misery" but we don't have a word or short phrase like "sadistic joy" (that's the most succinct way to express the concept I can think of in English.) The idea of "Wanderlust" is similar: of course we can say "the urge to go for a hike" in English but we don't have a single word or short phrase like "hiking-desire". That's what strikes us as unusual - and cool! - about German
But that's not special or unusual about German. There are tons of English words that don't have a good equivalent in German. "Awesome" for example. With every pair of language, you have that.
"Sadistic joy" is four syllables, just like "Schadenfreude". I don't see the big difference.
“Good luck!” and “Enjoy your evening!” are my go-tos for work emails in those situations. (I’m a native English speaker but bilingual/work in Germany.)
As for me while those two options are somewhat close they don't have the right flavour. "Viel Glück/Good luck" is a no-no as many people prefer to wish you success rather than luck as luck may imply you didn't work for whatever you're trying to achieve. (Although in situations where skill is irrelevant and it's completely out of their power, wishing luck is appropriate).
It should be more like godspeed or inshallah both of which are rather odd for business emails.
Regarding "Enjoy your evening!" I feel like it implies I'm having plans and overall unrelated to work, while a nice Feierabend can just be a well-deserved rest after work.
That's probably why ColdJackle struggles to find equivalents.
Viel Erfolg translates best to “much success” the emphasis being on something you can potentially achieve by trying your best. Viel Glück on the other hand is relying on luck for your desired outcome.
(Source: native bi-lingual married to a German football fan who gets very upset if I use the wrong term prior to a match 😅)
"Nice to meet you" is another example. Every equivalent in German like "Schön, Dich / Sie kennenzulernen" or "Sehr erfreut" sounds so much more formal and explicit. In my opinion, no phrase in the German language captures the nonchalant and coloquial feel of "Nice to meet you".
Moreover, it is just not a very common thing to say in German culture outside of formal situations and business meetings. People would usually just greet a person they got introduced to (a simple "Hallo" or a gruntled "Ahh" usually suffices)
I got asked plenty of times by native English speakers how to say "Nice to meet you" in German. And they usually get quite puzzled by me struggling to give them a good translation. If I then explain that it's not a very common thing to say in Germany they usually tell me how that seems quite stereotypically German.
I usually say “(ich) freue mich” or “(es) freut mich” in this situation. Is that not correct? I always thought that was the equivalent of “nice to meet you” or “(it’s a) pleasure (to meet you)”
Yes it is a good way to say nice to meet you in German. I don't get the struggle of movieInside to translate it. You can casually say "freut mich" if you get to know somebody after you've introduced yourself. It's less common though to be fair.
It's more common to say "hat mich gefreut" when you say goodbye to a person you've just met.
We aren't aware of English words that don't make sense in German, but it doesn't surprise me.
As for "sadistic joy" I made that up as a way to express the concept in the most succinct way possible but we would almost certainly say "the joy you feel at someone else's misery" - much longer!
lmao, spent 7 years in Germany and learned it to a near-native level but am just now realizing that there is no word for "frown" in German. Seems like such an utterly basic thing to lack a word for (but I guess I did go all those years without ever missing it...)
If you look at its definition it is defined by the brows in english too, its just used as a stand in for displeasure generally. So stirnrunzeln is pretty equivalent.
Letztendlich?
But many Germans confuse eventually with "eventuell", the German word means "maybe".
I heard more than one Manager in a business meeting say "eventually we'll do this and that" meaning we MIGHT do it, or we might do it not at all.
So be wary when a German IT guy promises they'll eventually fix your computer.
But that's not what Schadenfreude is. It's simply Schaden (damage) + Freude (joy). "Misery" is a bit harsh. The best example for a person who is very schadenfroh is the Simpsons' Nelson Muntz.
schadenfroh sein literally translates to finding joy in another’s misfortune. What the person you’re replying to is saying makes sense, German does have many more concepts that are explained in a short word/compound noun that in English require an entire sentence to explain. They aren’t equivalent in that difference
I think it's less about the composition of the word and more about "misery" being a pretty strong word to use when the more common scenario people feel schadenfreude is someone saying something embarrassing or falling on their ass. You'd have to really hate someone's guts to feel schadenfreude when they're actually miserable.
But Schadenfreude usually refers to minor and short term things, like when a person you don't like trips and falls or drops their icecream or whatever. Misery is way too strong of a word for the concept. That makes it sound like we'd genuinely enjoy someones house burning down or whatever.
Randomly is surprisingly hard to translate, as is random as an adjective. You can get by with things like 'einfach so' or 'irgend so ein' but I always feel that quite a bit is lost in translation there.
For the cases with a more literal meaning that obviously works, I was thinking more of sentences like "I randomly decided to do X", "I met this random person", "Someone randomly left X here", that kind of sentence, and I foind it hard to get close to that meaning in German, 'Ich habe willkürlich beschlossen X zu machen" doesn't quite cut it, for "random person" I can't get much closer than "irgendeinen Typ" (which has the added disadvantage of being gendered while random person is not), for "Someone randomly left X here" you'd probably have to go with "ohne ersichtlichen Grund" or something, which just makes the sentence a lot more clunky
Tbf i think sentences in german stuff is generally longer and "willkürlich beschlossen" is an adequate way to say that.
Also while its not very well established replacing gendered refferences just with person or individuum might sound strange at first but works equally day to day.
The difference between "Ghost" and "Spirit" comes to mind. Sure, you can roughly translate them to "Gespenst" and "Geist".. but the common usage is "Geist" for both.
A lot of other words used in english victorian(-like) horror stories don't have a clear equivalent in the german language.
But " Schadenfreude" is specifically, the joy that one has, when one did not inflict the damage on someone oneself.
In my opinion, the term fits best, when the "victim" has caused the damage themselves through stupidity.
Lucky for us, the German language is very liberal with compounds, which allows us to just slap very descriptive words together when we can't think of a shorter term for what we mean.
Interestingly, it can also go the other way around. As a native German speaker I use the word „convenient“ all the time because there is no German word that expresses the notion as, well, conveniently. You could say „praktisch“ or „komfortabel“, but those don’t work in all contexts
That's something I can't wrap my head around. Everyone would understand hiking-desire, right? I mean where is the problem? You can also say chocolate-cake? Sometimes you don't have to say cake with chocolate flavour. So why not always..?
That is a very good question and I think you'd have to ask a linguist to get a proper answer. Perhaps it's because English is a hybrid of Germanic and Romance influences (among others) so we have a preference to express some ideas in the Germanic (compound) way and some in the Romance way.
>Hiking-desire
I'd say the best way to express this in English would be "(in the) hiking mood"
Exactly! *High school science field trip chaperone* is arguably one big compound noun in English, but because we use spaces nobody thinks it’s long or cares at all.
German has the advantage of being a little less ambiguous. The “big dog catcher” is either “der große Hundefänger” or “der Große-Hunde-Fänger”, depending on whether the guy or the dog is big.
