# Schadenfruede: English equivalent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537 "2003-07-10T19:10:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tim\_Winker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@Tim\_Winker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_Winker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/1 "2003-07-10T19:10:17Z")
Does the English language have a word that is unique to our language such as Schandenfruede? (Taking pleasure in the pain of others) I’m not talking about “dude” or something, but a single word that takes several words in other languages to convey? Also, do languages other than English have a direct translation of Schadenfruede? ---
**Author:** ![swannguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@swannguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swannguy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/2 "2003-07-10T19:18:58Z")
Well the Dutch call it - leedvermaak ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/3 "2003-07-10T19:19:46Z")
“Spoilsport” comes vaguely close… But it implies an active role in ruining the fun for others, whereas Schadenfreude is more of a passive enjoyment of others’ misfortunes. I suspect there is no single word in English that carries quite the right set of connotations. Trinopus ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Winker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@Tim\_Winker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_Winker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/4 "2003-07-10T19:40:36Z")
I should clarify **Trinopus** - I don’t mean is there an English word that means what Schadenfruede means - I mean is there any word at all in English that describes something - anything - in **one** word which takes other languages **several** words to do. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/5 "2003-07-10T19:41:58Z")
Id like to propose “uglee”, as in an ugly form of glee, slight accent on second syllable. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/6 "2003-07-10T19:47:03Z")
I think the correct spelling is “Schadenfreude.” ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/7 "2003-07-10T19:55:56Z")
The idiomatic German word, “schadenfruede” has been assimilated into English precisely because there is no other one-word equivalent for it. It is the nature of idiomatic expression to hop languages. Consider, “kamikazi,” “honcho,” “klutz,” “macho” and many other words we’ve imported. It typically requires more than one word to describe any of the terms in that list. That is the definition of idiom. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Winker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@Tim\_Winker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_Winker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/8 "2003-07-10T20:04:36Z")
Makes sense **Zenster** , but why then does Schadenfruede get so much attention? If it’s no different from Macho or Kamikazi, why does everyone always talk about how unique it is? What are some English idioms used in other languages? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/9 "2003-07-10T20:09:39Z")
I hear that terms like “computer” and “weekend” are sprinkled about in France since the nearest French equivalent takes a lot longer to say. Is that what you mean? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/10 "2003-07-10T20:22:43Z")
A lot of this is because the various languages have different specialised strengths. German is a wonderful language for describing emotion, philosophy, and metaphysical concepts. And English is a cool language too - because she is such a slut. 😃 Long live loan words! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/11 "2003-07-10T21:34:30Z")
But it’s really not fair. German contains many compound words-- words that are simply several words cobbled together into one word. I don’t speak much German, but Schadenfruede looks suspiciously like at least 2 “normal” words compounded together. Can a native German speaker clarify? ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/12 "2003-07-10T21:57:37Z")
re **John Mace** : _Schadenfreude_ is composed of the nouns _Schaden_ (harm, loss, damage) and _Freude_ (delight, gladness, pleasure, joy). As in English the word is usually used in a context where one enjoys a person coming a cropper because one thinks he deserved it. re **Tim Winkler** : My guess about why it gets this much attention is because quite a few people have used it for facile extrapolations about national character. (I have read some few of them over the last years in English-language publications). BTW only imagine if these extrapolations had started from _Feierabend_ (the end of a day’s work and the free time between then and going to bed), also a quite unique German word… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/13 "2003-07-11T01:09:52Z")
As regards the OP, how about the English word **spam** meaning “unsolicited e-mail”? I doubt other languages have a single word conotation for that. I hope I don’t get slapped with a lawsuit from Hormel for that one!🙂 And thanks, **schild** for the info. As I said, the “single word” idea in German is a bit of a cheat due to the tendancy to form compound words. ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/14 "2003-07-11T01:42:02Z")
RE the OP, As someone else pointed out, English is a whacked-out language which has no shame about stealing whatever sounds cool. Unlike German, French, etc., when we come up with a concept we generally steal words from somewhere else, or butcher current words until its not obvious where the roots lie. Submarine is a good example, since we filched _sub_ from latin and slammed the English word “marine”, already stolen from latin long before (mare), and called it a new word. What did the Germans do? They called it the U-Boot, short for _drum roll…_ _Unterseeboot_ (boat that goes under the sea). ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/15 "2003-07-11T01:43:23Z")
I think “weekend” is an excellent example. I wouldn’t know how to begin to express it in French (except by “le weekend”) since fin de la semaine means the end of the week and fin de semaine refers to the instant the week ends. The period from end of work on Friday to beginning of work on Monday leaves out 3 and 4 day weekends. I am sure there are others; just look at the words other languages have borrowed from English. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/16 "2003-07-11T01:49:23Z")
It’s sloppy, but English has that fine ability to turn virually any nown into a verb and its attendant gerund–or is it a participle? “What you got there, man?” “Van der Graaf generator.” “What you doin’?” “Van der Graaf generatin’.” “What you gonna do with it?” “Van der Graaf generate _the f@\<#_ outa my roommate for not turning on the humidifier.” You can get a lot of mileage out of that trick. Do other languages allow for that? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/17 "2003-07-11T01:53:05Z")
Um, yeah. Forget I said that. ---
**Author:** ![JohnW77707](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@JohnW77707](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnW77707)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/18 "2003-07-11T01:54:33Z")
Don’t forget that famous exchange in the Simpsons: Lisa – [some reference to schadenfruede] Homer – What does that mean? Lisa – It’s getting joy from the misfortune of others. Homer – And what’s the opposite of that? Lisa – Sour grapes. Homer – Those germans! They have a word for everything! Heh heh heh. ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/19 "2003-07-11T02:21:29Z")
My mental rule of thumb whilst reading German is to equate it with the French “sangfroid,” or COLD BLOODED. It seems to work quite nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537/20 "2003-07-11T02:22:08Z")
Actually, **Sofa King** , I’ve often wondered exactly the same thing as you. We verberize all sorts of nouns all the time - do speakers of other languages do this too? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schadenfruede-english-equivalent/187537.md?page=2)