(German noun)Vicarious embarrassment, feeling shame for others' actions.

"from Proto-Germanic *framaþiz (“foreign, not one's own”) and German scham, shame"
—wiktionary

A handy little German word for which there's not an English equivalent. I think of it as being opposed to schadenfreude, which is taking pleasure at someone else's misfortune.

It's come up today as part of a conversation I'd had about the reports of Donald Trump releasing stinky if ironic farts during his Manhattan trial. Whilst several people were laughing at his expense, I was embarrassed for him and uncomfortable with the way the conversation was heading.

All in all, I reflect on the usefulness of so many German expressions that cover circumstances we simply have no words for in English, es tut meir leid being another.

I got the telephone call at approximately 8:15PM.

My father had passed away.

I had just seen him earlier in the day, in his assisted living residence, on hospice care. He had a full time care aide with him, and his facility had their folks coming in to see him frequently - more frequently than they were obliged to, he was (as I was told by more than one of them) popular with the staff.

I had left him around noon. My brother had brought his wife and youngest son over to say

Or, suna setchin, 砂雪隠 (snow-hide).

A feature of some Japanese tea gardens, located near the inner waiting bower, symbolic of a host's regard for his guests…no, that’s not quite the right idea…

In  order to explain  this rightly, you have to remember that every detail of a tea garden serves some purpose. There is a distinction between the inner and outer gardens (and perhaps one or more additional zones), in that worldly cares are, perhaps, still present,  in this