achtlos
careless
Without sufficient attention or care; inattentive and negligent.
EXAMPLE
Er warf die wichtigen Unterlagen achtlos in den Papierkorb.
He carelessly threw the important documents into the wastepaper basket.
achtlos
careless
achtlos – achtloser – am achtlosesten
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Meanings
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry achtlos, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Comparison
| basic form | achtlos |
|---|---|
| comparative | achtloser |
| superlative | am achtlosesten |
After der, die, das
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -e | -e | -e | -en |
| acc. | -en | -e | -e | -en |
| dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Add the ending to achtlos.
After ein, eine
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -er | -e | -es | -en |
| acc. | -en | -e | -es | -en |
| dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Add the ending to achtlos.
Without article
| masc. | fem. | neut. | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -er | -e | -es | -e |
| acc. | -en | -e | -es | -e |
| dat. | -em | -er | -em | -en |
| gen. | -en | -er | -en | -er |
Add the ending to achtlos.
Usage tips
Word formation
'Achtlos' (careless) is made up of 'Acht' (care/attention) and '-los' (-less). The ending '-los' shows that someone does something without care or attention.
EXAMPLE
Er legte den Brief achtlos auf den Tisch.
He carelessly put the letter on the table.
Typical collocations
'Achtlos' (careless) is often used with actions in which something is treated without attention, for example 'achtlos wegwerfen' (to throw away carelessly), 'achtlos liegen lassen' (to leave lying around carelessly), or 'achtlos behandeln' (to treat carelessly).
EXAMPLE
Er ließ seine Jacke achtlos im Bus liegen.
He carelessly left his jacket on the bus.
Sentence patterns
'Achtlos' (careless) is often used adverbially and then describes how someone carries out an action. It can also be used attributively before a noun, especially in phrases such as 'ein achtloser Umgang mit etwas' (careless handling of something).
EXAMPLE
Er ging achtlos mit den persönlichen Daten anderer Menschen um.
He handled other people's personal data carelessly.
Der achtlose Umgang mit Plastik schadet der Umwelt.
Careless use of plastic harms the environment.
In real life
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