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And a girl is a "Mädchen", which is neuter, even though a boys is a "Knabe" and definitely male. Amongst guys, women are still sometimes referred collectively
by bradley13 1y ago
And a girl is a "Mädchen", which is neuter, even though a boys is a "Knabe" and definitely male.
Amongst guys, women are still sometimes referred collectively to as "Weiber".
- jotaen 1y agoFun fact: “Das Mädchen” (“little girl”, neuter) is diminutive form for “Die Mad” (“girl”, female). All diminutives in German are neuter, for whatever reason. You could do the same for “Der Knabe” (“boy”) → “Das Knäbchen” (“little boy”). Curiously, saying “Die Mad” would be as uncommon – at least nowadays – as saying “Das Knäbchen”.
- amaccuish 1y ago> Curiously, saying “Die Mad” would be as uncommon – at least nowadays – as saying “Das Knäbchen”. I liked that The Handmaids Tale in German is der Report der Magd.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- School-Cotton 1y ago> All diminutives in German are neuter, for whatever reason It’s just one instance of the more general principle that the gender of nouns with a common suffix are based on the suffix. E.g. all nouns ending in -keit or -ung are feminine regardless of whether they have any connection to the biological female sex.
- jcmontx 1y agoA German guy once told me "Weizen und Weiber stößt man von unten"