fremdschämen

German (Berlin)

/ˈfʀɛmtˌʃɛːmən/, /-ˌʃeːmən/

verb
Definitions
  • (reflexive) to feel ashamed about something someone else has done; to be embarrassed because someone else has embarrassed themselves (and doesn't notice)

Etymology

Compound from German fremd (foreign, strange, fremd, external) + German schämen.

Origin

German (Berlin)

schämen

Gloss

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms