Schadenfreude. It’s German, of course – from the Germanic schaden (harm) and freude (joy). It means to take pleasure in another’s misfortune. Like smugly cruising down the motorway in a nearly empty lane when there is a long line of slow moving traffic heading the other way.
It seems there is no single word in English that embraces this particular emotion. Well we would have to import a word like that, as no upstanding citizen of the UK would stoop so low as to admit to enjoying another’s misery, would they?
Except there is a word you could use – epicaricacy. Not many people have heard of it, and even fewer use it. I only came across it recently. Maybe it is so little used because experiencing the rather shameful pleasure schadenfreude induces, seems less ignoble if described in a foreign language.
But if you look up epicaricacy you will see that it means taking pleasure in the misfortune of others, just like schadenfreude.
It is from ancient Greek: Epi – upon; kharis – joy; kakos – evil.
Using the word epicaricacy is unlikely to catch on, and I’m not sure I’d advocate using it in your next literary masterpiece. It may smack of pretentiousness, and will certainly annoy people if they have to get a dictionary and look it up.
But it could be a useful factoid for a pub quiz.
Links to my books and social media
You can find all my books and short stories on Amazon books, At least one story always free. ALL BOOKS FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED
www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00RVO1BHO
And Alex Still Has Acne – An adventure story for teens of all ages. £6.99, e-book £1.99. Free on Kindle Unlimited. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alex-Still-Has-Acne/dp/B08LNFVRLY
getbook.at/AndAlex
CAST OFF – short stories about Shakespeare’s women. £6.99, e-book £1.99. Free on Kindle Unlimited. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08M8BKZKH
getbook.at/CastOff
Saving Grace.
What kind of trouble has Grace got herself into? And can Courtney save her before it is too late? £6.99, e-book £1.99. Free on Kindle Unlimited. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08P9LFG7N
getbook.at/savinggrace
Silent Echoes. Loosely based on family memories. The Carters seem just like any other family. Apart, that is, from the life changing events nobody wants to talk about. Will history just keep repeating itself? Ebook-£1.99, Print-£7.99.