unecht

Unecht is a German adjective meaning not genuine or authentic. It is used to describe objects, materials, or claims that do not originate from the source they are claimed to come from, or that lack authenticity. The word is formed with the negating prefix un- attached to echt, which means genuine.

In usage, unecht typically modifies a noun or appears predicatively: eine unechte Uhr, unechtes Leder, eine unechte Behauptung, Das ist unecht. It is common in everyday language to refer to items that imitate genuine goods (for example, unechtes Leder for synthetic leather) or to statements that are not true. The sense can range from mild skepticism about authenticity to clear designation of fakery.

Nuances and distinctions: unecht emphasizes the lack of authenticity rather than an explicit act of deception. For explicit forgery or counterfeiting, other terms are more common, such as gefälscht (forged) or nachgemacht (made to imitate). In many contexts, unecht signals a difference in quality or origin rather than a legal judgment.

See also: echt (genuine), Fälschung (forgery), Nachahmung (imitation), Kunstleder (imitation leather). Etymology traces to un- plus echt, a productive pairing in German to denote the opposite of authenticity.