adjective
deadly, lethal
B1
tödlich means 'deadly' or 'lethal' — causing death or likely to kill. It's a gradable adjective: comparative tödlicher, superlative am tödlichsten. Common synonyms include fatal or mortal. Used attributively and predicatively; not a participle, no special preposition or auxiliary verbs required.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Das Gift war tödlich, obwohl die Ärzte sofort reagierten.
The poison was deadly, although the doctors reacted immediately.
Die Krankheit kann tödlich sein.
The disease can be deadly.
Ein Unfall ohne Sicherheitsgurt kann tödlich enden.
An accident without a seatbelt can have lethal consequences.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.DETAILS_LABEL
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
picture a warning sign (skull) with the word 'tödlich' across it
sounds like 'toad-lich' — imagine a poisonous toad
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
Used both predicatively (sein) and attributively (ein tödliches Gift). Can be intensified (e.g., extrem tödlich).