From Merriam Webster:
enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others
But it is Schadenfreude, a mischievous delight in the misfortunes of others, which remains the worst trait in human nature. It is a feeling which is closely akin to cruelty, and differs from it, to say the truth, only as theory from practice. In general, it may be said of it that it takes the place which pity ought to take—pity which is its opposite, and the true source of all real justice and charity. - Arthur Schopenhauer, On Human Nature
I love the German language. I love the way it sounds, I love the way my mouth feels when I (try to) speak it. There are words and phrases that are so perfect that English speakers like me have to steal them, because we just don't have the equivalent.
Schadenfreude is one of those words. Sound it out. The word has weight.
Schadenfreude is a noun. It isn't enjoying someone's misery. It's is the enjoyment, it is the feeling.
Yes, Arthur Schopenhauer is right: it is an awful trait. But schadenfreude is all around you. Most gossip papers are built on it. We love reading about some bratty starlet "get what's coming to her". It's all over modern politics as well. We love watching then enemy fail. We don't just want to see the "other guy" lose, we want him humiliated.
For being German, schadenfreude is the perfect American word.
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