anstrengend

Anstrengend is a German adjective describing something that requires a lot of physical or mental effort. It denotes tasks, situations, or periods that are tiring or demanding. While it is most often used for external circumstances such as work, travel, or exams, it can sometimes describe people in colloquial speech when interacting with them is exhausting.

From the verb anstrengen (to exert) and the noun Anstrengung (exertion), the suffix -end forms an adjective meaning "causing exertion." The standard comparative is anstrengender and the superlative am anstrengendsten, as in "Der Tag war anstrengender als der vorherige" or "Das war der anstrengendste Tag der Woche."

Common collocations include eine anstrengende Reise, eine anstrengende Woche, eine anstrengende Prüfung. It can be intensified with sehr: eine sehr anstrengende Aufgabe. Antonyms are entspannt or entspannend, erholsam, and related terms include ermüdend, belastend, anspruchsvoll or herausfordernd depending on nuance.

Usage notes: anstrengend primarily characterizes tasks or situations rather than people, though describing a person as anstrengend is possible in informal speech to convey that interacting with them is tiring. The word is flexible in everyday German and widely understood across dialects and registers.

Examples: Nach dem langen Tag im Büro war der Abend wirklich anstrengend. Die Wanderung durch den Schnee war deutlich anstrengender als erwartet.