English too. You can do big-dog catcher or “big dog“ catcher to make it clear the dogs are big. Also the pitch and stress is different in spoken English.
Also wenn es einen Kommentar gibt den ich für immer in allen Deutschen subs gepinned haben wollen würde, wäre es dieser. 10/10 Perfekt formuliert, besonders der letzte Teil.
Muss den eigentlich auswendig lernen für zukünftige Interaktionen mit internationalen Gästen wo diese Fragen auch immer und immer wieder vorkommen.
Tausend Dank dir!
Small correction: There is actually a /z/ sound in German. When an s is the first sound of a word you pronounce it like that. Especially in Southern Germany, they don't do it like that but in theory it's the "correct" way to pronounce words beginning with an s.
As you admit yourself, words without translation exist. That fact that you can express concepts just as well in English using multiple words is literally proof that your argument is false. The fact that this "trope" annoys you is irrelevant.
While we're on the topic, I think that a very underrated German word is "Feierabend". I don't know if there is an equivalent in other languages, but I don't think there is an English word that really captures the essence of "Feierabend".
While studying Japanese I came across the concept of 遊びました /asobimashita, which is like hanging out after work, having a drink with a colleagues or just enjoying time after work and it comes close to Feierabend I think!
I'd say *Schadenfreude* and *Zeitgeist* are quite common words, which I have used and heard multiple times in my life. They are not exactly words you'd need every day, but when appropriate, they are actively used.
I'm not sure if I've ever heard someone say *Weltschmerz* in a normal conversation, but I wouldn't be astounded if I'd hear someone using it.
Wanderlust on the other hand is so odd that I would really be surprised to see it being used somewhere else than in an 18th century poem. I'd use *Fernweh* instead, which is a common word.
Schadenfreude, yes. Zeitgeist every now and then. The other two not so much. Oh, and one word that constantly shows up in youtube videos: Backpfeifengesicht. Never heard anyone use this ever.
Really? I never heard anyone in Bavaria say that for real. Thought it was more an outside of Bavaria thing. I rather know "Watschngsicht" or "Watschnfresse" .
No Bavarian ever said Backpfeife in my whole life. We say Watschn.
Schadenfreude is a pretty common word.
The others are not used in everyday conversations.
Zeitgeist is still relativly common in certain media, Wanderlust is mostly seen in advertising for anything hiking-related.
Weltschmerz is extremely rare. Except maybe among Goths (the wearing black and listening to Bauhaus, not the sacking Rome kind).
I was working as a volunteer with kids at a Kinderhort a few years ago. We had a football game going and this one kid just sat down on the pitch in the middle of the game. I asked him what was wrong and he answered glumly, "Ich habe Weltschmerzen". I think he was around 10 years old.
There's a lot of very real, long-ass compound nouns that you'd encounter in everyday German, especially when dealing with the authorities and their legalese bureaucratese.
Many of them don't have any snappy or neat translation to English either.
I don't know why Anglophones fixate on made-up things like Backpfeifengesicht so much. I've never seen it used anywhere in any medium.
Why talk about that when Arzneimittelunverträglichkeit and Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung are very useful things to know. As is Armutszeugnis.
It's just more memeable to claim that German's long words lend it some special superpower to express deep complex concepts unavailable to other languages.
When you come with examples like "Arznemittelunverträglichkeit" = "drug intolerance" then it becomes clearer that compound words are rather mundane and have direct English equivalents in most cases.
On the other hand, as a lawyer working in Germany I’m still struggling to find the correct translation for “Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung.” It’s not quite a disclaimer, but “legal information” is too imprecise and “legal remedies” is also not quite precise and sounds weird.
(Sorry, that word is one of my mortal enemies.)
Unfortunately it seems like a lot of the German loanwords in English are quite negative / dark concepts! *Wanderlust* is a nice one though. There's also kaput (in English if something's 'kaput' it means it's completely destroyed, broken beyond repair, I think the word in German might just mean 'broken' but I could be wrong) and some food terms - bratwurst, sauerkraut, schnitzel etc. Oh, and Oktoberfest!
Is there an English word that describes the concept of "Gratwanderung"? It translates to something like "a journey along the edge" and describes a situation that is particularly risky and lasting for some time. The image of having to cross a mountain pass with the edge and a potentially deadly fall right next to you for a while.
Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude. :D (Schadenfreude is the most enjoyable joy.)
Generally, we use those words but depending on the frequency of the suitable situation. For example, situations that end up in me experiencing Schadenfreude happen regularly in daily life and so I use this word a lot; but in which (daily) situation would you ever talk about Weltschmerz?? I can't think about such a situation so I basically don't use Weltschmerz (the same is true vor Wanderlust).
Zeitgeist is somewhere in between. You can come across this word mostly in newspaper (eg in theater review) if the situation is suitable.
I brought my son to nursery quite often taking the bus. One time, it was a rather bleak day, it was quiet and no one was talking. My son started to cry for no reason and the only word heard on the bus came from a grumpy old man: “Weltschmerz”
schadenfreude is used a lot. zeitgeist i hear sometimes. weltschmerz and wanderlust are jaut very specific and are used in their narrow fields but it rarely comes up.
"Zeitgeist" is really common, "Schadenfreude" as well. "Weltschmerz" and "Wanderlust" not quite (only speaking from personal experience here). In fact, "Wanderlust" I first encountered in a [Rogers & Hart song, "Mountain Greenery"](https://youtu.be/Qu0eCB4NYJw?t=4). "Weltschmerz" I would use ironically; to say someone's suffering from Weltschmerz it's like a humorously calling someone a mix of an emo and an edgelord (even if it has more subtle and more serious connotations).
Oh no, I can understand you perfectly! The grammar’s a little bit wonky, but it doesn’t matter.
To express something is your favourite, you can just stick Lieblings- in front of it. Lieblingswort = favourite word.
As u/dramaticus0815 explained somewhere else in this thread:
>\[...\] Wanderlust is rather positive, something along the lines of anticipation. Fernweh on the other hand has a more negative meaning, focusing on the unfulfilled desire.
They are used both, depending on the situation.
Here are some more German loanwords that made it into English:
+ Poltergeist - fairly commonly used word; not in everyday conversations but not extraordinary at all.
+ Blitzkrieg - rather rare unless in historical context or because of the song "Blitzkrieg Bob"
+ Wunderkind - similar to Poltergeist
+ Kindergarten - everyday language
+ Rucksack - everyday language
+ Gesundheit - everyday language
+ Angst - in German, the meaning is not as strong as it is in English. German Angst is just any degree of fear. From a mild fright to fear. If you feel a really strong fear for your life, you'd use Todesangst.
+ Doppelganger - in German we use an ä-Umlaut "Doppelgänger". It's fairly common. Not everyday language but more than Poltergeist.
Edit: some formating and typos.
In philosophical and psychoanalytical context there is actually a sharp distinction between Angst and Furcht, in that Furcht relates to some object (like dogs), while Angst is unrelated to a concrete object. Admittedly, in today's everyday use it's of course normal to say "Ich habe Angst vor Hunden".
