German: Abschreibung. With the  depreciation is recorded in business accounting impairment or impairments of assets. The  depreciation corresponds with the loss of value of business assets (fixed assets and working capital) within a period of time. This may be the loss in value caused by general reasons such as aging and wear and tear or due to special reasons such as an accident or damage in prices.  Depreciation is usually calculated from a business perspective, and – subject to commercial law and tax law features – as an expense taken into account in calculating profits. The opposite of  depreciation is the attribution, which comes as a write-in question, if made in previous years to high  depreciation.