unpleasant
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unpleasant
Causing a negative feeling such as discomfort, displeasure, or embarrassment. This can refer to situations, sensations, smells, or people.
Es war mir unangenehm, ihn nach so langer Zeit um einen Gefallen bitten zu müssen.
I found it unpleasant to have to ask him for a favor after such a long time.
The word is built simply: the prefix 'un-' negates the adjective 'angenehm' (pleasant). So it literally means 'not pleasant'. You will find this structure with 'un-' in many German adjectives.
Die lange Wartezeit in der Kälte war sehr unangenehm.
The long wait in the cold was very unpleasant.
To express that a situation is embarrassing or uncomfortable for a person, you use a fixed structure with the dative: 'Es ist [person in the dative] unangenehm, ... zu ...' (It is unpleasant/embarrassing for [person] to ...).
Es ist mir unangenehm, Sie schon wieder stören zu müssen.
I find it unpleasant to have to bother you again.
'Unangenehm' (unpleasant) often describes abstract things or sensory perceptions. Common combinations are 'eine unangenehme Situation' (an unpleasant situation), 'eine unangenehme Stille' (an awkward silence), 'ein unangenehmer Geruch' (an unpleasant smell), or 'eine unangenehme Frage' (an uncomfortable question).
Nach seiner Bemerkung entstand eine unangenehme Stille im Raum.
After his remark, an awkward silence arose in the room.
embarrassing / meticulous
Both words describe something that causes negative feelings. Peinlich particularly emphasizes embarrassment, shame, or humiliation, while unangenehm can also mean simple discomfort or displeasure. Use peinlich for social embarrassment and unangenehm for the more general impression.
Es war unangenehm, als ich wegen des starken Geruchs das Fenster öffnen musste.
It was unpleasant when I had to open the window because of the strong smell.
Es war peinlich, als ich vor der ganzen Klasse den Namen vergaß.
It was embarrassing when I forgot the name in front of the whole class.