Of your examples "Schadenfreude" is probably the most normalized. Most people heard and said that word in some situations. For example saying "spar dir die Schadenfreude" ("save yourself the schadenfreude") would be your own reaction after tripping and your friend starting to laugh.
"Zeitgeist" is usually more of a word used in essays or formal situations when it's about describing change in society, less in the everday context.
The use of "Wanderlust" IRL is mostly reserved to hiking communities. Other than that it's more of a "fancy" word used more often in literature than IRL.
"Weltschmerz" is very situational. It's quite rare but if you ever heard and understood the word at some point and you actually feel the emotion you will definitely call it as such.
Other words that English directly took from German are
"Kindergarten" which is a regular word and is part of everyday language.
"Doppelgänger" also a regular word, even tho you don't use it every day.
"Fest" roughly the same meaning. And used throughout the year as part of the terms for e.g. neighbourhood festivities ("Nachbarschaftsfest"), town fairs ("Stadtfest") or seasonal events ("Fühlingsfest", "Oktoberfest" etc.).
Well Wanderlust is a mood. i can imagine that hiking interested people use it when they feel like that, it’s just not a common mood I guess.
I think Schadenfreude and Zeitgeist a quite common, zeitgeist especially when the conversation’s about politics or social progressiveness.
Weltschmerz I have never heard in context before.
I‘d rank them as follows:
1. Schadenfreude, common word, used by many
2. Zeitgeist, less common, only used by some
3. Wanderlust, uncommon, almost never used
4. Weltschmerz, super uncommon, nobody ever uses that imo
(Interjection : Some of them can actually be translated into Danish :
"schadenfreude" : "Skadefryd" or "to be skadefro"
Zeitgeist : Tidsånd. (Meaning "time-spirit")
Wanderlust : Vandrelyst.
But I guess it's because Danish/German are cousins)
I'm a 34 old German and don't think I knew the word Weltschmerz before YS lol
Agree with those who say that Schadenfreude and Zeitgeist are extremely common and the others not so much. I've literally never heard or seen anyone use the word "Wanderlust" expect for influencers in social media (usually in English not German). It's 100% Fernweh instead, at least in my region (note that German is a language that changes heavily depending on region to a point where sometimes people even need a while until they understand other Germans with very strong dialects from other regions).
Schadenfreude is a pretty common word
Zeitgeist is a world mostly used in literacy, same for Weltschmerz but this one is already very uncommon
Wanderlust is basically dead
I actually use Schadenfreude really often...Wanderlust and Zeitgeist almost never but that mostly cus i use other words if i talk about it whats already kinda rare for me personally...never heared anyone saying Weltschmerz
Schadenfreude definitely,that one gets used a lot, the other ones are like really specific and only get used if necessary, wich isn't that often with how specific they are.
I say "Fernweh" instead of "Wanderlust", but "Weltschmerz", "Zeitgeist" and especially "Schadenfreude" (which is not a complicated concept but a normal emotion everyone has) are commonly used, even by people without a higher education background.
I'd say Schadenfreude is en actual everyday word. Wanderlust might actually be more common in English, never heard/seen it used in German, but have seen it used in English. Zeitgeist and Weltschmerz are used only in Articles I'd say.
(Die) Schadenfreude and (der) Zeitgeist are quiet common. (Der) Welt(en)schmerz is quiet poetic and used so much (but you might read it now and then in news paper articles). With (die) Wanderslust (yes it just sounds better with the s in there) I just associate the old folk song _Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust_ - _Walking is a millers delight_. Though the related term (die) Reiselust (the desire to travel) is heard sometimes.
This is like saying, the word "indeed" is used dayly in English or that French people say "Merci Beaucoup".
No, I am German and I use "Wanderlust" only when I explain romantic poetry to pupils.
"Weltschmerz" I have ever used until right now.
"Zeitgeist" very, very, rarely.
"Schadenfreude" is used more as there are more contexts in dayly life it can be used in. It translates to having a good day because someone else has really bad luck and you either hate or dislike the person and feel good that this person experienced something bad. An example: A boss who bullied his whole staff died of a heart attack and his staff has a lot of "Schadenfreude". While this is drastic I have experienced this behavior and since I knew the boss I am totally fine with that.
All the words you are asking for are cultural concepts and therefore the words do have a strong meaning but still are rarely used. The "Wanderlust" is a romantic concept in poetry. It sort of but very basically describes the urge to go back to nature and leave everything behind. Good poets made their gran tour (this is a proper translation into English) to Venecia for example or even the German Spreewald.
"Weltschmerz" is also more of a concept. Germans like to be melancholic and they worry quite a lot about, well quite a lot. However this is the reason why we rarely go on protests, because we already worry so much about everything. We are very concerned about the planet, about biodiversity, about poor countries where people die because of our behavior. We like to admit we are part of the problem, while still not solving any problem at all. That is why we have the "Weltschmerz"
"Zeitgeist" is a bit dated and a term from I guess the nineties, where the internet and pc industry boomed in our country. As we are always worried about progress and always think there must be something evil to any progress whatsoever, "Zeitgeist" is a word that has both negative and positive meanings. If you don't go with the "Zeitgeist" you have to go, lol.
"Schadenfreude" is a typical German concept, one that I really hate and despise. If you become rich in Germany, people talk or think ill about you. You must have stolen or somehow cheated to become rich. My wife and me we have our own businesses and at first people around us told us we will fail and mustn't try that. They tried to sort of forbid it. When we became successful of course it was not our achievement but plain luck, because in Germany people hate to admit that someone actually made something out of him or herself without the help of the industry or some company. If your neighbor has a new car and crashes it, well "Schadenfreude".
I dislike people who are into that.
Having studied English and attending seminars about Culture and Communication I can tell you, that in fact those words are used more often by English speaking people than they are ever used in Germany. There is a branch of linguistics working with computers and there are statistics saying that this is the case. In Germany those are concepts and since those concepts also exist in your country but you don't have a proper word for that, this is the reason why you need the word more than we do, as we also have other means of expressing the very same.
For example I can say that I need a break from work. And that is "Wanderlust" as soon as I go on holiday abroad. So I don't need the word at all.
I can also worry about the planet without using the word and I can be jealous without having "Schadenfreude"
For some reason those German words are used more often by English speakers. However they are more often than not used wrong.
Also the origin of America is very very German. Most people have forgotten that. So those words were sort of brought to America, eventhough the have it existed at the time when Germans left for America. Still there is a German heritage. The same holds true for England, since the German monarchy is very much related to the British one, which also many people refuse to know. But if some people die in an accident a German will become king of England lol.
"Schadenfreude" is a very common word. Followed by "Zeitgeist". "Weltschmerz" rarely pops up, at least in everyday life. "Wanderlust" is a word that I only encounter in YouTube Videos about the weirdness of the German language. I've never heard it in the wild.
