B2-80 · Form adjectives to describe a journey
Travel writing
Build adjectives with -haft, -isch, -ig and -artig, then use them with the right endings in a travelogue.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
Describe an impression with -haft and -isch
Adjective suffixes help you turn nouns into descriptions. Traum becomes traumhaft and Märchen becomes märchenhaft, both expressing a resemblance. With -isch, Tourismus becomes touristisch and Maler becomes malerisch, but the stem may change, so learn the complete adjective.
| meaning | noun | adjective |
|---|---|---|
| dreamlike | Traum | traumhaft |
| like a fairy tale | Märchen | märchenhaft |
| related to tourism | Tourismus | touristisch |
| picturesque | Maler | malerisch |
Der Reisebericht beschreibt eine traumhafte Küste.
The travelogue describes a dreamlike coast.
Hinter dem Hafen beginnt der touristische Teil der Stadt.
The tourist part of the town begins behind the harbour.
Am Abend wirkt die Bucht malerisch.
In the evening, the bay looks picturesque.
Im Morgenlicht hat der Wald etwas Märchenhaftes.
In the morning light, the forest has something fairytale-like about it.
Traumhaft means dreamlike or wonderful, märchenhaft like a fairy tale, and malerisch picturesque. Touristisch means related to tourism. In a travelogue, these words express an impression or describe a place; traumhaft is praise rather than a precise observation.
02
Describe terrain with -ig and -artig
The suffix -ig often describes what a place has or what its conditions are like. Fels gives felsig and Nebel gives neblig, with the e before l dropped. The suffix -artig means resembling something, as in steppenartig and dorfartig.
| meaning | noun | adjective |
|---|---|---|
| rocky | Fels | felsig |
| foggy | Nebel | neblig |
| steppe-like | Steppe | steppenartig |
| village-like | Dorf | dorfartig |
Der Weg führt an einer felsigen Küste entlang.
The path runs along a rocky coast.
Am frühen Morgen ist das Tal neblig.
Early in the morning, the valley is foggy.
Auf der Hochebene liegt eine steppenartige Landschaft.
There is a steppe-like landscape on the plateau.
Die kleine Siedlung wirkt dorfartig.
The small settlement has a village-like feel.
Felsig means rocky, neblig foggy and steppenartig steppe-like. Dorfartig describes a resemblance to a village without saying that a place is a village. Die Hochebene is a plateau and die Siedlung a settlement.
03
Use formed adjectives in a travelogue
Once you have formed an adjective, add the normal ending when it comes before a noun. Keep the suffix intact, as in steiniger and märchenhafte. This fictional travelogue combines descriptions of the terrain with the writer's impressions.
Durch ein nebliges Tal führte ein steiniger Pfad.
A stony path led through a foggy valley.
Am Ufer bot der Wald eine märchenhafte Kulisse für einen malerischen Sonnenuntergang.
On the shore, the forest provided a fairytale-like backdrop for a picturesque sunset.
Wir verließen die touristische Küste und erreichten eine steppenartige Hochebene.
We left the tourist coast and reached a steppe-like plateau.
Im Reisebericht beschrieb Eva den felsigen Hang ohne übertriebene Vergleiche.
In her travelogue, Eva described the rocky slope without exaggerated comparisons.
Steinig comes from Stein and means stony; felsig refers to rock or cliffs rather than loose stones. Notice the strong -er in ein steiniger Pfad, the neuter accusative -es in ein nebliges Tal, and -en after einen. Die Kulisse means a backdrop or setting.
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