French word

kafkaïen

Pronunciation

IPA/kafkajɛ̃/

Meaning

  • adjectiveKafkaesque

Example

La situation est kafkaïenne.

The situation is Kafkaesque.

Illustration for kafkaïen (Kafkaesque)

More examples

J'ai vécu une situation kafkaïenne à l'administration.

I experienced a Kafkaesque situation at the government office.

Core concept

A person faces a maze of official procedures whose rules stay unclear and whose exit seems impossible.

Common phrases

  • une situation kafkaïenne

    a Kafkaesque situation

  • un problème kafkaïen

    a Kafkaesque problem

Similar words

absurde: Illogical and so unreasonable that it is hard to accept.
bureaucratique: Involving excessive paperwork and rigid, inflexible rules.
étrange: Unusual, puzzling, and oddly different from what is normal.

Definition in French

Qui rappelle l'œuvre de Franz Kafka ; qualifie une situation absurde, oppressante ou marquée par une bureaucratie incompréhensible.

Word origin

French forms kafkaïen from the surname Kafka and the adjectival suffix -ien, linking the word to features of Franz Kafka's fiction.

Usage tips

  • The feminine form is kafkaïenne, as in une situation kafkaïenne, so the adjective agrees with the noun it describes.

Opposites

Word lists with this word