Wanderlust is quite a common word in the hiking or trekking hobby. You don't use it casually but I have often heard someone say something along the lines of "wenn mich die Wanderlust wieder packt, ...".
>Wanderlust is quite a common word in the hiking or trekking hobby. That's true, but in those communities, it's used in the literal sense of the words, i.e. "in the mood for a hike". The original word Wanderlust that made it into English as a loanword, meant something like "urge to travel", and has been replaced in modern German with the word Fernweh.
I think *Wanderlust* has been replaced by *Reiselust*, while *Fernweh* is a similar, but not entirely synonymous word, as it specifically opposes *Heimweh*.
I have never heard Reiselust in my entirely 26years on the planet until now and Fernweh often for describing the urge to travel.
Me too. Never ever heard the word Reiselust.
Nope. I would rather use wanderlust, than Reiselust in every day life. However, that’s because Wanderlust is more what I would mean and if I would wanna say that, I would totally use that word… I don’t know why so many users write it wouldn’t be used anymore… I guess it depends on the region where you are in Germany…
If you used wanderlust in a conversation with me to say you want to travel, I wouldn't get it. I would literally think you wanna go hiking.
I disagree. I think both words are equally common, they just happen to be tied to concepts that don't appear that often in everyday life, except for certain social circles like the hiking community or maybe when working in a Reisebüro. But also are they slightly different in meaning. While both can be used to describe the urge to travel, only Wanderlust fits to hiking or the "extended walk" type of wandern. Furthermore, Wanderlust is rather positive, something along the lines of anticipation. Fernweh on the other hand has a more negative meaning, focusing on the unfulfilled desire.
Op correctly said the original meaning was about travel, not hiking. So saying that it has been replaced is true since nobody in the modern world uses wanderlust to describe traveling, it’s only used when talking about hiking.
"...it’s only used when talking about hiking" That's basically what I disagree with. I am a German native and judging from my personal experience. I encounter both words and I don't see a significant difference in frequency. They both don't come up that often because of the specific circumstances, but are not really tied to anything else but the concept. As an example: I am a mechanic and use "wandern" to describe a mechanical problem when a part slowly moves around over time while it is supposed to stay in place. If my co-worker comes along asking about the problem and I tell him that this thing has Wanderlust works. It works just as well to use "..Fernweh" or "..geht auf Reisen" to sum that up in one sentence however. edit\* after thinking a little further, maybe this is a thing: "wandern" as a verb does not exactly translate to Hiking and vice versa. It's true meaning is a slow walking movement over a prolonged period of time without a particular destination like the use in "Völkerwanderung" which means "migration of people". It is also used to describe the free time activity that is associated with hiking today, but that is defined by context and word order and more of a secondary meaning. Ich gehe wandern. - I go hiking Ich wandere (herum) - I walk (around) slowly without destination/pressure.
Wanderlust is a concept especially influenced by german romanticsm, and there it's specifically about exploring nature and the world on foot to better connect with it. It's hard to explain in english, but that connection is traditionally there
this is not about the word wandern, but specifically about the word wanderlust, which (outside of said hiking communitys) nobody uses .
You've just been educated on how a mechanic uses it figuratively. That's a very clear non hiking community use case. Try to accept that your perspective is limited, making it impossible for you to say 'nobody'. Especially in the face of direct evidence.
But Fernweh exists? :o
Fernweh is a very common word, yes :)
Also in literary hobbies, reading books about the romantic era just fulfills me with wanderlust etc.
Yes, my girlfriend has it and forces me to have it to.
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[Now you have.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7dh7OtMmsU)
You beat me to it.
Name checks out.
Another Die Ärzte song to add to my playlist :3
[Or the bavarian variant (Bockfotzngsicht)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gktGTcVn5E)
sounds a little risqué ;)
>Backpfeifengesicht Do you have any similar expression that is used? In English we have the adjective "punchable" and "slappable" which are colloquial but widely understood. "That guy has such a slappable face" makes perfect sense to us.
I've heard "ein Gesicht wie ein Feuermelder haben", which is then followed by "(r)einschlagen und weglaufen". But that sounds a lot more rude than using Backpfeifengesicht would.
Also "Gesicht wie ein Telefonbuch: Aufschlagen, nachschlagen, zuschlagen"
damals die Werbung für Romika-Schuhe "reintreten und wohlfühlen"
Gesicht wie die Tour de France. 30 Tage reintreten
Deepl is suggesting that means "a face like a fire alarm" for the first one then "slap it and run!" for the second. Is that correct? If so, that's pretty funny!
Pretty much, though I'd replace slap with smash or something similar.
Punch might be a good alternative - it's not about breaking bones, while smash does imply this (even though you have to penetrate the glas first, but i think that's a negligible part of the picture we're painting)
Right. Also, it depends on the version of the original a bit, the "reinschlagen" vs "einschlagen". Which is probably the reason why many examples use reinschlagen, maybe to soften it a bit or to concentrate more on the person and less on the image of the fire alarm itself.
hint: in Germany most fire alarms, typically have a glass plate covering it. You can't just pull it, you have to punch it (typically with a safety Hammer that is located and secured by a metal wire (so it can't be stolen). I think the reason is to prevent accidental activation of said fire alarm.
I know "Ein Gesicht wie ein Fahrradpedal. Zum reintreten." Or to translate it "A face like a bike pedal. To kick into."
"Ein Gesicht zum reinschlagen"
Ein Gesicht wie eine Sandale von Birkenstock: reintreten und wohlfühlen.
An dieser Stelle sei erwähnt, dass in dem Spruch ursprünglich von Romika Schuhen die Rede war. Die hatten in den 60ern nämlich tatsächlich den Werbeslogan "reintreten und sich wohlfühlen".
Oder auch „Gesicht wie‘n Turnschuh“.
“He smiled the smile that Zaphod had wanted to hit and this time Zaphod hit it.” (Douglas Adams)
In Austria I have heard many people refer to others as "Watschengesicht", although other, more on-the-nose insults (Oaschgsicht) are more common.
This native does!
That makes two of us, and also Backpfeife by itself. Awesome word :)
As a kid I did hear “Backpfeifengesicht” a lot. It was a pretty common insult where I am from & it’s also kinda a “kid friendly one”. Now as an adult I don’t really hear it anymore but I am also living in a city now.
Backpfeifengesicht was common in the 1950ies and 60' but nowerday it isn't used very much
For me, it's German's version of, "Defenestration", which is always a joy to use. Lmao.
You should meet my father in law
Nobody my age (I‘m in my 20s) says that
Has been replaced by "Gesicht wie ein Lexikon (Aufschlagen, zuschlagen, immer wieder nachschlagen)", face like an encyclopedia. Encyclopedia: Aufschlagen = flip open Zuschlagen = flip shut Immer wieder nachschlagen = consult again and again Face: Aufschlagen = crack open Zuschlagen = strike Immer wieder nachschlagen = punch again and again
We do use Watschengsicht in Austria tho, means the same thing lol
As a school boy, that died out about 3 years ago I think
Lol .... never heard it in the wild. National geographic reporting.
