sadness

English

Alternative forms

• sadnesse (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English sadnesse, equivalent to sad +‎ -ness.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsædnəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

sadness (countable and uncountable, plural sadnesses)

1. (uncountable) The state or emotion of being sad.

   Synonyms: forlornness, melancholy; see also Thesaurus:sadness

   • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     But sorrow that is couch'd in seeming gladness
     Is like that mirth fate turns to sudden sadness.

   • 1707, John Dunton, “Mourning Joy: or a Paradox in Praiſe of Sadneſs”, in Athenian Sport[:] […] , page 423:

     I mean not then under the name of Sadneſs to defend effeminate Bewailings and Lamentations; let them that ſubject themſelves to this weakeſt Impatience, be alſo ſubject to the Lycian Law, that bound theſe kind of Lamenters to be array'd like Women: […]

2. (countable) An event in one's life that causes sadness.

   Synonyms: misfortune, woe; see also Thesaurus:woe

   She has experienced many sadnesses in her forty years.

Translations

state/emotion

• Arabic: حُزْن m (ḥuzn)

  Egyptian Arabic: اسف m (asaf)

• Armenian: տխրություն (hy) (txrutʻyun), թախիծ (hy) (tʻaxic)
• Assamese: বেজাৰ (bezar), দুখ (dukh)
• Asturian: tristura f
• Azerbaijani: kədər (az), hüzn
• Bashkir: моң (moñ), һағыш (hağış), эс бошоу (es boşow), бошонҡолоҡ (boşonqoloq)
• Belarusian: печа́ль f (pječálʹ), сму́так m (smútak)
• Bengali: দুঃখ (bn) (dukkho), দেরেগ (bn) (dereg), গোসা (bn) (gōśa), নারাজী (naraji), বেজার (bn) (bejar)
• Berber:

  Tashelhit: taguḍi f

• Breton: tristidigezh (br) f
• Bulgarian: скръб (bg) f (skrǎb), печа́л (bg) f (pečál)
• Catalan: tristesa (ca) f, tristor (ca) f
• Cebuano: kasubo
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 悲傷 / 悲伤 (zh) (bēishāng), 悲哀 (zh) (bēi'āi)

• Czech: smutek (cs) m
• Danish: tristhed c, bedrøvelse c, sørgmodighed c
• Dutch: verdriet (nl) n, droefenis (nl) f
• Esperanto: malĝojo
• Estonian: kurbus
• Farefare: sũ-sã'aŋɔ
• Finnish: surullisuus (fi)
• French: tristesse (fr) f
• Galician: tristeza (gl) f
• Georgian: ნაღველი (naɣveli), მწუხარება (mc̣uxareba), მოწყენილობა (moc̣q̇eniloba), სევდა (sevda)
• German: Traurigkeit (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐍉 f (aglō), 𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌲𐍉 f (trigō)
• Greek: λύπη (el) f (lýpi)
• Hebrew: עצב (he) m ('étsev)
• Hindi: दुःख (hi) m (duḥkh), ग़म m (ġam), उदासी (hi) f (udāsī)
• Hungarian: szomorúság (hu)
• Icelandic: sorg (is) f
• Ido: chagreno (io)
• Indonesian: kesedihan (id)
• Irish: brón m, cumha m
• Italian: tristezza (it) f
• Japanese: 悲しみ (ja) (かなしみ, kanashimi)
• Kazakh: мұң (mūñ), шер (şer), уайым (uaiym)
• Khmer: សេចក្ដីព្រួយ (səckdəy pruəy)
• Kikuyu: kĩeha
• Korean: 슬픔 (ko) (seulpeum)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: خەفەت (xefet)

• Lao: ຄວາມໂສກເສົ້າ (lo) (khuām sōk sao)
• Latin: trīstitia f
• Latvian: skumjas f pl, skumjums m, skumība f
• Lithuanian: liūdesys (lt) m
• Macedonian: тага (mk) f (taga)
• Manx: anghennallys m
• Maori: hinapouri, matarehu, pōuritanga
• Middle English: reuþe
• Ngazidja Comorian: huzuni class 9/10
• Norwegian: melankoli m

  Bokmål: sorg (no) m or f, vemod n, tristhet m or f

  Nynorsk: sorg f, vemod n

• Occitan: tristesa (oc) f, tristor (oc) f, tristum (oc) m

  Old Occitan: tristicia f

• Old English: drēoriġnes f
• Persian: غمگینی (fa) (ğamgini)
• Polish: smutek (pl) m
• Portuguese: tristeza (pt) f
• Punjabi: ਦੁੱਖ m (dukkha), ਦੁਖ m (dukh)
• Quechua: llakiy
• Romanian: tristețe (ro) f
• Russian: печа́ль (ru) f (pečálʹ), грусть (ru) f (grustʹ), уны́ние (ru) n (unýnije), тоска́ (ru) f (toská)
• Scottish Gaelic: bròn m, cianalas m, dubhachas m, gruaim f, mulad m, truime f, tùirse f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ту́га f, жа̏ло̄ст f

  Roman: túga (sh) f, žȁlōst (sh) f

• Slovak: smútok m, zármutok m
• Slovene: žalost (sl) f
• Spanish: tristeza (es) f
• Swahili: huzuni (sw) class 9
• Swedish: sorgsenhet (sv) c
• Tagalog: lungkot (tl), kalungkutan
• Thai: ความเศร้า (th) (kwaam sâo), ความทุกข์ (th) (kwaam-túk)
• Turkish: üzgünlük (tr), üzüntü (tr)
• Ukrainian: печа́ль f (pečálʹ), сму́ток m (smútok)
• Urdu: دکھ m (dukh)
• Vietnamese: buồn (vi), sự buồn rầu (vi)
• Waray-Waray: kasubo
• Welsh: tristwch (cy) m
• Western Panjabi: دکھ (pnb) ? (dkh)

event causing sadness

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 悲傷的事情 / 悲伤的事情 (bēishāng de shìqing)

• Finnish: suru (fi)
• French: malheur (fr) m
• German: Schicksalsschlag (de) m, Pech (de) n
• Spanish: desgracia (es) f, infortunio (es) m
• Swahili: huzuni (sw) class 9
• Turkish: üzüntü (tr)