sacht
gentle / softly
In a gentle, quiet, and careful way; without much force or noise.
EXAMPLE
Mit einer sachten Bewegung legte sie dem schlafenden Kind die Decke über.
With a gentle movement, she laid the blanket over the sleeping child.
sacht
gentle / softly
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
Usage tips
Adjective and adverb
'Sacht' can stand before a noun as an adjective or describe a verb as an adverb. As an adverb, the form remains unchanged.
EXAMPLE
Ein sachter Wind wehte durch die Bäume.
A gentle wind blew through the trees.
Typical collocations
'Sacht' is often used to describe quiet, careful actions or natural phenomena. Typical combinations are 'eine sachte Berührung' (a gentle touch), 'sachtes Klopfen' (soft knocking), 'sachter Regen' (gentle rain), or 'sachte Stimme' (soft voice).
EXAMPLE
Ich spürte eine sachte Berührung auf meiner Schulter.
I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder.
Register and style
The word 'sacht' often has a slightly poetic or literary tone. It is used to create a gentle, calm atmosphere.
EXAMPLE
Das Mondlicht fiel sacht auf den stillen See.
The moonlight fell softly on the quiet lake.
Compare with
sacht vs sanft
gentle / soft
Sanft and sacht can both describe a quiet, careful movement, and both words are possible here. In present-day standard German, sanft is more neutral; sacht more often sounds literary and is therefore especially suitable in poems or atmospheric texts. The choice mainly changes the linguistic tone.
sacht
Im Gedicht wehte der Wind sacht über den stillen See.
In the poem, the wind blew softly across the still lake.
sanft
Der Wind wehte am Abend sanft über den See.
In the evening, the wind blew gently across the lake.
In real life
Loading video examples...