Semantic Fields for Adjectives
In GermaNet, adjectives are divided into 16 semantic classes following the classes proposed by Hundsnurscher and Splett (1982), with some changes to the subclasses and a special class for the so-called pertainyms. All semantic adjective classes that are used in GermaNet are listed here.
Semantic Classes of Adjectives in GermaNet
| Adjective Class | Examples |
| Perceptional (Perzeption) | lightness (Helligkeit) | hell, dunkel |
| colour (Farbe) | rot, grün, blau |
| sound (Geräusch) | laut, leise |
| taste (Geschmack) | süß, sauer, salzig |
| smell (Geruch) | aromatisch, muffig |
| surface (Oberfläche) | rau, glatt, glänzend |
| Spatial (Ort) | dimension (Dimension) | lang, kurz, flach |
| direction (Richtung) | nördlich, frontal |
| localisation (Lokalisierung) | nah, mittig, untere |
| origin(Herkunft) | einheimisch, fremd |
| spatial distribution (Raumverteilung) | voll, leer |
| form (Form) | rund, eckig |
| existence (Existenz) | vorhanden, anwesend |
| Temporality-related (Zeit) | time (Zeit) | früh, spät |
| velocity (Geschwindigkeit) | langsam, schnell, flott |
| age (Alter) | alt, jung |
| habit (Gewohnheit) | normal, typisch, unüblich |
| Motion-related (Bewegung) | motion | plump, fließend |
| Material-related (Substanz) | composition (Beschaffenheit) | golden, grob, fein |
| state (Zustand) | offen, geschlossen |
| stability (Stabilität) | stabil, wacklig |
| consistency (Konsistenz) | flüssig, fest, schleimig |
| ripeness (Reife von Nahrung) | reif, frisch, grün |
| dampness (Feuchtigkeit) | nass, trocken, feucht |
| purity (Reinheit) | sauber, schmutzig, trüb |
| gravity (Gewicht) | schwer, leicht, massiv |
| physics (Physik) | elektrisch, magnetisch |
| chemistry (Chemie) | asbesthaltig, dioxinhaltig |
| temperature (Temperatur) | warm, kalt |
| Weather-related (natPhaenomen) | weather / climate | schwül, lau, regnerisch |
| Body-related (Koerper) | life (Belebtheit) | lebendig, tot |
| constitution (Konstitution) | stark, schwach |
| affliction (Gebrechen/Krankheit) | krank, gesund, taub |
| desire/feeling (Körpergefühl) | hungrig, satt, müde |
| sex (Geschlecht) | männlich, weiblich |
| appearance (Aussehen) | schön, hässlich, hübsch |
| bodily state (Körperzustand) | schwanger, geschlechtsreif |
| Mood-related (Gefuehl) | feeling (Empfindung/Gefühl)) | froh, traurig, bewegt |
| stimulus (Reiz) | angenehm, traurig, bewegend |
| Spirit-related (Geist) | intelligence/attention (Intelligenz/Aufmerksamkeit) | klug, dumm, aufmerksam |
| knowledge/experience (Wissen/Erfahrung) | erfahren, fähig, gebildet |
| Behaviour-related (Verhalten) | behaviour/character (Verhalten/Charakter) | böse, faul, höflich |
| animal specific tierspezifisch | zahm, wild |
| skill (Geschicklichkeit) | geschickt, unbeholfen |
| relations (Beziehung) | feindlich, umweltfreundlich |
| sympathy (Sympathie) | beliebt, verachtet |
| inclination (Neigung) | naschhaft, gesprächig |
| Social-related (Gesellschaft) | stratum (Schicht) | arm, reich, erwerbstätig |
| institution/politics (Institution/Politik) | staatlich, privat, demokratisch |
| religion (Religion) | gläubig, christlich |
| state (Land) | europäisch, deutsch |
| region (Region) | städtisch, ländlich, bundesweit |
| Quantity-related (Menge) | number (Zahl) | zwei, dreißig |
| quantity (Quantität) | viel, wenig, vierfach |
| costs (Kosten) | teuer, billig |
| return (Ertrag) | einträglich, fruchtbar |
| Relational (Relation) | validity (Geltung) | gültig, ungültig, möglich |
| certainty (Gewissheit) | gewiss, sicher, eindeutig |
| requirements (Bedarf) | wichtig, wesentlich, nötig |
| effectiveness (Wirksamkeit) | wirksam, effektiv |
| difficulty/energy requirement (Schwierigkeit/Energieaufwand) | schwer, einfach, sparsam |
| functioning (Funktionalität) | intakt, defekt, kaputt |
| security (Sicherheit) | gefährlich, sicher, riskant |
| order (Geordnetheit) | geordnet, ordentlich, chaotisch |
| linking (Verknüpfung) | lose, zugehörig, verbunden |
| correspondence (Übereinstimmung) | gleich, verschieden, ähnlich |
| accuracy (Genauigkeit) | genau, vage, klar |
| completeness (Vollständigkeit) | komplett, lückenhaft, total |
| cause (Ursache) | wetterbedingt, psychogen |
| reference (Bezug) | direkt, symbolisch, konkret |
| beneficial effect (Zuträglichkeit) | heilsam, schädlich, giftig |
| General (Allgemein) | comparative | enorm, riesig, stattlich |
| evaluation | gut, schlecht, übel |
| norm | sonderbar, grotesk |
| Pertainyms (Pertonym) | 'derived from' | atomar, notariell, regional |
| Privative (privativ) | defined by negation | rauchfrei, sorglos, luftleer |
Perceptional Adjectives (adj.Perzeption)
The class of perceptional adjectives contains adjectives that describe what a human being can perceive by his/her five senses. According to what we can see (lightness, colour, surface), hear (sound), taste, smell and touch (surface) they are further divided into the six subclasses that are listed in the table. The adjectives describing the surface of a material include both what we can touch (e.g. weich, glatt) and what we can see (e.g. glänzend, matt).
General Adjectives (adj.Allgemein)
These are adjectives with a "general" meaning. General adjectives can be superordinate to (many of) the other adjective classes. For instance, some behaviour-related adjectives can be assigned to the general adjectives gut or schlecht: angenehm, hyperonym: gut, positiv (Allgemein)
Pertainyms (adj.Pertonym)
Pertainyms are adjectives pertaining to a noun that forms the basis of the adjective and therefore determines its meaning (e.g. finanziell/financial -> Finanzen/finance). They often cannot be classified according to one of the semantic classes described above. Each pertainym is connected with its noun by the lexical relation Pertainymy, e.g. finanziell pertains to nomen.Besitz:Finanzen. Those denominal adjectives that can be classified should be listed in the corresponding file, e.g. intellektuell/intellectual as a spirit-related adjective in the file adj.Geist: intellektuell pertains to nomen.Kognition:Intellekt
Typical German pertainym suffixes are -(i,u)ell, -al, -ar, -isch, and -lich.
Privatives (Privativa)
These are denominal adjectives that are defined by negation. They can be paraphrased with "to have no x / to be without x" (e.g. ärmellos/sleeveless, fettfrei/fatless). Similar to pertainyms they are only listed in this class if they cannot be assigned to another class, e.g. bügelfrei/non-iron, adj.privativ, but sorglos belonging to the class adj.Gefuehl.
Typical German privative suffixes are -los, -frei, -leer.
