careless / casual
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careless
Not applying the necessary care or attention; inattentive or sloppy when carrying out a task.
Durch seine nachlässige Arbeit sind viele Fehler im Dokument entstanden.
Because of his careless work, many errors appeared in the document.
The word is derived from the verb 'nachlassen' (to decrease / to let up), which means 'to become less' or 'to lose intensity'. A 'nachlässige' (careless) person is therefore someone whose care or attention has decreased.
Seit er müde ist, lässt seine Konzentration nach und er wird nachlässig.
Since he has been tired, his concentration has been decreasing and he is becoming careless.
If 'nachlässig' (careless) refers to work, tasks, or behavior, it means 'inattentive' or 'sloppy'. If it refers to clothing or appearance, it means 'casual' or 'relaxed'.
Wegen seiner nachlässigen Arbeitsweise gab es viele Beschwerden.
Because of his careless way of working, there were many complaints.
To name the area in which someone is careless, German often uses the preposition 'bei' (with / in) with the dative. The structure is: 'nachlässig bei etwas sein' (to be careless with something / in doing something).
Sie ist oft nachlässig bei der Kontrolle ihrer Rechnungen.
She is often careless when checking her bills.
embarrassing / meticulous
'peinlich' and 'nachlässig' are opposites when 'peinlich' is used as in 'peinlich genau' (meticulously precise). 'peinlich genau' means that someone pays very careful attention to every detail. 'nachlässig', on the other hand, means that someone shows too little care or attention. The result can then contain mistakes. Important: 'peinlich' alone often means 'embarrassing', but in this contrast it is about precision and working style.
Die Mitarbeiterin ist bei der Kontrolle der Bestellungen manchmal nachlässig.
The employee is sometimes careless when checking the orders.
Heute prüft ihr die Daten peinlich genau, bevor ihr sie abschickt.
Today you are checking the data meticulously before sending it off.