Der Wald ist dicht.

The forest is dense.

Breakdown of Der Wald ist dicht.

• sein: to be
• dicht: dense
• der Wald: the forest

Questions & Answers about Der Wald ist dicht.

What part of speech is dicht in “Der Wald ist dicht”?

Here dicht is a predicative adjective. It follows the copula ist (from sein) and describes the subject der Wald without taking any adjective ending.

Why does dicht have no ending, whereas attributive adjectives like in ein dichter Wald do?

German distinguishes attributive adjectives (before a noun) and predicative adjectives (after verbs like sein, werden, bleiben).

• Attributive adjectives must agree with gender, number and case: ein (masc. nom.) → dichter Wald.
• Predicative adjectives remain uninflected: Der Wald ist dicht.

What case and gender is der Wald?

Der Wald is masculine singular in the nominative case, because it functions as the subject of the sentence. The nominative masculine singular definite article is der.

What does dicht mean here, and how does it differ from English thick?

In this context dicht means dense, packed closely together, or impenetrable (lots of trees and undergrowth).

• Thick in English can refer to a single object’s diameter (e.g. a thick book).
• Use dick in German for “thick” in that sense. For density of many elements you need dicht.

Could you say Der Wald ist dick to mean the same thing?

No. dick means “thick” in the sense of large in cross‐section. Saying ein dicker Wald would sound odd. If you want an attributive form for “dense forest,” say ein dichter Wald.

What is the opposite of dicht when describing a forest?

Common opposites are locker, licht or lückig:

• Der Wald ist locker – the forest is sparse.
• Ein lichter Wald – a forest with more light/gaps between trees.

Can dicht be used in other contexts?

Yes.
1) sealed, watertight: Die Flasche ist dicht – “The bottle doesn’t leak.”
2) colloquially drunk: Er ist dicht – “He’s wasted.”

How do you form the comparative/superlative of dicht?

Comparative: dichter, Superlative: am dichtesten.
Example: Der Wald hier ist dichter als dort. – “The forest here is denser than over there.”
Der hier ist am dichtesten. – “This one is the densest.”

If I want to say “an impenetrable forest,” what adjective should I choose?

Use undurchdringlich: Ein undurchdringlicher Wald – “an impenetrable forest.”
Or predicatively: Der Wald ist undurchdringlich.

How would you describe a forest that’s just barely dense?

You can soften dicht with adverbs:

• Der Wald ist etwas dicht – “The forest is somewhat dense.”
• Der Wald ist ziemlich dicht – “The forest is quite dense.”
• Der Wald ist noch dicht – “The forest is still dense.”