Signifikantes

Signifikantes is a German term that most commonly appears as the attributive form of the adjective signifikant, meaning significant. In standard German, signifikantes is used to modify a neuter noun, for example: Das signifikantes Ergebnis. It is not a standalone noun in common usage, but rather an inflected adjective meaning “significant” when describing a noun such as Ergebnis (result) or Zusammenhang (relation).

In statistics, the term is encountered in phrases like signifikantes Ergebnis or signifikante Korrelation, where it indicates that a result meets a predefined criterion for statistical significance. The broader concept is “statistische Signifikanz,” referring to the likelihood that an observed effect is not due to random chance, typically assessed via p-values and hypothesis testing. The word signifikantes in this context functions as an adjective describing a finding, estimate, or relationship.

In semiotics and linguistics, the related German terminology for sign theory centers on Signifikant (the signifier) and Signifikat (the signified), terms introduced in the Saussurean framework. While Signifikant is the standard noun for the form of a sign, the form Signifikantes is not commonly used as a separate noun in this literature; when referring to multiple signifiers, German authors typically use Signifikanten. The more common usage remains the adjective form for describing significant signs or results.

See also: significance, p-value, hypothesis testing, sign, signifier, signified.