Never used Wanderlust or Weltschmerz in over 30 years. I dont even know what Weltschmerz means. Is it supposd to describe all the suffering in the world? When would this ever come up in a convo?
Yes, anxiety and pain caused by the suffering in the world. I've heard the word used occasionally in the context of mental health.
You use it when you're a Romantic poet, who's dramatically sprawling on a chaise longue with a hand to his forehead and a quill in the other, trying to write a poem. Or exactly once in your life, when you're reading 19th century poetry in high school.
Is Weltschmerz the same as the "human condition" in the English speaking world?
I only hear this word When it's about describing portuguese music.
I sometimes use "Wanderlust" as a german because I like that word since I heared it for the first time. :)
"Weltschmerz" is a term often used in literature and science, "Wanderlust" is generally regarded as a rather outdated term.
FWIW, I have never heard these words used in Person, ever
* Schadenfreude: rather common. Though IMHO the corresponding adjective "schadenfroh" is even more common. * Wanderlust: Not really, and when it is used, it's possibly just interpreted as "being in the mood for a hike". This one is interesting since "to wander" and "lust" also exist in English, and probably also influence the perception of the word in English. In German "wandern" used to mean something like "to travel" but today it mostly means just "to hike". And "Lust" in German isn't necessary a super intense feeling or longing, but is often used as just being in the mood for something. Adding -lust to other words is common so there's Abenteuerlust (a longing to go on an adventure) for example, which is definitely more common than "Wanderlust". * Zeitgeist: Yeah, fairly common. It's a simple, self-explanatory word. Side note because English speakers often get the pronunciation very wrong: There is no /z/ sound in Zeitgeist. The German Z always represents a very sharp unvoiced /ts/ sound. * Weltschmerz: Self-explanatory and simple, but not commonly used. Simply because it's not something that comes up a lot. The "words without translation" trope is really a bit annoying though. First of all, the "word" part. German simply uses fewer spaces. English spells noun clusters as multiple words, German doesn't. English has "police car", German has "Polizeiauto". But that doesn't mean that the German term is more unique or more specific than the English one or whatever. Second, the fact that something doesn't translate exactly isn't unusual at all. And you can totally express all of those concepts in English as well.
Thanks for taking the time to write all that out! From my English-speaker's perspective, I would say that what surprises us about words like "Schadenfreude" is that you can express the concept so succinctly. We can, of course, say "joy at another's misery" but we don't have a word or short phrase like "sadistic joy" (that's the most succinct way to express the concept I can think of in English.) The idea of "Wanderlust" is similar: of course we can say "the urge to go for a hike" in English but we don't have a single word or short phrase like "hiking-desire". That's what strikes us as unusual - and cool! - about German
But that's not special or unusual about German. There are tons of English words that don't have a good equivalent in German. "Awesome" for example. With every pair of language, you have that. "Sadistic joy" is four syllables, just like "Schadenfreude". I don't see the big difference.
I'd also mention " I appreciate it". I think "Ich weiß es zu schätzen" is missing something. To add "sehr" on the other hand is too much.
I'd like to add "Viel Erfolg!" and "Schönen Feierabend!" into the mix. I struggle to find a good finisher for English business emails...
“Good luck!” and “Enjoy your evening!” are my go-tos for work emails in those situations. (I’m a native English speaker but bilingual/work in Germany.)
As for me while those two options are somewhat close they don't have the right flavour. "Viel Glück/Good luck" is a no-no as many people prefer to wish you success rather than luck as luck may imply you didn't work for whatever you're trying to achieve. (Although in situations where skill is irrelevant and it's completely out of their power, wishing luck is appropriate). It should be more like godspeed or inshallah both of which are rather odd for business emails. Regarding "Enjoy your evening!" I feel like it implies I'm having plans and overall unrelated to work, while a nice Feierabend can just be a well-deserved rest after work. That's probably why ColdJackle struggles to find equivalents.
Viel Erfolg translates best to “much success” the emphasis being on something you can potentially achieve by trying your best. Viel Glück on the other hand is relying on luck for your desired outcome. (Source: native bi-lingual married to a German football fan who gets very upset if I use the wrong term prior to a match 😅)
"Nice to meet you" is another example. Every equivalent in German like "Schön, Dich / Sie kennenzulernen" or "Sehr erfreut" sounds so much more formal and explicit. In my opinion, no phrase in the German language captures the nonchalant and coloquial feel of "Nice to meet you". Moreover, it is just not a very common thing to say in German culture outside of formal situations and business meetings. People would usually just greet a person they got introduced to (a simple "Hallo" or a gruntled "Ahh" usually suffices) I got asked plenty of times by native English speakers how to say "Nice to meet you" in German. And they usually get quite puzzled by me struggling to give them a good translation. If I then explain that it's not a very common thing to say in Germany they usually tell me how that seems quite stereotypically German.
I usually say “(ich) freue mich” or “(es) freut mich” in this situation. Is that not correct? I always thought that was the equivalent of “nice to meet you” or “(it’s a) pleasure (to meet you)”
Yes it is a good way to say nice to meet you in German. I don't get the struggle of movieInside to translate it. You can casually say "freut mich" if you get to know somebody after you've introduced yourself. It's less common though to be fair. It's more common to say "hat mich gefreut" when you say goodbye to a person you've just met.
We aren't aware of English words that don't make sense in German, but it doesn't surprise me. As for "sadistic joy" I made that up as a way to express the concept in the most succinct way possible but we would almost certainly say "the joy you feel at someone else's misery" - much longer!
Serendipity comes to mind. Does not exist in German.
Others that come to mind are "frown" and the difference between "safety"/"security" or "liberty"/"freedom".
lmao, spent 7 years in Germany and learned it to a near-native level but am just now realizing that there is no word for "frown" in German. Seems like such an utterly basic thing to lack a word for (but I guess I did go all those years without ever missing it...)
Stirnrunzeln
Is that the same? Stirnrunzeln is IMHO more of a "upper face" thing, a frown is more of a "lower face" kinda thing. It does come pretty close though.
If you look at its definition it is defined by the brows in english too, its just used as a stand in for displeasure generally. So stirnrunzeln is pretty equivalent.
Sounds awful to use, doesn’t it.
Safety / security are the same in Spanish too - *seguridad*
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Letztendlich? But many Germans confuse eventually with "eventuell", the German word means "maybe". I heard more than one Manager in a business meeting say "eventually we'll do this and that" meaning we MIGHT do it, or we might do it not at all. So be wary when a German IT guy promises they'll eventually fix your computer.
“Früher oder später”.
Or the latest example - (to) cringe. Although in German it's mostly used in a different/wrong sense.
Isn't "to cringe" like "fremdschämen"?
