German word of the day: Lebensmüde
Perhaps a useful word on the gloomy winter days that are ahead of us in December, Lebensmüde describes when you simply feel weary of life.
Lebensmüde is a compound noun made up of the words Leben (life) and müde (tired), it therefore translates to ‘life tired’ and describes the feeling of being tired or weary of life.
Its closest English equivalents are probably world-weary, depressed, fed up, restless and dissatisfied.
It is mostly used to describe people who are fed up and depressed, but could also be used to describe someone who has done something out of character to break the monotony of everyday life (for example they were lebensmüde and so decided to do a skydive or go travelling for a big change of pace).
Sometimes it is simply used to describe someone doing something crazy: Er muss lebensmüde sein (He must be tired of life).
Examples:
Bist du lebensmüde?
Are you feeling done with life?
Das Lebensniveau ist immer schlechter und man trifft kranke, lebensmüde Menschen Tag für Tag.
Living standards are getting worse and worse and we are faced with unwell, world-weary people everyday.
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