Striche

Striche is the plural of Strich in German, a noun that broadly means a line, stroke, or mark drawn or printed on a surface. The term is used across many contexts to refer to visible marks or segments.

In everyday language, Striche describe lines on a page, borders, or tally marks used to count. A Strichliste denotes a tally sheet where each stroke stands for one unit.

In typography and punctuation, Strich appears in several compound terms for marks that separate or connect elements: Bindestrich (hyphen), Gedankenstrich (em dash), and Schrägstrich (slash). These signs are often discussed as different kinds of Striche, in the broad sense of strokes. The concept also appears in music notation as Taktstrich (barline), the vertical lines that divide measures.

In technical drawing and cartography, Striche indicate contours, dimensions, or guide lines. In font design, individual strokes that form letters are sometimes described as Striche, though this usage is less common in everyday speech.

Geographically and culturally, Striche can appear as a surname or in titles and phrases, reflecting its role as a basic descriptive term for marks and lines in German.

In summary, Striche covers a range of meanings tied to lines, strokes, and marks—whether on paper, in writing, in music, or in diagrams—always centered on the idea of a visible segment that delineates, counts, or connects elements.