i would like to thank the germans

21Aug06

for the word schadenfruede. really. not just because of what the word means, thought that is of course the best part. but also because of how the word sounds. the fact that it everytime i hear it i think it means something about trickery or whatnot. i don’t think it sounds anything like what it means, even though our languages are somewhat slightly related sometimes. you hear weltschmerz and you know it means something sad. schadenfruede bears no phonetic relation to its meaning for foreigners. but saying the word does bring a bit of joy to my non-german-speaking tongue, regardless of my love for what the word menas. it being a german compound word, it is simply fun to say.

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