Harn

See also: harn

German

Etymology

From Middle High German and Old High German harn, from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)ḱer- (“dung, filth”). Cognate with Lithuanian šarmas (“lye”) (for semantic connection, compare lant). Exclusively High German form without s-mobile alongside Proto-Germanic *skarną (“dung”), whence dialectal English sharn and German Schierling (“hemlock”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /harn/, [haʁn], [haɐ̯n], [haːn]

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophones: Hahn (some speakers), Haaren, harren (casual speech)

Noun

Harn m (strong, genitive Harns or Harnes, plural Harne)

1. (higher register, rare) urine

   Synonyms: (usual formal word) Urin, (familiar) Pipi, (coarse) Pisse

Usage notes

• Now used chiefly in several medical compounds. Otherwise it is highly formal and rare.
• Outside of a scientific-medical context, Harn is more often used for animals than humans.

Declension

Declension of Harn [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Harn	die	Harne
genitive	eines	des	Harns, Harnes	der	Harne
dative	einem	dem	Harn, Harne1	den	Harnen
accusative	einen	den	Harn	die	Harne

¹Now rare, see notes.

Related terms

• Harnblase
• Harnsäure
• Harnstein
• Harnstoff
• harntreibend
• harnen
• Harn lassen
• Harninkontinenz
• Harnkatheter
• Harnabgang
• Harnentleerung
• Harnflasche
• Harnvergiftung
• Harnstau
• Harnverhalt
• Harnzwang
• Harnrohre
• Harnweg

Further reading

• “Harn” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Harn” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Harn” in Duden online