Adjectives with -bar

Just as a German word ending with -weise can automatically be identified as an adverb, there are a number of German adjectives ending with -bar. These adjectives contain the root of a verb, not unlike adjectives constructed with "-able" or "-ible" in English. Let's look at some of the more common ones. 

Die meisten der Pilze waren leider nicht essbar.

Most of the mushrooms were unfortunately not edible.

Caption 13, Pilze sammeln: mit Eva

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Wusstest du, dass die Hände eines Menschen genauso unverwechselbar sind wie sein Gesicht?

Did you know that the hands of a human being are just as unmistakable as their face?

Captions 2-3, Deutsch mit Eylin: Mehr Geheimnisse über Hände

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The verb essen means "to eat," and essbar translates to "edible." The verb verwechseln means "to mix up," so unverwechselbar refers to something that can't be mixed up. 

Haptisch begreifbar sind die Angaben.

The details are understandable on a haptic level.

Caption 14, Holocaust-Gedenktag: Gedenkstätte am Michelsberg

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The verb begreifen means "to grasp" or "to comprehend."

Das ist auch hundert Prozent ökologisch abbaubar.

That's also one hundred percent biodegradable.

Caption 26, Lerchenberg: Du bist, was du isst

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The verb abbauen has many translations along the lines of "to disintegrate" or "to dismantle." The adjective abbaubar is related to this, and whether it's preceded by biologisch or not, it generally means "biodegradable." 

Als Erster in eine Welt hineinzugehen, die eigentlich nicht berechenbar ist, die nicht in jedem Detail voraussehbar ist, das ist etwas ganz Spezielles.“

"To be the first to enter a world that is actually not predictable, that is not foreseeable in every detail... That is something very special."

Captions 40-43, extra 3 Öffentlicher Personennahverkehr (ÖPNV)

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Another similar good word to know is vorhersehbar, which also means "predictable."

Als wir mit der Planung des Minihauses angefangen haben, ging es uns eben darum, diese Geschichte des Ortes und des alten Gebäudes, äh, in dem neuen Gebäude lesbar zu lassen und erlebbar zu machen.

When we began planning the Minihaus, it was important to us to make the history of the place and the old building, um, remain visible in the new building and make it tangible for people.

Captions 31-33, Umweltbewusstes Wohnen: Architekturpreis Green Building

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Of course, lesbar can also quite literally mean "legible."

Sie wurde erst nach dem Fall der Mauer wieder begehbar.

It was first accessible again after the fall of the Wall.

Caption 14, Eva zeigt uns: die Berliner Mauer

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Here we see that the adjective begehbar doesn't relate quite as directly to begehen, which means "to commit" or "to perpetrate." 

... dass wir unser Handeln möglichst gut begründen und kommunizieren, damit es nachvollziehbar wird.

... that we justify and communicate our actions as well as possible so that they are comprehensible.

Captions 19-20, Coronavirus: Fernsehansprache von Angela Merkel

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And this hopefully also describes this lesson!

Further Learning
You can find many more adjectives like these on Yabla German, such as bezahlbar, dankbar, denkbar, and machbar. Before you look these up, can you guess what they mean?