Question 1

What is the difference between Schadenfreude and Mitfreude?

Accepted Answer

Mitfreude — 'joy-with' — is the real German antonym, and it's a genuine dictionary word with citations back to the 1950s. Schadenfreude gets all the English attention precisely because English borrowed the vice and left the virtue sitting on the shelf.

Question 2

How do I know if I mean Schadenfreude rather than Mitfreude?

Accepted Answer

Readers who land here meaning Schadenfreude rather than Mitfreude are usually searching for phrases like “what is the word for enjoying someone's downfall”, “schadenfreude meaning”, “is schadenfreude bad”.

Aspect	Schadenfreude	Mitfreude
Joy at	Their misfortune	Their good fortune
In German	Common	Real, less common
Borrowed by English	Enthusiastically	Never
Duden label	None	None

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Schadenfreude

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