Posted by It is one thing to know that adjectives identify, modify and qualify nouns and pronouns but it takes another dimension to know their effect in the entire sentence. Positive and negative adjectives in German just like synonyms and antonyms play specific roles in the sentence and can both be identified from their characterized prefixes as well as their suffixes together with their overall meanings.
Categories of adjectives
To begin with, it is important to know that all German adjectives belong to either of the two categories as follows;
- Regular Adjectives or irregular Adjectives
- Participial Adjectives
How To Derive Negative Adjectives In German
All adjectives in German whether natural or derived can occur in two distinguished forms; positive or negative. The positive form of an adjective is usually complimentary and inspirational unlike the negative form which can be derogatory. While some negative German adjectives can be naturally occurring, others form their negatives from the positives in one of three ways;
- by negating the positive regular or irregular adjectives with the negative particle “nicht”
- by the addition of certain negative prefixes like a-, un-, des-, miss-, il-, in-, non- and ir-
- by the addition of the negative suffix “-los”
Note that some negative adjectives can actually begin with some of these suffixes but are not detachable. In other words, the positives cannot be obtained out of the negatives by detaching the prefix e.g. nonchalant. Such adjectives would not be considered in this topic.
Negating Regular & Irregular with “Nicht”
Another way of forming negative adjectives in German is by negating the positive regular, irregular and participial adjective with nicht. This becomes the equivalent of the naturally occurring negative regular or irregular adjectives. See examples below.
| Negated positive | Negative | English |
|---|---|---|
| nicht schön | hässlich | ugly |
| nicht calm | wütend | furious |
| nicht glücklich | traurig | sad |
| nicht gutartig | böse | wicked |
| nicht billig | teuer | expensive |
| nicht appetitlich | ekelig | disgusting |
| nicht interessant | langweilig | boring |
| nicht klug | doof | foolish |
| nicht deutlich | verwirrt | confused |
| nicht einfach | schwierig | difficult |
| nicht gemeinsam | einsam | lonely |
| nicht friedlich | enttäuscht | fraustrated |
| nicht schnell | langsam | slow |
Note that when negating an adjective, it is important to pay attention to whether the adjective in use is already a negative one. A negative adjective should not be negated unless it is intended for use as a double negative (doppelte Verneinung) which equates a positive.
German Adjectives with Negative Prefixes
Des-, miss- and un- are usually added to participial and regular adjectives that end with -ig or -lich while other prefixes such as a-, il-, in-, ir- and non– are often added to natural adjectives (adjectives without the typical ending -ig & -lich).
| English | Positive form | Negative-Prefix Adjectives | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| typical | typisch | atypisch | untypical |
| symmetric/ symmetrical | symmetrisch | asymmetrisch | asymmetric/ asymmetrical |
| sensitized | sensibilisiert | desensibilisiert | desensitised |
| infected | infiziert | desinfiziert | disinfected |
| infecting | infizierend | desinfizierend | disinfecting |
| interested | interessiert | desinteressiert | disinfected |
| legal | legal | illegal | illegal |
| loyal | loyal | illoyal | disloyal |
| active | aktiv | inaktiv | inactive |
| activated | aktiviert | inaktiviert | inactivated |
| definite | definit | indefinit | indefinite |
| direct | direkt | indirekt | indirect |
| real | real | irreal | unreal |
| rational | rational | irrational | irrational |
| relevant | relevant | irrelevant | irrelevant |
| religious | religiös | irreligiös | irreligious |
| regular | regelmäßig | unregelmäßig | irregular |
| possible | möglich | unmöglich | impossible |
| lucky | glücklich | unglücklich | unlucky |
| practical | praktisch | unpraktisch | unpractical |
| comfortable | bequem | unbequem | uncomfortable |
| interesting | interessant | uninteressant | uninteresting |
| understanding | verständlich | missverständlich | misunderstanding |
| bold | mutig | missmutig | moody |
| verbal | verbal | nonverbal | nonverbal |
German Adjectives With The Negative Suffix “-los”
While negative prefixes are added to positive regular and participial adjectives, the negative suffix “los” can be added to German nouns of all gender and is usually translated in English as “less” but can also mean “without”. See examples below.
| Nouns form | Negative form | English |
|---|---|---|
| mit Bargeld | bargeldlos | cashless |
| mit Arbeit | arbeitslos | jobless |
| mit Kosten | kostenlos | without charge |
| mit Laut | lautlos | soundless |
| mit Sprach | sprachlos | speechless |
| mit Zahn | zahnlos | toothless |
| mit Erfolg | erfolglos | with success |
| mit Zucker | zuckerlos | sugarless |
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