nachteilig

Nachteilig is a German adjective meaning disadvantageous or unfavourable. It describes something that places someone or something at a disadvantage or that has an adverse effect. In everyday and formal usage, nachteilig often appears in phrases such as nachteilige Auswirkungen or eine nachteilige Regelung. The expression es wirkt sich nachteilig aus is common to state that something has an adverse effect.

Etymology and form. The adjective is formed from the noun Nachteil (disadvantage) with the suffix -ig, indicating characteristic or pertaining to. While nachteilig is widely used, the related phrase nachteilige Auswirkungen or nachteilige Regelung is also common in describing unfavourable conditions. In contexts involving people, the closely related verb benachteiligen means to disadvantage or treat unfairly; this is used when describing actions that create a disadvantage for someone.

Usage and contexts. Nachteilig is used across economics, law, policy analysis, and social discussion to describe effects, rules, or conditions that are not advantageous. It can refer to circumstances (nachteiliges Umfeld), regulations (nachteilige Regelung), or treatments (nachteilig behandelt). It is often paired with gegenüber to indicate relative disadvantage (nachteilig gegenüber anderen Gruppen). In many cases, benachteiligen is used to denote the act of causing disadvantage to someone else, whereas nachteilig describes the nature of the effect or condition itself. Synonyms include ungünstig and nachteilhaft; antonyms include vorteilhaft.

See also. Benachteiligung and benachteiligen, which focus on the act or state of disadvantage, and ungünstig, a closely related synonym often used in similar contexts.