Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude (German)
boshafte Freude ueber das Missgeschick, Unglueck eines andern

Beispiel

Schadenfreude empfinden


Enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others

Originally a German concept, schadenfreude has proved so useful to English speakers that we’ve gleefully adopted it. It combines the German words for damage (Schaden) and joy (Freude) to efficiently describe how you feel when something bad happens to someone you dislike. English does have words that overlap a bit with schadenfreude, such as gloating, but this usually refers to a public display, while schadenfreude can be a sour little pleasure you keep to yourself. The concept of schadenfreude is not restricted to German; a number of other languages have synonyms. Dutch has leedvermaak, French has joie maligne, Finnish has vahingonilo, and Mandarin has x;ng z;i l; hu;, suggesting that taking pleasure in another’s misfortune may be a universal emotion.


Wenn ihr Feind Glueck im Unglueck hat, ist die Schadenfreude unbrauchbar ... "
Adolph Freiherr Knigge