injustice / wrong
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injustice / wrong
An action or situation that violates laws, moral principles, or one's sense of justice; an injustice.
Er empfand es als großes Unrecht, dass er für den Fehler eines anderen bestraft wurde.
He felt it was a great injustice that he was punished for someone else's mistake.
to be wrong
To be mistaken or in the wrong; not to have right on one's side.
Nachdem ich seine Erklärung gehört hatte, musste ich zugeben, dass ich im Unrecht war.
After I heard his explanation, I had to admit that I was wrong.
The word is made up of the prefix 'un-' and the noun 'Recht' (right/law). Here, 'un-' expresses negation or the opposite, so 'Unrecht' (injustice/wrong) literally means 'not-right' or the opposite of justice.
Es ist ein großes Unrecht, unschuldige Menschen zu bestrafen.
It is a great injustice to punish innocent people.
The fixed expression 'im Unrecht sein' (to be wrong / to be in the wrong) means that you are mistaken. In other contexts, often with verbs like 'tun' (to do), 'erleiden' (to suffer), or 'geschehen' (to happen), 'Unrecht' (injustice/wrong) means an injustice.
Er hat eingesehen, dass er im Unrecht war.
He realized that he was wrong.
When referring to injustice, 'Unrecht' (injustice/wrong) is often used with certain verbs. Typical phrases are 'jemandem Unrecht tun' (to wrong someone), 'Unrecht erleiden' (to suffer injustice), or 'gegen Unrecht kämpfen' (to fight against injustice).
Mit deiner voreiligen Kritik hast du ihm wirklich Unrecht getan.
With your hasty criticism, you really wronged him.
As an abstract noun, 'Unrecht' (injustice/wrong) is almost always used in the singular and often without an article. It describes the idea of injustice in general, not countable individual acts.
Sein ganzes Leben war ein Kampf gegen Unrecht.
His whole life was a fight against injustice.
unfair
Unrecht is an action or situation that violates moral principles or one's sense of justice. Ungerecht, by contrast, is an adjective describing something as unfair or as treating people unequally. Use “Unrecht” to name the specific disadvantage and “ungerecht” to assess its lack of fairness.
Die Benachteiligung der Familie war ein schweres Unrecht.
The family’s disadvantage was a serious injustice.
Die Benachteiligung der Familie war ungerecht, weil andere bevorzugt wurden.
The family was treated unfairly because others were given preferential treatment.
