Which one should you use?
While Student is the standard masculine form, use Studentin when referring specifically to a female college student. For a general group of college students, you can use the plural form Studierende.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Austria, the term Hochschüler is sometimes used to refer to a college student.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is gendered, so use Studentin for a female student. The plural form of Student is Studenten, though Studierende is also used for a group of students. Note that Student follows weak masculine declension: when it is the direct object of a sentence, the masculine singular form changes to einen Studenten.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʃtuˈdɛnt/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using the word Schüler to mean a college student. In German, Schüler refers to primary or secondary school pupils, whereas Student is reserved strictly for university-level students.
Did you know?
- In German culture, the transition from being a Schüler to a Student is a major social milestone that marks the entry into adulthood and academic independence.
- The word Student originates from the Medieval Latin studēns, which is the present participle of the verb 'studere', meaning 'to be eager' or 'to apply oneself'.
- The word Student is a 'weak noun', meaning it adds an 'en' ending in almost every case except the nominative singular. This makes it a grammatical outlier compared to most other masculine nouns in the language.
Examples in context
- Tom ist kein Student.Tom isn't a college student.This sentence is useful for stating that someone is not a Student.Tatoeba #6642688 by Felixjp, translation #6439165 by CK
- Bist du nicht Student?Aren't you a college student?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is a Student.Tatoeba #6645742 by Felixjp, translation #6102492 by CK
- Du bist Student, oder?You're a college student, aren't you?This sentence is useful for confirming that someone is a Student.Tatoeba #7841674 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #7841134 by CK
- Der Student studiert Wirtschaftswissenschaften.The college student is studying economics.
- Die Studentin hat ihren Abschluss gemacht.The college student has completed her degree.
- Bist du Student?Are you a college student?
- Die Studierenden feiern das Ende des Semesters.The college students are celebrating the end of the semester.
- 20 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry Student, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Student, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
