schmerzhaft

Schmerzhaft is a German adjective meaning painful or causing pain. It is used to describe physical sensations as well as emotional or psychological distress, and can modify nouns directly or be used predicatively in a sentence. The term conveys a clear sense of intensity or severity in the experience of pain.

Etymology and formation: Schmerzhaft is formed from the noun Schmerz (pain) combined with the suffix -haft, which in German yields adjectives that mean “characterized by” or “full of.” The combination is a standard product of German morphology and is widely attested in modern German.

Usage and grammar: As an attributive adjective, schmerzhaft takes inflection endings according to the gender, number, and case of the noun it modifies (for example, eine schmerzhafte Verletzung, ein schmerzhafter Verlust, schmerzhafte Erinnerungen). In predicative position it commonly follows a linking verb: Die Wunde ist schmerzhaft. The word can describe physical pain (eine schmerzhafte Verletzung) as well as emotional or experiential pain (eine schmerzhafte Erinnerung, eine schmerzhafte Einsicht). In everyday speech, speakers may also use the verb phrase es tut weh to express pain more directly.

Related terms: A closely related adjective is schmerzvoll, which can also mean painful but carries a slightly different nuance, sometimes emphasizing a mood of sorrow. The noun Schmerz (pain) is the base of the compound, and related forms include schmerzlich, which is more commonly used to describe sorrow or regret.

Examples: Es war eine schmerzhafte Erfahrung. Die Verletzung war schmerzhaft. Die Erinnerung bleibt schmerzhaft. English equivalents include painful or agonizing, depending on context.