hurtful
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hurtful
An action, statement, or behavior that deeply hurts or offends another person's feelings. It describes something that causes emotional pain.
Seine verletzenden Worte haben sie sehr getroffen.
His hurtful words affected her deeply.
'Verletzend' (hurtful) is the present participle of the verb 'verletzen' (to hurt/injure). It describes an action or quality that actively causes pain, usually emotional pain. It answers the question: 'What is something like?'
Seine Kritik war unnötig verletzend.
His criticism was unnecessarily hurtful.
Don't confuse 'verletzend' (hurtful) with 'verletzt' (hurt/injured). 'Verletzend' describes the cause of the pain, such as words, while 'verletzt' (past participle) describes the state of the person who feels the pain.
Deine Bemerkung war sehr verletzend.
Your comment was very hurtful.
The adjective 'verletzend' (hurtful) is almost always used for intangible things that attack someone's feelings. Typical nouns are: 'verletzende Worte' (hurtful words), 'eine verletzende Bemerkung' (a hurtful comment), or 'verletzendes Verhalten' (hurtful behavior).
Er entschuldigte sich für sein verletzendes Verhalten auf der Party.
He apologized for his hurtful behavior at the party.
mean / common
'gemein' and 'verletzend' can both describe behavior that hurts others. 'gemein' emphasizes that something is unfair, nasty, or deliberately unpleasant. 'verletzend' puts more emphasis on the effect on a person's feelings: someone feels hurt or offended. So a statement can be hurtful even if it was not meant to be mean. If you mean bad intention or unfairness, 'gemein' fits. If you want to emphasize emotional pain, 'verletzend' is more precise.
Die Nachricht war für die Klasse verletzend, obwohl sie sachlich formuliert war.
The message was hurtful for the class, even though it was worded objectively.
Am Montag war es gemein von ihr, den neuen Kollegen auszulachen.
On Monday, it was mean of her to laugh at the new colleague.