Kirsche

German

Alternative forms

• Kersche (archaic or dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle High German kirse, from Old High German kirsa, from Proto-West Germanic *kirsijā, from Late Latin ceresia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɪrʃə/, [ˈkɪɐ̯ʃə], [ˈkɪʁʃə], [ˈkɪrʃə]
  • IPA^(key): [ˈki(ː)ɐ̯ʃə] (regional, Westphalia, parts of Austria)
  • IPA^(key): [ˈkɘːʃə] (regional, including parts of Rhineland)

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Kirsche f (genitive Kirsche, plural Kirschen)

1. cherry
2. (colloquial, possibly regional) a ball, especially a football

   Aus der Drehung zimmert er die Kirsche direkt unters Gebälk.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

3. (slang) bullet

Usage notes

• Compounds are predominantly formed from the stem Kirsch-. In a number of words only this form is usual, but in most cases the regularised form Kirschen- is also common and standard.

Declension

Declension of Kirsche [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Kirsche	die	Kirschen
genitive	einer	der	Kirsche	der	Kirschen
dative	einer	der	Kirsche	den	Kirschen
accusative	eine	die	Kirsche	die	Kirschen

Derived terms

• mit jemandem ist nicht gut Kirschen essen

Related terms

• Kirschbaum
• Kirschblüte
• Kirschernte, Kirschenernte
• Kirschgeschmack
• Kirschholz, Kirschenholz
• Kirschkern
• Kirschkuchen
• Kirschsaft, Kirschensaft
• Kirschschnaps, Kirschenschnaps
• Sauerkirsche
• Süßkirsche
• Vogelkirsche
• Weichselkirsche
• Wildkirsche
• Zierkirsche

 

Descendants

• → Estonian: kirss

Further reading

• “Kirsche” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Kirsche” in Duden online