schriftliche

Schriftliche is a German adjective meaning written or in writing. It is used to describe things produced or expressed in written form, as opposed to spoken or oral forms. The term appears in contexts such as exams, documents, and correspondence.

Grammatical note: Schriftliche is an attributive form that changes with gender, number, and case when paired with a determiner. For example, die schriftliche Prüfung (feminine singular, nominative or accusative), das schriftliche Dokument (neuter singular, nominative or accusative), and die schriftlichen Prüfungen (plural, nominative or accusative). In other cases the endings differ (for instance der schriftliche Bericht in the masculine nominative, den schriftlichen Bericht in the masculine accusative). The base form without a determiner can appear as schriftliche or schriftlichen depending on grammatical context. In addition, schriftliche can be nominalized as das Schriftliche, referring to the written portion of something.

Nominalized usage: Das Schriftliche frequently denotes the written portion of a task or examination, contrasted with the mündliche (oral) part. This nominal form is common in educational or bureaucratic contexts, for example when describing requirements or components of a process.

Etymology and relation: Schriftliche derives from Schrift (writing, script) with the suffix -lich, forming an adjective meaning characteristic of or related to writing. Related terms include Schriftstück (document, piece of writing) and schriftlich (adverbial or adjectival form meaning in writing or written).

In summary, Schriftliche is a versatile German term used primarily as an adjective to signal written form and, when capitalized as Das Schriftliche, as a noun referring to the written portion of a task or procedure.