Pessimism is the habit of expecting the bad thing. If your first thought is “this will go wrong,” that is pessimism talking. People use it for a mood in a whole group too: “there is a lot of pessimism about jobs.” The person is a pessimist; the adjective is pessimistic.

Pessimism is the habit of expecting the bad thingPessimism（悲觀）是一種習慣性預期壞事會發生的心態。 If your first thought is “this will go wrong,”如果你的第一個念頭是「這會出問題」 that is pessimism talking那就是pessimism在說話。 People use it for a mood in a whole group too人們也會用它形容一整個群體的氛圍 : “there is a lot of pessimism about jobs.”：像「there is a lot of pessimism about jobs（大家對工作前景很悲觀）」。 The person is a pessimist這種人叫pessimist（悲觀者） ; the adjective is pessimistic；形容詞則是pessimistic（悲觀的）。

Though actually there is also a heavier, bookish sense: a philosophy that says the world is, at bottom, a bad place. That doctrine is tied to the German thinker Schopenhauer, who used Pessimismus in 1819.

Though actually不過其實 there is also a heavier, bookish sense還有一個比較重、比較書卷氣的意思 : a philosophy that says the world is, at bottom, a bad place：一種主張世界骨子裡就是個壞地方的哲學。 That doctrine is tied to the German thinker Schopenhauer這個學說跟德國思想家Schopenhauer（叔本華）有關 , who used Pessimismus in 1819，他在1819年用了Pessimismus這個字。

Everyday English mostly means the habit, not the whole philosophy. The opposite everyday word is optimism.

Everyday English mostly means the habit日常英文裡它大多指的是那個習慣 , not the whole philosophy，不是整套哲學。 The opposite everyday word日常用語裡相反的字 is optimism是optimism（樂觀）。

The root is Latin pessimus, “worst.”

The root is Latin pessimus字根是拉丁文的pessimus “worst.”，意思是「最壞」。