Learn Hardcore German: Unangenehm wird es, wenn jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert. - It becomes unpleasant when someone criticizes loudly without politeness.

German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position, but what comes first is flexible. So you can put different elements in the first position for emphasis or style.

Es wird unangenehm, wenn … – neutral word order, very common.
Unangenehm wird es, wenn … – puts unangenehm (the unpleasantness) in focus; stylistically a bit more pointed or dramatic.

So the version in your sentence is mostly a stylistic choice to highlight the word unangenehm.

What is the function of es in Unangenehm wird es? Is it referring to anything specific?

Here es is a dummy subject (also called an expletive), similar to “it” in English sentences like “It gets uncomfortable when…” or “It is raining.”

It doesn’t refer to a concrete object (not it = the situation in a strict grammatical sense), but fills the subject slot required by German sentence structure. Many German impersonal expressions use es this way:

Es wird kalt. – It is getting cold.
Es ist spät. – It is late.

In Unangenehm wird es, wenn …, es simply lets you say “it becomes unpleasant” in a grammatically complete way.

Why is the verb wird in second position after Unangenehm? Isn’t unangenehm just an adjective?

Yes, unangenehm is an adjective, but in German the finite verb must come second in a main clause, no matter what comes first:

Ich gehe heute ins Kino.
Heute gehe ich ins Kino.
Ins Kino gehe ich heute.

In your sentence:

First position: Unangenehm
Second position: wird (finite verb)
Then: es

So the structure is: [Unangenehm] [wird] [es] … – perfectly normal V2 word order with an adjective fronted for emphasis.

Could the sentence also be Wenn jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert, wird es unangenehm? Is that better or more common?

Yes, that is completely correct:

Wenn jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert, wird es unangenehm.

This is probably the most natural, neutral word order: you start with the wenn-clause (the condition), then you state the result.

So you have three stylistic options, all fine:

Es wird unangenehm, wenn jemand … – neutral, very standard.
Wenn jemand …, wird es unangenehm. – also very standard, often used in explanations.
Unangenehm wird es, wenn jemand … – a bit more stylistic/emphatic.

It’s more about style and focus than correctness.

Why is kritisiert at the end of wenn jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert?

Because wenn introduces a subordinate clause, and in subordinate clauses the finite verb goes to the end.

Word order rules:

Main clause: verb in second position.
- Jemand kritisiert laut.
Subordinate clause with wenn: verb at the end.
- … wenn jemand laut kritisiert.

So in wenn jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert, kritisiert must be at the end of that clause.

Why is it jemand and not jemanden?

Jemand is the subject of the subordinate clause, so it must be in the nominative case.

Subject (nominative): Jemand kritisiert. – Someone criticizes.
Direct object (accusative): Ich sehe jemanden. – I see someone.

In your sentence, jemand is the one doing the criticizing, not being criticized, so it stays in nominative:

wenn jemand … kritisiert – when someone criticizes …

What exactly does ohne Höflichkeit mean here? Is it like “without politeness” literally?

Literally, yes, ohne Höflichkeit = without politeness.

Grammatically, it is a prepositional phrase:

ohne (preposition) + Höflichkeit (feminine noun, accusative singular)

It describes how the person criticizes:
They criticize without politeness, i.e. in an impolite way, with no courtesy or consideration.

In more natural English you might render it as:

rudely
in a very impolite way
without any courtesy

Is it normal that Höflichkeit has no article here (no die Höflichkeit)?

Yes, that is normal and very common in German with abstract nouns after ohne and some other prepositions.

You often see:

ohne Höflichkeit – without politeness
ohne Geduld – without patience
mit Geduld – with patience
aus Liebe – out of love

Adding an article (ohne die Höflichkeit) would usually sound strange or overly specific, as if you meant some particular, identifiable politeness. Without the article, it refers to politeness in general, as a quality.

How does laut work here? Is it an adverb or an adjective, and can its position change?

In this sentence, laut functions as an adverb, describing how someone criticizes: loudly / in a loud voice.

Typical adverb positions in German are before the main verb or after the object, so several orders are possible and still understandable, for example:

jemand laut kritisiert – someone criticizes loudly
jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert – someone criticizes loudly and without politeness
jemand laut und ohne Höflichkeit kritisiert – someone criticizes loudly and without politeness

Your version, jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert, is fine: adverbial phrases (like ohne Höflichkeit) and adverbs (like laut) can be flexibly ordered, though native speakers may slightly prefer certain flows for style.

What is the difference between wenn and als? Could I say Als jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert, wird es unangenehm?

You cannot use als in your sentence. It must be wenn.

Basic rule:

wenn – for repeated, general, or future conditions, and also for “if/whenever”.
als – for one specific event in the past (“when that one time happened”).

Your sentence states a general condition:

Whenever someone criticizes loudly without politeness, it gets unpleasant.

So you must use wenn:

Wenn jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert, wird es unangenehm. ✅
Als jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert, wird es unangenehm. ❌ (ungrammatical in standard German here)

Is unangenehm closer to “unpleasant”, “awkward”, or “embarrassing”?

Unangenehm is quite broad. It most directly means “unpleasant”, but depending on context it can shade into:

awkward (socially uncomfortable)
embarrassing (making people feel ashamed or ill at ease)
annoying / bothersome (uncomfortable in a mild way)

In your sentence, Unangenehm wird es, wenn jemand ohne Höflichkeit laut kritisiert, it suggests that the situation becomes socially uncomfortable or tense – somewhere between unpleasant and awkward.

Why use wird here instead of ist? Could it be Unangenehm ist es, wenn …?

Both are possible but they emphasize slightly different things:

Unangenehm wird es, wenn … – It becomes / gets unpleasant when …
- Focus on the change: the situation turns unpleasant at that point.
Unangenehm ist es, wenn … – It is unpleasant when …
- More of a general judgment: such situations are unpleasant by nature.

So your original sentence highlights the moment or process of things turning unpleasant. Using ist would sound more like a timeless evaluation of that kind of behavior.