vergüenza ajena
secondhand embarrassment / cringe
Pronunciation
/beɾˈɣwen.θa aˈxe.na/
Cultural Note
Spanish had a word for 'cringe' decades before it became an English meme. 'Vergüenza ajena' (literally 'someone else's embarrassment') is the feeling of being embarrassed on behalf of another person who SHOULD be embarrassed but isn't. German has 'Fremdschämen,' Finnish has 'myötähäpeä,' and Spanish has this beauty. It's the reason you can't watch certain reality TV shows — the vergüenza ajena is too powerful. The fact that Spanish had this concept built into the language suggests a deep cultural awareness of social situations and propriety.
📝 Example Sentences
Me da vergüenza ajena cuando mi padre intenta hablar inglés con los turistas.
I get secondhand embarrassment when my dad tries to speak English with tourists.
Esos vídeos de bodas dan mucha vergüenza ajena.
Those wedding videos are so cringeworthy.