There is no German word for "self-aware"

https://old.reddit.com/r/German/comments/a3tvsq/some_german_told_me_that_there_is_no_german_word/

4•amai•8mo ago

Comments

amai•8mo ago

Interestingly Wikipedia links the article of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-awareness

with

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objektive_Selbstaufmerksamkeit

I have never heard anyone using the ladder word.

herbst•8mo ago

It's a context thing. When I say selbstbewusst it can very well have the meaning of self-aware and also would be perceived as that.

Tomte•8mo ago

We have “selbstreflektiert” which seems to be close enough.

beardyw•8mo ago

Does English have one word for self aware?

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF•8mo ago

Yes: self-aware.

beardyw•8mo ago

There's one word for that: not-sure-I-agree.

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF•8mo ago

Now you’re thinking with hyphens!

bonki•8mo ago

What's wrong with "selbstwahrnehmend"? It's literally (pun slightly intended) a literal translation of "self-aware" and doesn't have the ambiguity that "selbstbewusst" comes with.

rini17•8mo ago

I ran into similar issue with compassion. In English it is "a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves"

In German and Slovak (my first language) and presumably others, it is usually translated into kind of remorseful feeling NOT directly related to the motivation to go out of one's way. And it just can't be explained and it drives me crazy recently.

bonki•8mo ago

What's your problem with "Mitgefühl"?

pchangr•8mo ago

That is closer to “empathy” than compassion. Compassion has no reason other recognizing the other person as “human”. “Mitgefühl” seems closer to understanding how the other person feels and therefore acting on it.. empathy.

Perhaps you could think of similar to the concept of “charity”. Doing beneficial things to others.. just because.

bonki•8mo ago

I dare to disagree. Empathy would be Empathie or Einfühlungsvermögen. Mitgefühl is not empathy and a common translation for compassion.

rini17•8mo ago

Found articles like one below, seems you're right!

https://www.psychologie-heute.de/leben/artikel-detailansicht...

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There is no German word for "self-aware"

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