Word of the day: Sehnsucht

It is already a tough proposition for us German speakers to describe Sehnsucht. Tender longing goes hand in hand with the painful knowledge that the thing longed for will never quite be attained.

Indeed, you even get the feeling that the granting of an eagerly awaited wish could immediately bring about the destruction of the desired object. The English writer Oscar Wilde described the dilemma aptly when he said: “In this world there are only two tragedies: one is not getting what you want, the other is getting it.” The word Sehnsucht itself expresses this conflict.

via culled.tumblr.com