to humiliate
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to humiliate
To deliberately treat someone in a way that violates their dignity and makes them feel worthless or ashamed.
Er fühlte sich durch die öffentlichen Anschuldigungen seines Chefs zutiefst erniedrigt.
He felt deeply humiliated by his boss's public accusations.
The verb is made up of the prefix 'er-' and the adjective 'niedrig' (low). It literally means to 'make someone or oneself low,' that is, to take away dignity. As a verb with the prefix 'er-', it is inseparable.
Er hat seinen Mitarbeiter vor dem ganzen Team erniedrigt.
He humiliated his employee in front of the whole team.
This verb can be used transitively with an accusative object ('jemanden erniedrigen' — to humiliate someone) or reflexively ('sich erniedrigen' — to degrade oneself). The reflexive form emphasizes that the person is lowering their own dignity.
Der Tyrann erniedrigte seine Gefangenen.
The tyrant humiliated his prisoners.
'Erniedrigen' (to humiliate) is often used with adverbs that describe the extent, e.g. 'öffentlich erniedrigen' (to humiliate publicly) or 'zutiefst erniedrigen' (to deeply humiliate). The passive form 'erniedrigt werden' (to be humiliated) is also very common.
Sie fühlte sich durch seine Worte öffentlich erniedrigt.
She felt publicly humiliated by his words.
to pay attention / to respect
'achten' and 'erniedrigen' are opposites here when it comes to how people are treated. 'achten' means treating someone with respect and recognizing their worth. 'erniedrigen' means deliberately treating someone badly so that they feel ashamed or worthless. 'achten auf' in the sense of paying attention is not part of this contrast. In personal conversations, at school, or at work, the difference is important: someone who 'achtet' another person protects their dignity; someone who 'erniedrigt' another person violates it.
Vor dem ganzen Team hat der Kollege ihn mit seinen Bemerkungen erniedrigt.
In front of the whole team, the colleague humiliated him with his remarks.
Ein guter Chef achtet seine Mitarbeiter und hört ihnen zu.
A good boss respects his employees and listens to them.