Schädlichen

Schädlich is a German adjective meaning harmful or damaging. The form schädlichen is one of its declined attributive forms, used when the adjective accompanies a noun with certain determiners and grammatical cases. In German, adjectives after definite articles or other determiners receive ending patterns that create forms such as schädlichen, schädliche, or schädliches depending on gender, number, and case. For example, nach dem bestimmten Artikel wird häufig die Endung -en verwendet: den schädlichen Einfluss, mit den schädlichen Auswirkungen, or den schädlichen Substanzen in bestimmten Kontexten.

Common usage and contexts

Schädlich is widely used in health, environment, and regulation discourse. Phrases such as schädlicher Einfluss, schädliche Substanzen, or schädliche Nebenwirkungen describe substances, actions, or conditions that harm health or the environment. In medical and scientific writing, schädliche Wirkstoffe refer to agents with damaging effects. In environmental policy, schädliche Emissionen or schädliche Auswirkungen are standard collocations. The word can also appear in more informal speech to characterize actions or habits as harmful.

Grammatical notes

Schädlichen appears in various grammatical forms depending on case, number, and determiner. It contrasts with schädlich (base form) and with other endings like schädliche (nominative or accusative feminine or plural after certain determiners) and schädliches (neuter). The choice of ending follows standard German adjective declension rules and reflects the syntactic role of the noun it modifies.

Etymology and cognates

Schädlich derives from the verb schaden, meaning to harm. The concept is widespread across Germanic languages, with cognate forms in related vocabularies indicating harm or damage.