WotD: shame on another's behalf

[muckefuck]

1. die Fremdscham
2. de plaatsvervangende schaamte
3. la vergüenza ajena
4. la vergonya aliena
5. l'honte d'autrui

Notes: The German word in particular often features in lists of "untranslatable words" (probably by dint of being a single [orthographic] word rather than a more obvious composition), but Spanish-speakers reportedly like to claim that vergüenza ajena is such a uniquely Spanish concept that English-speaking psychologists have adopted the term of art "Spanish shame" for it, although there appears to be no evidence for this. Some years back, a cabal of word mavens invented the term igry which they defined as "painfully embarrassed for or uncomfortable about someone else's incredibly poor social behavior, or descriptive of such poor social behavior" and which others suggested using in a broader sense of "embarrassed for another", but it's a coinage I've yet to spot in the wild.

Comments

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

It's too bad we don't have a good English equivalent, as there's an entire huge genre of comedy that I feel it about (Seinfeld, Meet the Parents, etc.) and therefore can't watch.

[pne.livejournal.com]

Ugh, is that what it refers to? I hate films with that kind of uncomfortable social situations, too.

Though I’d put that in terms of “embarrassment” rather than “shame”.