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misery and Spanish miseria
In English
misery
suffering / deep unhappiness
In Spanish
miseria
pobreza extrema
Spanish "miseria" means: poverty
Why they get mixed up Spanish "miseria" is extreme poverty or lack of basic resources. English "misery" is intense emotional suffering, without necessarily implying material poverty.
If you want to say...
- miserysufrimiento o desdicha
- povertymiseria
- hardshippenurias
Examples
The injury caused him great misery.
La lesión le causó mucho sufrimiento.
She's been in misery since the breakup.
Ha estado muy triste desde la ruptura.
The war brought misery to millions of people.
La guerra trajo sufrimiento a millones de personas.
He lived in misery after losing his job.
Vivió en la desdicha tras perder su empleo.
Common mistakes in Spanish
Incorrect: Sentí la misería de la separación.
Correct: Sentí el sufrimiento de la separación.
Miseria means extreme poverty. For emotional suffering, use sufrimiento or pena.
Incorrect: Lloró de misería por la muerte de su perro.
Correct: Lloró de pena por la muerte de su perro.
Use pena or tristeza for misery.
Phrases you will hear
- in miseryen la desdicha
- the misery of warel sufrimiento de la guerra
- bring miserytraer sufrimiento
- end someone's miseryacabar con el sufrimiento de alguien
- povertymiseria (pobreza)
- hardshippenurias
In a conversation
- A:
The war brought misery to millions.
La guerra trajo sufrimiento a millones.
- B:
And poverty, too.
Y también pobreza.
- A:
How can we help?
¿Cómo podemos ayudar?
- B:
Donating helps end their misery.
Donar ayuda a acabar con su sufrimiento.
Test yourself
"A life of misery" is a life of...
To remember it
Misery = suffering/unhappiness. Poverty (Spanish "miseria") = poverty.
Frequently asked questions
What does Spanish "miseria" mean?
Spanish "miseria" means "poverty". It looks like the English "misery", which is exactly why it gets confused, but "misery" means "suffering / deep unhappiness".
Does English "misery" mean the same as Spanish "miseria"?
Spanish "miseria" is extreme poverty or lack of basic resources. English "misery" is intense emotional suffering, without necessarily implying material poverty.