German word

Pech

Pronunciation

IPA/pɛç/

Meaning

  • neuter nounbad luck

Example

Trotz Pechs hatte er Erfolg.

Even though he had bad luck, he succeeded.

Illustration for Pech (bad luck)

More examples

Bei der Prüfung hatte sie Pech und fiel durch.

She had bad luck on the exam and failed.

Core concept

A dark, sticky mess that clings to everything and turns a situation against someone.

Common phrases

  • Pech gehabt

    have bad luck

  • schlechtes Pech

    terrible luck

Similar words

Unglück: Misfortune involving serious or tragic consequences.
Unfall: A physical accident during travel, work, or another activity.
Missgeschick: A small failure or problem caused by carelessness.
Pechvogel: A person who is repeatedly unlucky.

Definition in German

Pech (das) bezeichnet unerwartetes Unglück oder ein Missgeschick, das jemandem widerfährt.

Word origin

Pech comes through Old High German peh and Middle High German pëch from Latin pix, meaning pitch, while the bad-luck sense developed figuratively.

Usage tips

  • The fixed phrase Pech haben means to be unlucky, and Pech gehabt! commonly means "too bad" or "bad luck."

Other meanings

  • misfortunenoun
  • tarnoun

Opposites

  • Glückssträhnelucky streaknoun
  • Glückgood lucknoun

Related words

  • Pechsträhnerun of bad lucknoun
  • Pechvogelunlucky personnoun
  • pechschwarzpitch-blackadjective

Word lists with this word