When you replace the N with a T.
And I remember hearing the word on the Simpsons too… And since then have brought it up in a few situations where I saw it happening. Its one of those concepts where there isn’t an English word as a translation… Like… oh… I can’t remember it… A Japanese word that means something in error or accident that makes a piece unique and worthwhile. Like that little chip or light crack line on a teacup that you think of when you think of your set of teacups… But you don’t dislike that, its just what makes it unique. Anyone know that word?
Lest anyone be tempted to do otherwise, don’t read too much into “There’s no English word which translates ‘schadenfreude’.” I mean, “schadenfreude” is just a transparent compound, the word “schaden” (“harm”) scrunched right up against the word “freude” (“joy”). We could translate it directly into English as “harm-joy” if we wanted. Only no one says that in English; we often just say “schadenfreude” instead, and before we had that, we used to (and still often do) just say things like “delight in others’ misfortune” or “relishing of pain” or what have you.
So, like I said, have fun with the word, but remember, even if English once lacked a standard native one-word equivalent, that isn’t terribly interesting or significant, and certainly indicates nothing about its expressive abilities in this regard.
There’s not only a song about it, there’s a PIE about it!
I’ve never dared make it, because I would want to eat nothing else, and would soon become TWICE my behemothian size.
Wabi sabi? I saw that on King of the Hill.
I’ve used the word here on the SDMB because I can expect most of you to know what I mean. I rarely use it in conversation. Unfortunately, there will almost always be someone present with the vocabulary of Koko.
To me it’s just another of those innumerable words that have been absorbed into English because they have a specific meaning that can’t be as succinctly expressed with existing idiom.
Other examples are; umami, deja vu, lahar, cornucopia, etc.
Sure, we could make up a compound or a wholly new word to take its place, but why bother? It has become more or less traditional in our language to just borrow what we like from other languages.
Schadenfreude is a feeling that most people have felt but often didn’t have a word for. When we find that there is a word for some concept that we couldn’t quite express before, we gladly adopt it. At least I do.
Salut and aloha!
Rich