to humiliate
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to humiliate
To deliberately degrade, shame, or violate someone's dignity. This often happens in front of other people in order to expose the person concerned.
Der Chef hat ihn vor allen Kollegen wegen eines kleinen Fehlers gedemütigt.
The boss humiliated him in front of all his colleagues because of a small mistake.
to humble oneself
To see oneself as lowly or unimportant and show humble behavior, often in a religious or spiritual context before a higher power.
In seinem Gebet demütigte er sich vor Gott und bat um Vergebung.
In his prayer, he humbled himself before God and asked for forgiveness.
The verb 'demütigen' (to humiliate / to humble) is derived from the noun 'die Demut' (humility) and the adjective 'demütig' (humble). It literally means to 'make someone humble'.
Er zeigte große Demut nach seinem Sieg.
He showed great humility after his victory.
The meaning changes completely depending on whether the verb is used reflexively or not. Without 'sich' (oneself), it is a negative action toward another person. With 'sich', it describes a personal, often spiritual attitude.
Er demütigte seinen Gegner nach dem Spiel.
He humiliated his opponent after the game.
In the meaning 'jemanden erniedrigen' (to degrade someone), the verb always needs an accusative object. The structure is: subject (person doing the humiliating) humbles/humiliates object (person being humiliated).
Sie fühlte sich durch seine Worte zutiefst gedemütigt.
She felt deeply humiliated by his words.
The reflexive form 'sich demütigen' (to humble oneself) is often used with the preposition 'vor' (before) and a person or authority in the dative. This expresses respect or submission.
Der Ritter demütigte sich vor seinem König.
The knight humbled himself before his king.
to embarrass
Blamieren and demütigen can both mean putting someone in an embarrassing situation in front of others. Blamieren primarily emphasizes ridicule and loss of respect, whereas demütigen emphasizes deliberate degradation and an attack on someone's dignity. Use demütigen for particularly degrading treatment.
Der Chef demütigte ihn vor dem Team, indem er ihn lange vor allen erniedrigte.
The boss humiliated him in front of the team by degrading him at length in front of everyone.
Der Chef blamierte ihn vor dem Team, als er über seinen Fehler lachte.
The boss embarrassed him in front of the team by laughing at his mistake.