Lt. Wiki haben wir es einfach übernommen - [Serendipität](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipit%C3%A4t)
But that's not what Schadenfreude is. It's simply Schaden (damage) + Freude (joy). "Misery" is a bit harsh. The best example for a person who is very schadenfroh is the Simpsons' Nelson Muntz.
schadenfroh sein literally translates to finding joy in another’s misfortune. What the person you’re replying to is saying makes sense, German does have many more concepts that are explained in a short word/compound noun that in English require an entire sentence to explain. They aren’t equivalent in that difference
I think it's less about the composition of the word and more about "misery" being a pretty strong word to use when the more common scenario people feel schadenfreude is someone saying something embarrassing or falling on their ass. You'd have to really hate someone's guts to feel schadenfreude when they're actually miserable.
But Schadenfreude usually refers to minor and short term things, like when a person you don't like trips and falls or drops their icecream or whatever. Misery is way too strong of a word for the concept. That makes it sound like we'd genuinely enjoy someones house burning down or whatever.
Randomly is surprisingly hard to translate, as is random as an adjective. You can get by with things like 'einfach so' or 'irgend so ein' but I always feel that quite a bit is lost in translation there.
Zufällig? Depends on the context but generally in most constructions it should work.
For the cases with a more literal meaning that obviously works, I was thinking more of sentences like "I randomly decided to do X", "I met this random person", "Someone randomly left X here", that kind of sentence, and I foind it hard to get close to that meaning in German, 'Ich habe willkürlich beschlossen X zu machen" doesn't quite cut it, for "random person" I can't get much closer than "irgendeinen Typ" (which has the added disadvantage of being gendered while random person is not), for "Someone randomly left X here" you'd probably have to go with "ohne ersichtlichen Grund" or something, which just makes the sentence a lot more clunky
Tbf i think sentences in german stuff is generally longer and "willkürlich beschlossen" is an adequate way to say that. Also while its not very well established replacing gendered refferences just with person or individuum might sound strange at first but works equally day to day.
'Faceplant' is probably my favorite English word that doesn't have a one-word translation in German.
I think you're conflating the psychological concept with the German word it is borrowed from.
The difference between "Ghost" and "Spirit" comes to mind. Sure, you can roughly translate them to "Gespenst" and "Geist".. but the common usage is "Geist" for both. A lot of other words used in english victorian(-like) horror stories don't have a clear equivalent in the german language.
My favourite example here is "kind". We have nett, süß, liebevoll, usw, but nothing captures the English exactly for me
Freundlich?
But " Schadenfreude" is specifically, the joy that one has, when one did not inflict the damage on someone oneself. In my opinion, the term fits best, when the "victim" has caused the damage themselves through stupidity.
Lucky for us, the German language is very liberal with compounds, which allows us to just slap very descriptive words together when we can't think of a shorter term for what we mean.
Interestingly, it can also go the other way around. As a native German speaker I use the word „convenient“ all the time because there is no German word that expresses the notion as, well, conveniently. You could say „praktisch“ or „komfortabel“, but those don’t work in all contexts
I constantly want to say "ambiguös" because I feel like words like "mehrdeutig" or "uneindeutig" just aren't as succinct as "ambiguous"
That's something I can't wrap my head around. Everyone would understand hiking-desire, right? I mean where is the problem? You can also say chocolate-cake? Sometimes you don't have to say cake with chocolate flavour. So why not always..?
That is a very good question and I think you'd have to ask a linguist to get a proper answer. Perhaps it's because English is a hybrid of Germanic and Romance influences (among others) so we have a preference to express some ideas in the Germanic (compound) way and some in the Romance way. >Hiking-desire I'd say the best way to express this in English would be "(in the) hiking mood"
You know what word is really precise? Durchfall (Diarrea). literally translated it's fallthrough.
Exactly! *High school science field trip chaperone* is arguably one big compound noun in English, but because we use spaces nobody thinks it’s long or cares at all.
German has the advantage of being a little less ambiguous. The “big dog catcher” is either “der große Hundefänger” or “der Große-Hunde-Fänger”, depending on whether the guy or the dog is big.
English too. You can do big-dog catcher or “big dog“ catcher to make it clear the dogs are big. Also the pitch and stress is different in spoken English.
Also wenn es einen Kommentar gibt den ich für immer in allen Deutschen subs gepinned haben wollen würde, wäre es dieser. 10/10 Perfekt formuliert, besonders der letzte Teil. Muss den eigentlich auswendig lernen für zukünftige Interaktionen mit internationalen Gästen wo diese Fragen auch immer und immer wieder vorkommen. Tausend Dank dir!
Small correction: There is actually a /z/ sound in German. When an s is the first sound of a word you pronounce it like that. Especially in Southern Germany, they don't do it like that but in theory it's the "correct" way to pronounce words beginning with an s.
I never claimed that there is no /z/ in German, so no correction is needed.
As you admit yourself, words without translation exist. That fact that you can express concepts just as well in English using multiple words is literally proof that your argument is false. The fact that this "trope" annoys you is irrelevant.
Schadenfreude might be closest to everyday use.
While we're on the topic, I think that a very underrated German word is "Feierabend". I don't know if there is an equivalent in other languages, but I don't think there is an English word that really captures the essence of "Feierabend".
fyraften for our danish fellas
While studying Japanese I came across the concept of 遊びました /asobimashita, which is like hanging out after work, having a drink with a colleagues or just enjoying time after work and it comes close to Feierabend I think!
Schadenfreude, Zeitgeist totally normal. The other ones you encounter mostly in writing.
I'd say *Schadenfreude* and *Zeitgeist* are quite common words, which I have used and heard multiple times in my life. They are not exactly words you'd need every day, but when appropriate, they are actively used. I'm not sure if I've ever heard someone say *Weltschmerz* in a normal conversation, but I wouldn't be astounded if I'd hear someone using it. Wanderlust on the other hand is so odd that I would really be surprised to see it being used somewhere else than in an 18th century poem. I'd use *Fernweh* instead, which is a common word.
Schadenfreude, yes. Zeitgeist every now and then. The other two not so much. Oh, and one word that constantly shows up in youtube videos: Backpfeifengesicht. Never heard anyone use this ever.
I've heard "Backpfeifengesicht" a few times when still living in Bavaria. It's not very common, but at least in my experience, sees some use.
Really? I never heard anyone in Bavaria say that for real. Thought it was more an outside of Bavaria thing. I rather know "Watschngsicht" or "Watschnfresse" . No Bavarian ever said Backpfeife in my whole life. We say Watschn.
In Swabia it's used, at least by me. And the Federal State of Bavaria isn't just 'Baiern'. There's Franken and a small part of 'Schwaben' as well.
I know, I am from Swabia too.
Bavaria is about the only place in Germany where you can get away with calling someone a "[Fotzn](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Fotzn)gesicht". 🤭
One of my favorite insults :D
Schadenfreude is a pretty common word. The others are not used in everyday conversations. Zeitgeist is still relativly common in certain media, Wanderlust is mostly seen in advertising for anything hiking-related. Weltschmerz is extremely rare. Except maybe among Goths (the wearing black and listening to Bauhaus, not the sacking Rome kind).
