Sorgfältigen

Sorgfältigen is a German adjective form derived from sorgfältig, meaning careful, thorough, or diligent. The form appears when the adjective is declined to agree with a noun in case, number, and gender, typically after a definite determiner or in other fixed phrases. Common examples include die sorgfältigen Prüfungen (nominative plural), den sorgfältigen Mann (accusative masculine singular), dem sorgfältigen Mann (dative masculine singular), der sorgfältigen Frau (dative feminine singular), and mit sorgfältigen Daten (dative plural).

Etymology: sorgfältig derives from Sorgfalt (care, diligence) plus the adjectival suffix -ig. The compound conveys “characterized by care.” The inflected form sorgfältigen is simply the declined form used in the contexts described above.

Grammatical notes: In German, sorgfältigen is most often encountered as the weak ending after definite articles or other determiners. Its exact ending changes with gender, number, and case, but the form sorgfältigen appears in several common contexts, especially plural and certain singular dative forms. The base adjective sorgfältig is more common in adverbial or predicative positions (e.g., Er arbeitet sorgfältig).

Usage and nuance: In German, the term conveys meticulousness and thoroughness in handling tasks, documents, or processes. It frequently appears in formal or technical writing, for example in phrases such as sorgfältigen Umgang mit Daten or sorgfältige Prüfung. Related terms include Sorgfalt (care, diligence) and sorgfältig (the base form). Antonyms include nachlässig and unvorsichtig.