victim role
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victim role
An attitude or behavior pattern in which a person sees and presents themselves as a victim of circumstances or other people, often in order to avoid responsibility or gain sympathy.
Er flüchtet sich immer in die Opferrolle, anstatt seine Fehler einzugestehen.
He always retreats into the victim role instead of admitting his mistakes.
The word consists of 'Opfer' (victim) and 'Rolle' (role). So it literally describes the role of a victim that a person takes on.
Durch ihre ständigen Klagen manövrierte sie sich selbst in die Opferrolle.
Through her constant complaints, she maneuvered herself into the victim role.
'Opferrolle' (victim role) is often used with certain verbs that describe movement or a state. Typical phrases are 'sich in die Opferrolle flüchten' (to retreat into the victim role), 'in der Opferrolle verharren' (to remain in the victim role), or 'jemanden in die Opferrolle drängen' (to push someone into the victim role).
Anstatt zu handeln, verharrt er lieber in der Opferrolle.
Instead of taking action, he prefers to remain in the victim role.
The preposition 'in' is used with the accusative or dative depending on the context. Movement is expressed with the accusative ('in die Opferrolle'), while a state is expressed with the dative ('in der Opferrolle').
Er begibt sich bei jeder Kritik sofort in die Opferrolle.
At every criticism, he immediately puts himself into the victim role.
self-pity
Selbstmitleid and Opferrolle can both occur when someone strongly emphasizes their own suffering. Selbstmitleid mainly refers to the inner feeling of feeling sorry for oneself; Opferrolle additionally describes repeatedly acting and presenting oneself as a victim. Use Selbstmitleid for the feeling and Opferrolle for the pattern of behavior.
Nach jeder Kritik nimmt er die Opferrolle ein und stellt sich als ungerecht behandelte Person dar.
After every criticism, he adopts the role of the victim and presents himself as someone who has been treated unfairly.
Nach der Kritik versank er in Selbstmitleid und dachte nur noch an sein eigenes Leid.
After the criticism, he sank into self-pity and could think only about his own suffering.
