embarrassment
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embarrassment
The state or feeling of awkwardness, shame, and discomfort that arises in an unpleasant or embarrassing situation.
Die Peinlichkeit der Situation war für alle im Raum spürbar.
The embarrassment of the situation was noticeable to everyone in the room.
embarrassing incident
A specific action, statement, or incident that is perceived as embarrassing, tactless, or very unpleasant.
Seine Rede war eine einzige Peinlichkeit und hat viele Gäste verärgert.
His speech was one big embarrassment and upset many guests.
'Die Peinlichkeit' (embarrassment) is derived from the adjective 'peinlich' (embarrassing). The ending '-keit' turns a quality ('peinlich sein' — to be embarrassing) into a noun. This pattern is very common in German, for example also with 'Ehrlichkeit' (honesty) from 'ehrlich' (honest).
Die Peinlichkeit der Situation war ihm ins Gesicht geschrieben.
The embarrassment of the situation was written all over his face.
The word can be countable or uncountable. When it describes the general feeling of shame, it is uncountable. When it refers to a specific embarrassing action, it is countable and can also appear in the plural ('Peinlichkeiten' — embarrassing incidents).
Er spürte eine Welle der Peinlichkeit.
He felt a wave of embarrassment.
To express the feeling of embarrassment, there are fixed expressions such as 'vor Peinlichkeit im Boden versinken wollen' (to want the ground to swallow you up out of embarrassment) or 'vor Peinlichkeit rot werden' (to turn red with embarrassment).
Als er den Namen vergaß, wäre er am liebsten vor Peinlichkeit im Boden versunken.
When he forgot the name, he would have liked the ground to swallow him up out of embarrassment.
shame
Both words can refer to a shameful or unpleasant situation. Scham more strongly implies that you judge your own behavior negatively, whereas Peinlichkeit can also simply result from social awkwardness. Scham is more appropriate for your own moral mistake, while Peinlichkeit is more appropriate for an unpleasant incident.
Sein Versprecher vor allen Gästen war eine große Peinlichkeit.
His slip of the tongue in front of all the guests was deeply embarrassing.
Nach seinem gemeinen Kommentar spürte er große Scham.
After his cruel comment, he felt deeply ashamed.
