You may have noticed articles in the German press this week with headlines along the lines of "Koalition der Missgunst" – a phrase used to describe the sour, obstructive mood thought to prevail among parts of Germany’s governing coalition.
It’s a neat illustration of a word that captures a very specific emotion.
What does Missgunst mean?
Die Missgunst is a feminine noun, pronounced like this, that describes a spiteful unwillingness to grant someone else success, good fortune or advantages.
It’s not just wanting what someone else has – it’s actively resenting the fact that they have it at all.
Grammatically, Missgunst is formed from the noun Gunst (favour, goodwill) with the prefix miss-, which often flips a positive German word into something negative or wrong‑headed.
You see the same prefix in verbs such as missverstehen (to misunderstand), missachten (to disregard) or misslingen (to fail).
The related verb is missgönnen – literally “to begrudge”.
READ ALSO: German word of the day - Ă–ffis
Its positive opposite, gönnen, is a wonderfully generous verb meaning to wish someone well without resentment:
Ich gönne dir den Erfolg. (I'm so happy about your success.)
Gunst is what flows from this attitude – favour, goodwill or benevolence. Missgunst, essentially, is what happens when that goodwill curdles.
Why do I need to know Missgunst?
Because sometimes envy (Neid) just doesn’t quite do the job. Missgunst is sharper and colder. It suggests pettiness, obstruction and a desire to see others cut down to size.
English speakers often reach for Schadenfreude, the famous German term for taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune. But the crucial difference here is timing.
Schadenfreude generally reacts after the fall. Missgunst is there before it happens, hoping a fall might occur.
Use it like this:
Seine Missgunst gegenĂĽber erfolgreichen Kollegen war kaum zu ĂĽbersehen.
His resentment towards successful colleagues was hard to miss.
Missgunst vergiftet das Arbeitsklima schnell.
Spiteful resentment quickly poisons the working atmosphere.
READ ALSO: How to talk about working out like a German
Aus reiner Missgunst stellte sie alles infrage.
Out of sheer resentment, she questioned everything.
Sie konnte ihm den Erfolg einfach nicht gönnen.
She simply couldn’t bring herself to wish him well.
Er hat sich die Gunst seiner Vorgesetzten hart erarbeitet.
He earned the goodwill of his superiors through hard work.
Comments