Vocabulary
Schadenfreude meaning: pleasure at another person's misfortune
When a rival makes a mistake, someone may feel a small and uncomfortable pleasure. English has a borrowed German word for that feeling: schadenfreude.
Use schadenfreude for pleasure at another person's misfortune, and choose it carefully because it can sound critical or unkind.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
schadenfreude /ˈʃɑː.dənˌfrɔɪ.də/
The short answer
Schadenfreude means pleasure that a person feels because someone else has a problem or a failure.
The audience's schadenfreude grew when the boastful contestant missed an easy question.
Why it works: The audience enjoys the contestant's embarrassing failure.
3 more examples
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I felt a brief moment of schadenfreude when my arrogant opponent lost the game.
The speaker admits enjoying the opponent's failure, even though the reaction may not be admirable.
Not this:I
felt relievedwhen my opponent lost the game because the match was finally over. What changes: Relieved explains that tension ended. It does not say that the speaker enjoyed the opponent's loss. -
The article avoided schadenfreude and focused on what the company could learn from the setback.
The writer chooses not to enjoy another group's failure.
Not this:The article
avoided speculationand focused on what the company could learn from the setback. What changes: Speculation is guessing without enough evidence. It does not describe enjoyment at someone else's problem. -
There was a little schadenfreude when the manager who ignored the rules received the same penalty.
People take pleasure in the manager's trouble, perhaps because they see the result as deserved.
Not this:There was
a sense of fairnesswhen the manager who ignored the rules received the same penalty. What changes: Fairness is an opinion about the result. Schadenfreude names pleasure at the manager's trouble.
Read the full guide
Use schadenfreude when the enjoyment depends on another person's misfortune. A person can feel relief when a problem is over without taking pleasure in anybody else's trouble, so relief is not automatically schadenfreude.
Recognize the feeling
Schadenfreude is about the reaction to another person's trouble. The trouble may be a failed plan, an embarrassing mistake, or a defeat. The word tells us that someone takes pleasure in it.
Her smile showed a little schadenfreude after the rival team's mistake.
Use noun patterns
Schadenfreude is a noun. You can feel schadenfreude, admit to schadenfreude, or describe a feeling of schadenfreude. These patterns make the emotion, rather than the unlucky event, the subject of the sentence.
He admitted to a little schadenfreude when his loud neighbor's party was cancelled.
Separate it from relief and fairness
Relief means that worry or pressure has ended. A sense of fairness means that a result seems right. Neither word requires enjoyment of another person's suffering. Schadenfreude does require that enjoyment.
I was relieved that the argument ended. I felt schadenfreude when the rude speaker was corrected.
Choose the tone with care
The word can be honest when you describe your own reaction, but it often judges that reaction too. In professional or sensitive situations, name the feeling only when it helps the reader understand the situation. Do not use it to make light of serious loss or harm.
The commentator noted the online schadenfreude, then returned to the facts of the case.
Say the borrowed word clearly
Break schadenfreude into four parts: SHAH-duhn-froy-duh. Keep the main stress at the start. The froy sound is the same vowel sound that you hear in boy.
They laughed at the word schadenfreude, then discussed why the feeling can be uncomfortable.
Before you go
Remember this
Use schadenfreude for pleasure at another person's misfortune. It is a noun, often used in feel schadenfreude or a feeling of schadenfreude. Choose it carefully because the word often points to an unkind reaction.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "Schadenfreude meaning: pleasure at another person's misfortune"
What does schadenfreude mean?
Schadenfreude means pleasure at another person's trouble, failure, or embarrassment. The word describes the reaction of the person who enjoys the misfortune, rather than the misfortune itself.
I felt a brief moment of schadenfreude when my arrogant opponent lost the game.
Is schadenfreude an English word?
Schadenfreude came into English from German and is now used in English writing and conversation. It often keeps its German spelling, but English speakers use it as an ordinary noun.
I felt relieved when my opponent lost the game because the match was finally over.
How do you use schadenfreude in a sentence?
Use schadenfreude as a noun. You can say that someone felt schadenfreude, admitted to schadenfreude, or showed a feeling of schadenfreude when another person made a mistake.
The article avoided schadenfreude and focused on what the company could learn from the setback.
What is the difference between schadenfreude and relief?
Relief means that worry, danger, or pressure has ended. Schadenfreude includes enjoyment at another person's misfortune. A person may feel relief without enjoying anyone else's problem.
The article avoided speculation and focused on what the company could learn from the setback.
Can schadenfreude sound rude?
Yes. Schadenfreude often suggests a petty or unkind reaction. It can be suitable for harmless rivalry or careful analysis, but avoid it when people have experienced serious loss, injury, or hardship.
There was a little schadenfreude when the manager who ignored the rules received the same penalty.
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