fehlerhaft
faulty
Having one or more errors, flaws, or defects. Something that is not correct or does not work properly.
EXAMPLE
Die Software war fehlerhaft und stürzte ständig ab.
The software was faulty and kept crashing.
fehlerhaft
faulty
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word structure
The adjective 'fehlerhaft' (faulty) consists of the noun 'der Fehler' (the error/mistake) and the suffix '-haft'. The suffix '-haft' means 'full of' or 'characterized by', so something is 'fehlerhaft' (faulty) if it has errors.
EXAMPLE
Das Dokument war fehlerhaft und musste korrigiert werden.
The document was faulty and had to be corrected.
Typical collocations
'Fehlerhaft' (faulty) is often used to describe technical products, data, or formal documents. Typical combinations are 'fehlerhafte Software' (faulty software), 'fehlerhafte Ware' (faulty goods), or 'fehlerhafte Daten' (faulty data).
EXAMPLE
Der Kunde schickte das fehlerhafte Produkt an den Hersteller zurück.
The customer sent the faulty product back to the manufacturer.
Register and style
The word 'fehlerhaft' (faulty) belongs more to written language or to formal and technical contexts. It is often used in reports, complaints, or IT.
EXAMPLE
Laut dem Gutachten war die Konstruktion von Anfang an fehlerhaft.
According to the expert report, the construction had been faulty from the very beginning.
Compare with
fehlerhaft vs falsch
wrong / false
For an incorrect calculation or answer, „falsch“ and „fehlerhaft“ are often both possible. „Falsch“ primarily assesses the result as incorrect, while „fehlerhaft“ emphasizes that it contains errors or defects. Use „falsch“ for the result and „fehlerhaft“ for its condition.
fehlerhaft
Die Berechnung ist fehlerhaft, weil sich darin mehrere Rechenfehler finden.
The calculation is faulty because it contains several arithmetic errors.
falsch
Die Berechnung ist falsch, weil am Ende ein falsches Ergebnis steht.
The calculation is wrong because it produces an incorrect result in the end.
In real life
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