dienstlichen

Dienstlich is a German adjective meaning related to service, duty, or official business. It describes activities, documents, or matters connected with an organization, a state office, or an employer. The term is used to distinguish official or work-related aspects from private ones.

Etymology: Dienstlich is formed from the noun Dienst (service, duty) with the adjectival suffix -lich, a common way in German to create adjectives meaning “pertaining to” or “characteristic of.” The concept has been part of the language since Early Modern German and remains standard in contemporary usage.

Usage and examples: The adjective appears in numerous standard phrases such as dienstliche Angelegenheiten (official matters), dienstliche Pflichten (duties), dienstliche Reise (business trip), and dienstliche Unterlagen (official documents). In formal or bureaucratic contexts it is often contrasted with private or private life, or with außer Dienst (off duty) to indicate activities outside the official sphere.

Inflection: dienstlich follows ordinary German adjective declension. Its forms vary by gender, number, and case, for example: eine dienstliche Reise (a business trip, feminine singular); den dienstlichen Zwecken (a dative plural form in a phrase such as aus dienstlichen Gründen); für dienstliche Zwecke (for official purposes). The base form is used attributively and predicatively, with inflected forms appearing in all standard case and number scenarios.

See also: Dienst, dienstliche Angelegenheiten, außer Dienst, privat.