lovely / sweet
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lovely
Pleasant, graceful, and gentle, often in a delicate way. Frequently used for landscapes, music, smells, or the taste of wine.
Wir wanderten durch eine liebliche Hügellandschaft mit sanften Weinbergen.
We hiked through a lovely hilly landscape with gentle vineyards.
The adjective 'lieblich' (lovely/sweet) is related to the noun 'Liebe' (love). The ending '-lich' means '-like' or '-ish.' However, the modern meaning is more like 'graceful' or 'gently pleasant.'
Die liebliche Melodie des Klaviers erfüllte den Raum.
The lovely melody of the piano filled the room.
'Lieblich' (lovely) is mostly used to describe sensory impressions, for example a 'liebliche Landschaft' (lovely landscape), a 'lieblicher Duft' (lovely scent), or a 'liebliche Stimme' (lovely voice). Today, it is only rarely used for people.
Vom Berggipfel aus hatten wir einen Blick auf ein liebliches Tal.
From the mountain peak, we had a view of a lovely valley.
When you hear or read 'lieblich' (sweet) in connection with wine, it has a special meaning. It is an official taste designation for semi-sweet wine.
Ich trinke gerne einen lieblichen Rotwein zum Käse.
I like drinking a sweet red wine with cheese.
Outside of wine vocabulary, 'lieblich' (lovely) has a slightly poetic or elevated sound. It is used more often in written language than in everyday colloquial speech.
Die Dichterin beschrieb die Natur mit lieblichen Worten.
The poet described nature with lovely words.
dry
'trocken' and 'lieblich' can be opposites when talking about wine. A dry wine tastes hardly sweet at all. A 'lieblicher' wine tastes noticeably sweeter, but usually not as sweet as a dessert wine. The words can be confused because 'lieblich' can also generally mean 'pleasant and gentle'. With wine, however, it is a taste designation. When you talk about wine, 'trocken' is used more for little sweetness, and 'lieblich' for more sweetness.
Mein Vater trinkt im Sommer gern einen lieblichen Weißwein.
My father likes drinking a sweet white wine in summer.
Dieser Rotwein ist trocken und passt gut zu Käse.
This red wine is dry and goes well with cheese.