greiflich

Greiflich is a German adjective meaning tangible or graspable. It denotes that something can be physically touched or readily understood. In contemporary usage, greifbar is more common for physical tangibility, while greiflich may appear in more formal, literary, or older texts. The term can describe both concrete objects and abstract ideas that are easy to grasp conceptually.

Etymology: Greiflich comes from the verb greifen, “to seize,” combined with the suffix -lich to form an adjective. The related noun Greifbarkeit refers to the quality of being graspable or tangible.

Usage: Grammatically, greiflich can be used predicatively, as in Der Gegenstand ist greiflich. The attributive form changes with gender and case (eine greifliche Erklärung, etc.). In practice, greifbar is generally preferred for everyday physical tangibility, whereas greiflich is more common in formal or literary contexts and can carry a sense of evident or demonstrable in a figurative use.

Comparison: Greifbar is the standard synonym for something that can be touched or easily understood. Greiflich, by contrast, tends to convey a slightly more formal or emphatic nuance, sometimes bordering on literary language. In figurative expressions, greiflich can emphasize that a point or consequence is clearly recognizable or palpable.

Translations: In English, greiflich aligns with tangible, graspable, or palpable, depending on context. Figuratively, it can be rendered as evident or obvious when referring to concepts or arguments.