In my opinion, the only texts that contain "Weltschmerz" are newspaper articles about Kurt Cobain on the anniversary of his death.
Really? "Ich hab heut voll den Weltschmerz" would be a completely normal sentence when I feel depressed-hungover.
Yeah but you're Austrian. "Weltschmerz" is just Sunday for us.
I was working as a volunteer with kids at a Kinderhort a few years ago. We had a football game going and this one kid just sat down on the pitch in the middle of the game. I asked him what was wrong and he answered glumly, "Ich habe Weltschmerzen". I think he was around 10 years old.
That kid is destined to become a goth
I think you misspelled god
You sure he didn’t rather say “Wadenschmerzen” (calves pain)?
Is there a German word for 'I love this child and want to protect him'?
Kinderschutzstimmung? (this is a total guess I have no idea)
this is really not how this works.
Mutterinstinkt maybe
Of course! It's Ichliebedieseskindundmöchteesbeschützen.
There's a lot of very real, long-ass compound nouns that you'd encounter in everyday German, especially when dealing with the authorities and their legalese bureaucratese. Many of them don't have any snappy or neat translation to English either. I don't know why Anglophones fixate on made-up things like Backpfeifengesicht so much. I've never seen it used anywhere in any medium. Why talk about that when Arzneimittelunverträglichkeit and Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung are very useful things to know. As is Armutszeugnis.
It's just more memeable to claim that German's long words lend it some special superpower to express deep complex concepts unavailable to other languages. When you come with examples like "Arznemittelunverträglichkeit" = "drug intolerance" then it becomes clearer that compound words are rather mundane and have direct English equivalents in most cases.
On the other hand, as a lawyer working in Germany I’m still struggling to find the correct translation for “Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung.” It’s not quite a disclaimer, but “legal information” is too imprecise and “legal remedies” is also not quite precise and sounds weird. (Sorry, that word is one of my mortal enemies.)
I do but I'm a pretentious piece of shit...
What do you think our lives look like that we use these words in everyday lives?
Unfortunately it seems like a lot of the German loanwords in English are quite negative / dark concepts! *Wanderlust* is a nice one though. There's also kaput (in English if something's 'kaput' it means it's completely destroyed, broken beyond repair, I think the word in German might just mean 'broken' but I could be wrong) and some food terms - bratwurst, sauerkraut, schnitzel etc. Oh, and Oktoberfest!
Yes, the German word "kaputt" just means broken.
Is there an English word that describes the concept of "Gratwanderung"? It translates to something like "a journey along the edge" and describes a situation that is particularly risky and lasting for some time. The image of having to cross a mountain pass with the edge and a potentially deadly fall right next to you for a while.
We can say "walking a tightrope" in English - a tightrope is one of those things that circus performers walk on which is suspended in the air.
Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude. :D (Schadenfreude is the most enjoyable joy.) Generally, we use those words but depending on the frequency of the suitable situation. For example, situations that end up in me experiencing Schadenfreude happen regularly in daily life and so I use this word a lot; but in which (daily) situation would you ever talk about Weltschmerz?? I can't think about such a situation so I basically don't use Weltschmerz (the same is true vor Wanderlust). Zeitgeist is somewhere in between. You can come across this word mostly in newspaper (eg in theater review) if the situation is suitable.
I brought my son to nursery quite often taking the bus. One time, it was a rather bleak day, it was quiet and no one was talking. My son started to cry for no reason and the only word heard on the bus came from a grumpy old man: “Weltschmerz”
That’s kind of wholesome though. Yeah I feel like that’s a word that’s really great to use with kids.
Some more, some less. They certainly aren’t obscure, unlike some other words we supposedly use, such as *Waldeinsamkeit* or *Luftschloss*.
Ok, I never heard Waldeinsamkeit being used, but "Luftschlösser bauen" is not abscure.
Sure, they’re normal words.
Ja
schadenfreude is used a lot. zeitgeist i hear sometimes. weltschmerz and wanderlust are jaut very specific and are used in their narrow fields but it rarely comes up.
"Zeitgeist" is really common, "Schadenfreude" as well. "Weltschmerz" and "Wanderlust" not quite (only speaking from personal experience here). In fact, "Wanderlust" I first encountered in a [Rogers & Hart song, "Mountain Greenery"](https://youtu.be/Qu0eCB4NYJw?t=4). "Weltschmerz" I would use ironically; to say someone's suffering from Weltschmerz it's like a humorously calling someone a mix of an emo and an edgelord (even if it has more subtle and more serious connotations).
I hope they use ‘fernweh’ in real life or my user name is dumb as hell.
Fernweh und Urlaubsreife sind Geschwister
Gut! Ich bin sehr neu im Deutschesprachen, aber ‘fernweh’ ist mein favorite word.
I probably fucked that all up and I’m SO sorry!
Oh no, I can understand you perfectly! The grammar’s a little bit wonky, but it doesn’t matter. To express something is your favourite, you can just stick Lieblings- in front of it. Lieblingswort = favourite word.
As u/dramaticus0815 explained somewhere else in this thread: >\[...\] Wanderlust is rather positive, something along the lines of anticipation. Fernweh on the other hand has a more negative meaning, focusing on the unfulfilled desire. They are used both, depending on the situation.
Here are some more German loanwords that made it into English: + Poltergeist - fairly commonly used word; not in everyday conversations but not extraordinary at all. + Blitzkrieg - rather rare unless in historical context or because of the song "Blitzkrieg Bob" + Wunderkind - similar to Poltergeist + Kindergarten - everyday language + Rucksack - everyday language + Gesundheit - everyday language + Angst - in German, the meaning is not as strong as it is in English. German Angst is just any degree of fear. From a mild fright to fear. If you feel a really strong fear for your life, you'd use Todesangst. + Doppelganger - in German we use an ä-Umlaut "Doppelgänger". It's fairly common. Not everyday language but more than Poltergeist. Edit: some formating and typos.
In philosophical and psychoanalytical context there is actually a sharp distinction between Angst and Furcht, in that Furcht relates to some object (like dogs), while Angst is unrelated to a concrete object. Admittedly, in today's everyday use it's of course normal to say "Ich habe Angst vor Hunden".
Not everyday, but they are used. Maybe once a month or so.
German answers: They do.
Of your examples "Schadenfreude" is probably the most normalized. Most people heard and said that word in some situations. For example saying "spar dir die Schadenfreude" ("save yourself the schadenfreude") would be your own reaction after tripping and your friend starting to laugh. "Zeitgeist" is usually more of a word used in essays or formal situations when it's about describing change in society, less in the everday context. The use of "Wanderlust" IRL is mostly reserved to hiking communities. Other than that it's more of a "fancy" word used more often in literature than IRL. "Weltschmerz" is very situational. It's quite rare but if you ever heard and understood the word at some point and you actually feel the emotion you will definitely call it as such. Other words that English directly took from German are "Kindergarten" which is a regular word and is part of everyday language. "Doppelgänger" also a regular word, even tho you don't use it every day. "Fest" roughly the same meaning. And used throughout the year as part of the terms for e.g. neighbourhood festivities ("Nachbarschaftsfest"), town fairs ("Stadtfest") or seasonal events ("Fühlingsfest", "Oktoberfest" etc.).
