fehlerhaft

Fehlerhaft is a German adjective meaning faulty, defective, or containing errors. It describes objects, information, processes, or statements that do not meet quality standards or that are prone to mistakes. The term is common in everyday speech as well as in technical and legal contexts. Its antonym is fehlerfrei, meaning free of errors, while defekt typically refers to physical breakage.

Origin and form: Fehlerhaft is formed from Fehler (error) and the suffix -haft, which indicates having a specified quality. It can describe both tangible and intangible things, such as hardware, data, or claims.

Usage and examples: Common phrases include fehlerhafte Rechnung (faulty invoice), fehlerhafte Software (defective software), fehlerhafte Daten (erroneous data), fehlerhafte Aussage (misleading statement), and fehlerhafte Ware (defective goods). Predicative use is frequent: Die Daten sind fehlerhaft (The data are faulty) or Das System ist fehlerhaft (The system is faulty).

Grammar and declension: When used attributively before a noun, the ending of fehlerhaft changes with gender, number, and case. With definite articles: der fehlerhafte Plan (masculine nominative), die fehlerhafte Prüfung (feminine nominative), das fehlerhafte Ergebnis (neuter nominative), die fehlerhaften Daten (plural). With indefinite articles: ein fehlerhafter Plan, eine fehlerhafte Prüfung, ein fehlerhaftes Ergebnis. The adverbial form is ef fects and may appear in compound phrases as well.

Context and implications: In quality control, consumer protection, and contract law, fehlerhaft signals non-conformity and can trigger remedies such as repair, replacement, price reduction, or refund. The term emphasizes the presence of errors rather than mere physical damage, distinguishing it from terms like defekt.