emotionsintermediateuniversal
Fremdschämen
/ˈfʁɛmtˌʃɛːmən/
To cringe for someone
Literal translation
to feel-shame-for-a-stranger
When to use it
Untranslatable German gem. The second-hand embarrassment you feel when someone else humiliates themselves. The whole point of bad reality TV.
In conversation
—Ich kann das nicht weiter schauen, ich fremdschäme mich nur noch.
“—I can't keep watching, I'm just cringing for them.”