fahrlässig
Translation
negligent, careless, reckless
Examples
Er handelte fahrlässig.
He acted negligently.
Das war ein fahrlässiger Fehler.
That was a careless mistake.
Grammar Patterns
[adjective] (predicative) to be negligent His behavior was negligent.
[adjective] + [noun] (attributive) a negligent... A negligent mistake led to the accident.
Similar Words
Synonyms: unvorsichtig (incautious), leichtsinnig (reckless); Antonyms: sorgfältig (careful), vorsichtig (cautious)
Etymology
From 'fahren' (to drive) and 'lassen' (to let, leave). The concept is 'letting things slide' while in motion or in charge, hence being negligent.
Memory Tips
Imagine someone 'driving' (fahren) and 'letting' (lassen) the car steer itself. That's a perfect image for 'fahrlässig'.