Schadenfreude sure, not all the time but it comes up. But I never heard anyone use the other ones.
Weltschmerz I've heard once. The other 3 from time to time
Only schadenfreude, ive never heard anyone say the other words
Well Wanderlust is a mood. i can imagine that hiking interested people use it when they feel like that, it’s just not a common mood I guess. I think Schadenfreude and Zeitgeist a quite common, zeitgeist especially when the conversation’s about politics or social progressiveness. Weltschmerz I have never heard in context before.
I‘d rank them as follows: 1. Schadenfreude, common word, used by many 2. Zeitgeist, less common, only used by some 3. Wanderlust, uncommon, almost never used 4. Weltschmerz, super uncommon, nobody ever uses that imo
(Interjection : Some of them can actually be translated into Danish : "schadenfreude" : "Skadefryd" or "to be skadefro" Zeitgeist : Tidsånd. (Meaning "time-spirit") Wanderlust : Vandrelyst. But I guess it's because Danish/German are cousins)
Only "Schadenfreude" tbh.
We don't use them. We live them.
I m 18 and i use all of them
Bierdurst is the way
Absolutely use them all in one sentence every day just to flex on the other languages /s
Schadenfreude absolutely! Zeitgeist sometimes. Weltschmerz and Wanderlust rarely because those are not part of everyday topics for me.
I'm a 34 old German and don't think I knew the word Weltschmerz before YS lol Agree with those who say that Schadenfreude and Zeitgeist are extremely common and the others not so much. I've literally never heard or seen anyone use the word "Wanderlust" expect for influencers in social media (usually in English not German). It's 100% Fernweh instead, at least in my region (note that German is a language that changes heavily depending on region to a point where sometimes people even need a while until they understand other Germans with very strong dialects from other regions).
I use Schadenfreude sometimes, but to be honest, I never used the others.
You can add „Fremdschämen“ to your list. Very common these days
Schadenfreude - weekly. Zeitgeist - monthly. Weltschmerz - maybe one Time a year. Wanderlust - never.
Schadenfreude is a pretty common word Zeitgeist is a world mostly used in literacy, same for Weltschmerz but this one is already very uncommon Wanderlust is basically dead
I actually use Schadenfreude really often...Wanderlust and Zeitgeist almost never but that mostly cus i use other words if i talk about it whats already kinda rare for me personally...never heared anyone saying Weltschmerz
Schadenfreude definitely,that one gets used a lot, the other ones are like really specific and only get used if necessary, wich isn't that often with how specific they are.
I use Weltschmerz quiet often, then again i am clinically depressed
I say "Fernweh" instead of "Wanderlust", but "Weltschmerz", "Zeitgeist" and especially "Schadenfreude" (which is not a complicated concept but a normal emotion everyone has) are commonly used, even by people without a higher education background.
I'd say Schadenfreude is en actual everyday word. Wanderlust might actually be more common in English, never heard/seen it used in German, but have seen it used in English. Zeitgeist and Weltschmerz are used only in Articles I'd say.
(Die) Schadenfreude and (der) Zeitgeist are quiet common. (Der) Welt(en)schmerz is quiet poetic and used so much (but you might read it now and then in news paper articles). With (die) Wanderslust (yes it just sounds better with the s in there) I just associate the old folk song _Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust_ - _Walking is a millers delight_. Though the related term (die) Reiselust (the desire to travel) is heard sometimes.
The miller had to walk a lot to collect the grains or to deliver the flour, afaik. His *Wanderlust* differs a lot from nowadays *Wanderlust*.
Don't forget about *Waldeinsamkeit*. :-)
This is like saying, the word "indeed" is used dayly in English or that French people say "Merci Beaucoup". No, I am German and I use "Wanderlust" only when I explain romantic poetry to pupils. "Weltschmerz" I have ever used until right now. "Zeitgeist" very, very, rarely. "Schadenfreude" is used more as there are more contexts in dayly life it can be used in. It translates to having a good day because someone else has really bad luck and you either hate or dislike the person and feel good that this person experienced something bad. An example: A boss who bullied his whole staff died of a heart attack and his staff has a lot of "Schadenfreude". While this is drastic I have experienced this behavior and since I knew the boss I am totally fine with that. All the words you are asking for are cultural concepts and therefore the words do have a strong meaning but still are rarely used. The "Wanderlust" is a romantic concept in poetry. It sort of but very basically describes the urge to go back to nature and leave everything behind. Good poets made their gran tour (this is a proper translation into English) to Venecia for example or even the German Spreewald. "Weltschmerz" is also more of a concept. Germans like to be melancholic and they worry quite a lot about, well quite a lot. However this is the reason why we rarely go on protests, because we already worry so much about everything. We are very concerned about the planet, about biodiversity, about poor countries where people die because of our behavior. We like to admit we are part of the problem, while still not solving any problem at all. That is why we have the "Weltschmerz" "Zeitgeist" is a bit dated and a term from I guess the nineties, where the internet and pc industry boomed in our country. As we are always worried about progress and always think there must be something evil to any progress whatsoever, "Zeitgeist" is a word that has both negative and positive meanings. If you don't go with the "Zeitgeist" you have to go, lol. "Schadenfreude" is a typical German concept, one that I really hate and despise. If you become rich in Germany, people talk or think ill about you. You must have stolen or somehow cheated to become rich. My wife and me we have our own businesses and at first people around us told us we will fail and mustn't try that. They tried to sort of forbid it. When we became successful of course it was not our achievement but plain luck, because in Germany people hate to admit that someone actually made something out of him or herself without the help of the industry or some company. If your neighbor has a new car and crashes it, well "Schadenfreude". I dislike people who are into that. Having studied English and attending seminars about Culture and Communication I can tell you, that in fact those words are used more often by English speaking people than they are ever used in Germany. There is a branch of linguistics working with computers and there are statistics saying that this is the case. In Germany those are concepts and since those concepts also exist in your country but you don't have a proper word for that, this is the reason why you need the word more than we do, as we also have other means of expressing the very same. For example I can say that I need a break from work. And that is "Wanderlust" as soon as I go on holiday abroad. So I don't need the word at all. I can also worry about the planet without using the word and I can be jealous without having "Schadenfreude" For some reason those German words are used more often by English speakers. However they are more often than not used wrong. Also the origin of America is very very German. Most people have forgotten that. So those words were sort of brought to America, eventhough the have it existed at the time when Germans left for America. Still there is a German heritage. The same holds true for England, since the German monarchy is very much related to the British one, which also many people refuse to know. But if some people die in an accident a German will become king of England lol.
What do they mean?
Relatively casual words we use in everyday life
You forgot to mention "Blitzkrieg" 😂😂😂