infeliz

Infeliz is an adjective used in Portuguese and Spanish to describe someone or something characterized by sadness, misfortune, or an unhappy state. In everyday usage, it can refer to people, moods, situations, or events that are not favorable. For example, in Spanish you might hear “una persona infeliz” or “un día infeliz,” and in Portuguese “uma pessoa infeliz” or “um dia infeliz.”

Etymology and related terms: Infeliz derives from the Latin infelix, literally meaning not lucky or unlucky (in- meaning not, felix meaning lucky). It has cognates in other Romance languages, such as Italian infelice. The word is closely related to terms like felicidad/infelicidade (unhappiness) and to antonyms such as feliz/feliz, which means happy or fortunate.

Usage notes: In both languages, infeliz is primarily used as an adjective. It can function as a noun in colloquial speech to denote an unfortunate person, often with a pejorative or sympathetic nuance, e.g., “ese infeliz” in Spanish or “esse infeliz” in Portuguese. As a compound, it appears in phrases describing outcomes or circumstances, such as “destino infeliz” (unfortunate fate) or “noticia infeliz” (unhappy/not good news).

See also: Infelicidad or infelicidade (unhappiness or misfortune), desgraciado, desafortunado, and the opposite term feliz or felizidade. The word is common in literature and media within Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking contexts.