antastbar

Antastbar is a German adjective meaning tangible or touchable; capable of being touched or felt by touch. The word is formed from the verb antasten (to touch or handle) with the suffix -bar, which denotes capability. In usage, antastbar describes physical objects or materials that can be perceived through tactile experience, as opposed to abstract or intangible ideas.

In practice, antastbar is most common in formal, technical, or literary contexts. It often appears when contrasting concrete, verifiable phenomena with theoretical or conceptual notions. The term can also be used metaphorically to denote phenomena that are empirically verifiable or directly experienceable, though in everyday language more common synonyms are berührbar or greifbar.

Synonyms and closely related terms include berührbar (able to be touched) and greifbar (tangible, graspable). Antastbar carries a nuance of direct, physical contact, whereas berührbar can be broader and sometimes more abstract, and greifbar can emphasize accessibility or understandability as well as physical tangibility.

Examples:

- Das Metall ist antastbar; man kann seine Oberfläche fühlen.

- Die antastbare Grenze zwischen Theorie und Praxis ist oft schwer zu ziehen.

Overall, antastbar remains relatively specialized in contemporary German, with its strongest use in descriptions of physical perception or in careful, precise discourse.