heartbreak
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heartbreak
The emotional pain and sadness caused by unrequited love, a breakup, or problems in a romantic relationship.
Nach der Trennung von seiner Freundin hatte er schrecklichen Liebeskummer.
After the breakup with his girlfriend, he had terrible heartbreak.
The word is made up of 'Liebe' (love) and 'Kummer' (worry, sorrow). So it literally describes the sorrow you feel because of love. The 's' in between is a linking -s, which connects the two words.
Viele Lieder und Gedichte handeln von Liebeskummer.
Many songs and poems are about heartbreak.
'Liebeskummer' (heartbreak) is very often used with the verb 'haben' (to have). Another common collocation is 'an Liebeskummer leiden' (to suffer from heartbreak), which emphasizes the pain even more strongly.
Seit Wochen hat er schrecklichen Liebeskummer.
He has had terrible heartbreak for weeks.
To state the reason for the 'Liebeskummer' (heartbreak), the preposition 'wegen' (because of) is often used, followed by the genitive or, colloquially, the dative.
Er hat Liebeskummer wegen einer unerwiderten Liebe.
He is heartbroken because of an unrequited love.
longing
'die Sehnsucht' and 'der Liebeskummer' both describe strong feelings that can hurt. 'Sehnsucht' is a strong longing for someone or something that is far away, unreachable, or absent. That can be a person, but also a place or another life. 'Liebeskummer' is more specific: it comes from problems in love, for example after a breakup or when love is not returned. The words can be confused because heartbreak often includes longing for a person. But not every longing is heartbreak.
Nach der Trennung hatte Tom starken Liebeskummer und wollte kaum mit jemandem sprechen.
After the breakup, Tom was deeply heartbroken and hardly wanted to talk to anyone.
Nach drei Monaten im Ausland wurde die Sehnsucht nach ihrer Familie immer stärker.
After three months abroad, her longing for her family grew stronger and stronger.