schöne Frau
/ˈʃøːnə fʁaʊ̯/word by word
To say "beautiful lady" in German, use schöne Frau.
This phrase describes a woman who is physically attractive.
Which one should you use?
While Frau can be translated as both "lady" and "woman", it is the standard word for "woman" and does not always carry the same formal weight as the English word "lady" in every context. For example, you might use Sehr schöne Dame to specifically mean "very beautiful lady."
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase schöne Frau is used in its nominative singular form.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈʃøːnə fʁaʊ̯/
Did you know?
- In some feminist contexts, you may see frau written with a lower-case f. This is a deliberate choice to create a gender-neutral alternative to the word man.
- While schöne Frau describes a beautiful woman, it can sometimes sound slightly more objectifying in German than 'beautiful lady' does in English, depending on the tone.
- In German, the word Frau is used both as a standard word for 'woman' and as a formal title equivalent to 'Mrs.' when used with a surname.
Examples in context
- Sie ist eine sehr schöne Frau.She is a most beautiful lady.This sentence shows how to use schöne Frau to describe someone.Tatoeba #1835624 by Tamy, translation #310022 by CK
- Entschuldigen Sie, werte Dame, aber Sie sind eine wunderschöne Frau.Excuse me, dear lady, but you are a beautiful woman.
- Du bist eine hübsche Frau.You are a pretty woman.
- Sie ist eine schöne Frau.She is a beautiful lady.
- Das ist eine wirklich schöne Frau.That is a truly beautiful lady.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Julian and Sarah are talking about a woman they saw at a party.
- JulianWer war die Dame dort?Who was that lady there?
- SarahDas war eine schöne Frau.That was a beautiful lady.
- JulianSie sah sehr elegant aus.She looked very elegant.
- SarahJa, sie war beeindruckend.Yes, she was impressive.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (Schöne, Frau) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Frau, frau, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
