embarrassment / humiliation
Loading your saved state.
embarrassment / humiliation
A situation that leads to public exposure, embarrassment, or disgrace. It describes an embarrassing or shameful failure.
Die 0:5-Niederlage der Heimmannschaft war eine einzige Blamage.
The home team's 5-0 defeat was an absolute humiliation.
'Die Blamage' (embarrassment / humiliation) belongs to the word family of the verb 'sich blamieren' (to embarrass oneself). When someone experiences a 'Blamage' (embarrassment / humiliation), they have 'sich blamiert' (embarrassed themselves).
Er hat sich mit seiner unvorbereiteten Rede vor allen blamiert.
He embarrassed himself in front of everyone with his unprepared speech.
The word comes from the French verb 'blâmer', which means 'to blame' or 'to criticize'. In German, it has taken on the meaning of public humiliation.
Für den Politiker war der Skandal eine öffentliche Blamage.
For the politician, the scandal was a public humiliation.
Common verbs used with 'Blamage' (embarrassment / humiliation) are 'eine Blamage erleben' (to experience an embarrassment), 'sich eine Blamage leisten' (to make an embarrassing mistake), or 'in einer Blamage enden' (to end in humiliation).
Das Interview endete für den Sportler in einer Blamage.
The interview ended in humiliation for the athlete.
To emphasize the extent of the embarrassment, 'Blamage' (embarrassment / humiliation) is often combined with adjectives such as 'peinlich' (embarrassing), 'öffentlich' (public), 'total' (total), or 'völlig' (complete).
Die Niederlage war eine totale Blamage für das favorisierte Team.
The defeat was a total humiliation for the favored team.
shame / disgrace
Schande refers to a deeply shameful act or dishonor and can express moral condemnation. Blamage is primarily an embarrassing, publicly visible failure. Schande is therefore more appropriate for dishonorable misconduct, while Blamage usually fits an embarrassing mistake.
Der falsche Name in der Rede des Politikers war eine Blamage.
The politician using the wrong name in the speech was an embarrassment.
Die Bestechung des Politikers war eine Schande.
The politician’s bribery was a disgrace.
