Mädchen

German

Alternative forms

• Mägdchen (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German magedichīn, meidichīn, from Old High German *magadihhīn or calqued from Middle Low German mēgedeken, megedekīn, both from Proto-West Germanic *magaþukīn. Equivalent to Magd +‎ -chen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛːtçən/ (prescriptive standard; used naturally in western Germany and Switzerland)
• IPA^(key): /ˈmeːtçən/ (overall more common; particularly northern and eastern regions)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Germany):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛːtçən

Noun

Mädchen n (strong, genitive Mädchens, plural Mädchen or (nonstandard, uncommon) Mädchens)

1. girl
2. maiden

Usage notes

• Since Mädchen is a grammatically neuter noun, all preceding articles, determiners, and adjectives take neuter forms: ein kleines Mädchen (“a little girl”). This rule is followed throughout all registers of German.
• There is more variation concerning pronouns referring back to Mädchen. These are usually neuter within the same sentence: Das Mädchen, das eben hier war, hat seine Tasche vergessen. – “The girl who was just here, forgot her purse.” (But feminine ihre would be acceptable in colloquial usage.) It is quite common, however, to use feminine pronouns in following sentences: Siehst du das Mädchen, das da steht? Kennst du die? – “Do you see the girl who [neuter] is standing there? Do you know her [feminine]?” (But neuter es would be acceptable in literary usage.)
• Mädchen is typically used to refer to young women up to the age of 30. Past this age it is uncommon (unlike English girl) – the related term Mädel is more widely used colloquially for adult women.

Declension

Declension of Mädchen [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Mädchen	die	Mädchen, Mädchens1
genitive	eines	des	Mädchens	der	Mädchen, Mädchens1
dative	einem	dem	Mädchen	den	Mädchen, Mädchens1
accusative	ein	das	Mädchen	die	Mädchen, Mädchens1

¹Nonstandard, uncommon.

Synonyms

• Mädel n (colloquial)
• Mädken, Mädle n (regional)

Antonyms

• (by gender) Bub m, Bube m (Austrian, Swiss), Junge m, Knabe m
• (by age) Frau f, Greisin f

Derived terms

• Dienstmädchen
• Freudenmädchen
• Hausmädchen
• Kindermädchen
• Kopftuchmädchen
• Mädchenherze
• Milchmädchen
• Schulmädchen
• Zimmermädchen

Further reading

• “Mädchen” in Duden online
• “Mädchen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• Friedrich Kluge (1883), “Mädchen”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891