weicher

Weicher is the comparative form of the German adjective weich, meaning "softer" or "more soft." It is used to compare the softness of objects, materials, or abstract qualities, and can function as an adjective or as a predicative complement in German sentences.

In German grammar, adjectives decline according to article, gender, and case. Weicher appears with the appropriate endings in attributive position: der weiche Stoff, die weichen Stoffe, das weiche Fell. After an indefinite article, the form becomes einen weicheren Stoff, eine weichere Bluse. Without a qualifying article, forms like weicher Stoff or weiche Stoffe are possible in set phrases, but German commonly relies on context or other phrasing to express comparison.

Etymology traces weich to the Germanic language family and it has cognates in related Germanic languages. The comparative form weicher simply marks a higher degree of softness relative to another object or situation.

Usage and nuance: weicher denotes relative softness, as in textiles, food textures, or even metaphorical softness such as a weicher Umgang (gentler or more considerate treatment). It contrasts with the opposites hart (hard) or fest (firm). The adjective can be intensified with modifiers (noch weicher, deutlich weicher) to emphasize greater softness.

See also: weich, Weichheit, Weichmacher, weicher Umgang.