{"id":12896,"date":"2021-04-22T14:02:14","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T14:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=12896"},"modified":"2021-04-22T14:02:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-22T14:02:14","slug":"the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-mutend-covid-tired-angry-feeling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-curiosity-of-the-german-word-mutend-covid-tired-angry-feeling\/","title":{"rendered":"The Curiosity of the German Word “M\u00fctend”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ah, the\u00a0Pandemie\u00a0<\/em>(f, pandemic). We’re still in the middle of it, especially with the relatively slow vaccination rate in Europe<\/a>. Between opening up the country and new Lockdowns <\/i>(m, lockdown)<\/a>, continuing economic hardship and mentally trying times, there is a lingering frustration among Germans. And there’s a new word for that: M\u00fctend<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What’s m\u00fctend?<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Curious<\/a>

Image made by and used with permission from Sten Ritterfeld, using Photo by engin akyurt<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a> and Photo by Sammy Williams<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Yes,\u00a0M\u00fctend<\/em>! As you could already tell, it is a Kofferwort <\/em>(n, portmanteau) of the words m\u00fcde <\/em>(tired) and w\u00fctend <\/em>(angry). So while you’re w\u00fctend <\/em>that things haven’t moved along, and that we’re still stuck in this pandemic. But you can’t be\u00a0w\u00fctend\u00a0<\/em>for that long. At some point, frustration kicks in, and even later, you just get m\u00fcde <\/i>of the thing that once made you so mad. You are\u00a0ersch\u00f6pft\u00a0<\/em>(drained), so to say.<\/p>\n

So to combine these feelings of anger, frustration and exhaustion, the word\u00a0m\u00fctend\u00a0<\/em>came to light in Germany. Especially around the failed Osterruhe\u00a0<\/em>(f, Easter rest)<\/a>, there was a lot of outrage and annoyance at the perceived lackluster crisis management.<\/p>\n

This pandemic is a sticky one that’s difficult to manage. And most Germans completely understand. The feeling of\u00a0m\u00fctend\u00a0<\/em>is not necessarily felt by Corona-Leugner <\/em>(m, coronavirus deniers), but by everyday Germans – the\u00a008\/15<\/em> German<\/a>. It just feels like a never-ending cycle<\/a> of “breakthrough” COVID measures, only to have disappointing effects.<\/p>\n

Where does the word\u00a0m\u00fctend\u00a0<\/em>come from?<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The word isn’t too difficult to come up with, it’s a pretty simple\u00a0Kofferwort<\/em>. So it has existed before the\u00a0Pandemie<\/em>, for example to describe the prickly mood that you get when you had too little sleep<\/a>. However, it really blew up this month when Doc Caro wrote a Facebook post about it, that was shared over 70.000 times overnight. Talk show host Markus Lanz also used the word time and time again on his late night talk show:<\/p>\n