armselig
pathetic
Pitiful, miserable, or of very poor quality, so that it evokes pity or even contempt.
EXAMPLE
Er machte eine armselige Figur, als er um Verzeihung bat.
He cut a pathetic figure when he asked for forgiveness.
armselig
pathetic / wretched
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Meanings
armselig
wretched
Very poor and needy; marked by poverty. This meaning is somewhat outdated.
EXAMPLE
Die Familie lebte in einer armseligen Hütte am Rande des Dorfes.
The family lived in a wretched hut on the edge of the village.
Usage tips
Word structure
The word is made up of 'arm' (poor) and 'selig' (blessed). However, the meaning is not 'happy through poverty', but has developed into 'jämmerlich' (miserable) or 'erbärmlich' (pathetic). The ending '-selig' functions here more like an old suffix.
EXAMPLE
Das war ein armseliger Versuch, die Situation zu retten.
That was a pathetic attempt to save the situation.
Typical collocations
In its modern, most common meaning, 'armselig' (pathetic) often describes abstract things and expresses contempt. Typical combinations are 'eine armselige Ausrede' (a pathetic excuse), 'ein armseliger Betrag' (a pathetic amount), or 'eine armselige Vorstellung' (a pathetic performance).
EXAMPLE
Für all die Arbeit bot er mir nur eine armselige Bezahlung an.
For all the work, he offered me only pathetic pay.
Strong negative emotion
'Armselig' (pathetic) is a strongly judgmental adjective. It expresses not only poor quality, but also pity or contempt for the person or thing being described this way.
EXAMPLE
Nach seiner Niederlage machte er einen armseligen Eindruck.
After his defeat, he made a pathetic impression.
Outdated register
The literal meaning 'very poor' is rare today and sounds outdated or literary. You find it mainly in older texts or when a poetic style is being used.
EXAMPLE
In dem Roman wird das armselige Leben der Bauern im 19. Jahrhundert beschrieben.
The novel describes the wretched life of farmers in the 19th century.
Compare with
armselig vs arm
poor
Arm and armselig can both refer to a person affected by poverty. Arm describes the person’s financial situation relatively neutrally, while armselig expresses more pity or contempt and sounds somewhat outdated in this meaning. For factual statements today, arm is usually the better choice; armselig is more common in judgmental or older texts.
armselig
Im alten Roman lebt die armselige Familie in einer kleinen Wohnung.
In the old novel, the wretched family lives in a small apartment.
arm
Die Familie ist arm und lebt in einer kleinen Wohnung.
The family is poor and lives in a small apartment.
In real life
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