adjectiveadverb

dankbar

grateful · thankful

Ein Gefühl der Freude und Anerkennung, wenn man etwas Gutes von jemandem bekommt oder Hilfe erhält.

Definition & meaning

The German adjective "dankbar" translates to "grateful" or "thankful" in English. It describes a person who feels or shows appreciation for something received, an act of kindness, or a specific situation.

As an emotional state: It refers to the feeling of being pleased and appreciative of a favor or benefit (e.g., "Ich bin dir sehr dankbar für deine Hilfe" – "I am very grateful to you for your help").
As a descriptive quality: It can describe a task or a situation that is "rewarding" or "appreciated," meaning that the effort put into it leads to visible or satisfying results (e.g., "Das war eine dankbare Aufgabe" – "That was a rewarding/grateful task").

Grammar & Word origin

"Dankbar" is an adjective. In a sentence, it can be used predicatively (after a verb like "sein") or attributively (before a noun).

The word is a compound of:

Dank: meaning "thanks" or "gratitude".
-bar: a suffix used to form adjectives, often indicating a capacity or a state of being (similar to "-able" in English, though here it implies "full of" or "capable of expressing").

It is derived from the Old High German "dankbar" and is related to the noun der Dank and the verb danken .