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.
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.
right / law
'das Recht' and 'das Unrecht' both belong to the area of rules, justice, and right behavior. 'das Recht' means a claim that someone is entitled to, or that someone has the correct position in a dispute. 'das Unrecht' is the opposite: something is wrong, unjust, or not justified. The words can be confused especially in the phrases 'im Recht sein' (to be in the right) and 'im Unrecht sein' (to be wrong / to be in the wrong). Someone who is 'im Recht' has good reasons or the rules on their side. Someone who is 'im Unrecht' is wrong or is acting unjustly.
Nach dem Streit merkte ich, dass ich im Unrecht war.
After the argument, I realized that I was wrong.
Jeder Fahrgast hat das Recht auf eine klare Information bei Verspätung.
Every passenger has the right to clear information in case of a delay.