Charakteristische

Charakteristische is a German attributive adjective meaning characteristic or typical, used to describe features or traits that define or distinguish something. It commonly appears in phrases such as charakteristische Merkmale (characteristic features) or charakteristische Eigenschaften (characteristic properties). The form changes with gender, number, and case, for example charakteristische Merkmale, charakteristische Eigenschaft, or charakteristischer Mann.

Etymology and related terms: the word derives from Charakter (character) with the suffix -istisch. The related noun Charakteristik or Charakteristik denotes the set of characteristic properties of a thing. In technical language, "charakteristisch" describes something typical, while "Charakteristik" or "Charakteristik" denotes the concept of characteristic properties or features.

Usage in different domains: in everyday language, charakteristische describes traits that are typical for a person, object, or phenomenon. In linguistics, biology, medicine, and the social sciences, it is common to refer to charakteristische Merkmale of a dialect, a species, or a disease. In mathematics and related fields, phrases like das charakteristische Polynom (the characteristic polynomial) or die charakteristische Gleichung (the characteristic equation) are used, while the noun Charak-teristik or Charakteristikthema may denote the underlying characteristic rather than the grammatical form of the adjective.

Notes: charakteristische contrasts with charakteristisch, the base adjective form that can function as a predicate or without a noun in certain constructions. The term is widely understood in German technical and scholarly contexts, but in plain language speakers may prefer synonyms such as typisch or kennzeichnend when not requiring a precise technical sense.

See also: Charakteristik, Charakteristik (Begriff), charakteristisches Polynom, charakteristische Gleichung.