schräg

Schräg is a German adjective meaning slanted, oblique, or diagonal. It describes a position or orientation that is not horizontal or vertical, but inclined at an angle. In geometry and everyday language, a schräg line or schräg verlaufende Fläche denotes things that run at an angle. The common opposites are gerade (straight, horizontal) and senkrecht (perpendicular).

In typography, schräg can refer to oblique or slanted lettering. While Kursiv is the standard term for italic type in modern German, older or technical usage may speak of schräg gesetzte Schrift or schräg gestellte Schrift.

In computing and writing, the term is preserved in the compound Schrägstrich for the forward slash character (/). This symbol is used to separate elements in URLs and path names, or to indicate fractions in plain text. The backslash is called Rückwärtsschrägstrich.

In everyday speech, schräg can also describe something unusual or eccentric, as in eine schräge Bemerkung. Such usage is informal and regional.

The word appears in several fixed compounds, including Schräglage (tilt or incline), schräg gestellt (slanted), and diagonal-related terms in engineering and architecture.

See also Schrägstrich, Schräglage, Kursiv, Oblique, Diagonal.