Fräulein
German
editEtymology
editMiddle High German vrouwelīn (“mistress, young unmarried noblewoman”), equivalent to Frau + -lein
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /ˈfʁɔɪ̯laɪ̯n/ (standard)
- IPA(key): /ˈfʁɔlaɪ̯n/ (colloquially, especially northern and central Germany)
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -aɪ̯n
Noun
editFräulein n (strong, genitive Fräuleins, plural Fräuleins or Fräulein)
- diminutive of Frau (but not freely applicable)
- (dated, address for an unmarried woman) miss
- Guten Morgen, Fräulein Schmitz! ― Good morning, Miss Schmitz!
- miss, young woman (especially a shop assistant)
- Würden Sie mir kurz helfen, junges Fräulein! ― Would you help me please, miss!
- young lady, missy (said jokingly or rebukingly to a little girl)
- So, jetzt reicht's aber, Fräulein! ― All right, that's enough, young lady!
- (obsolete) A female animal or person
Usage notes
edit- Fräulein as a formal address for an unmarried woman is now uncommon and considered disrespectful and sexist by some. Frau is the normal address for all women.
- As an informal address for a girl or young woman whose name one does not know, particularly a shop assistant, the word is still fairly common, though chiefly restricted to older speakers. It is generally advised that it be replaced by Frau in all instances.
Declension
editDeclension of Fräulein [neuter, strong]
Descendants
edit- → English: fraulein, Fraulein
- → Esperanto: fraŭlino
- → Georgian: ფრეილინა (preilina)
- → Kashubian: frélëna
- → Russian: фро́йляйн (frójljajn), фре́йлина (frɛ́jlina)
- → Serbo-Croatian:
Further reading
edit- “Fräulein” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Fräulein” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Fräulein” in Duden online
- Fräulein on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de
Categories:
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms suffixed with -lein
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- Rhymes:German/aɪ̯n
- German lemmas
- German nouns
- German neuter nouns
- German diminutive nouns
- German dated terms
- German terms with usage examples
- German terms with obsolete senses
- German diminutiva tantum
- de:Female people