Seichte

Seichte is a German adjective meaning shallow or not deep. It describes physical depth or extent and is commonly used for bodies of water, but can also refer to terrain, layers, or materials with small depth. Examples include seichtes Wasser (shallow water), seichtes Gelände (shallow terrain), and seichte Böden (shallow soils). The opposite term is tief.

In hydrology and ecology, seichte Zonen denote shallow parts of lakes, rivers, or coastal areas. Such zones heat up more quickly, often receive more light, and can support different flora and fauna compared with deeper sections. They may be important for breeding, feeding, and sediment dynamics, and are sometimes considered in environmental monitoring and water-management practices.

Figuratively, seicht can describe something superficial or lacking depth, such as seichte Unterhaltung (lightweight entertainment) or seichte Argumentation. In these contexts it conveys a contrast with profundität or Tiefgründigkeit, referring to content that is easy to consume but not deeply informative.

As a noun, Seichte can also denote the shallow part of a body of water, for example in ecological or geographical descriptions. While commonly prefixed by the article Die, usage varies with regional and disciplinary conventions.

The word likely derives from a Germanic root meaning not deep; it has cognates in related West Germanic languages. Seichte remains a versatile term across science, geography, and everyday language.