Ways to say it
| German | IPA |
|---|---|
| peinlich | /ˈpaɪ̯nˌlɪç/ |
| blamabel |
The standard way to describe a situation that causes social awkwardness or embarrassment is to use peinlich. If you want to describe the emotion of being embarrassed, Germans often use the idiomatic phrase peinlich berührt, which literally means 'painfully touched'. Among younger generations, a popular colloquial expression used to convey a strong sense of discomfort or unease is mega unangenehm.
Which one should you use?
While peinlich is the common word for general social awkwardness, blamabel is a stronger term. Use blamabel when something is not just awkward, but actually shameful, pathetic or represents a very poor performance.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈpaɪ̯nˌlɪç/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful when using peinlich, as it can also mean 'painful' or 'meticulous/painstaking' depending on the context.
Did you know?
- In German, if a task is described as peinlich genau, it does not mean it is embarrassing, but that it is performed with extreme precision.
- While English uses 'embarrassed' for both the person and the situation, German strictly separates peinlich for the situation and verlegen for the person's inner feeling.
- The adjective pingelig is a 'doublet' of peinlich, meaning they share a common linguistic ancestor despite appearing very different.
Examples in context
- Es ist sehr peinlich.It's very embarrassing.Tatoeba #10086321 by wolfgangth, translation #2249356 by CK
- Das ist sehr peinlich.This is very embarrassing.Tatoeba #5905751 by tutawomen, translation #3824957 by CK
- Ich fand das peinlich.I found that embarrassing.Tatoeba #8386308 by Luiaard, translation #8385775 by CK
- Es tut mir leid, das war wirklich peinlich!I'm sorry, that was really embarrassing!
- Sein Verhalten war äußerst beschämend.His behavior was extremely embarrassing.
- Das war so peinlich, ich hätte im Boden versinken können!That was so embarrassing, I could have sunk into the ground!
- Es war mega unangenehm, als ich meinen Namen vergessen habe.It was mega embarrassing when I forgot my name.
- 50 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Julian and Julia are talking about a mistake at a party.
- JulianHast du gesehen, wie er gestürzt ist?Did you see how he fell?
- JuliaJa, das war ihm sicher peinlich.Yes, that was surely embarrassing for him.
- JulianEs war eine peinliche Situation.It was an embarrassing situation.
- JuliaStimmt, es war mir auch peinlich.True, it was embarrassing to me too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “embarrassing” translations and entries peinlich, blamabel, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries blamabel, peinlich, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
