heartbreak
der Liebeskummer
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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.
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| genitive | des Liebeskummers |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Liebeskummer | – |
| accusative | den Liebeskummer | – |
| dative | dem Liebeskummer | – |
| genitive | des Liebeskummers | – |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
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.
Sie leidet sehr unter ihrem Liebeskummer.
She is suffering a lot from her heartbreak.
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.
