Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word Mädchen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word Mädchen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say Mädchen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word Mädchen you have here. The definition of the word Mädchen will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofMädchen, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
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 is standing there? Do you know her ?” (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 Englishgirl) – the related term Mädel is more widely used colloquially for adult women.
