Cousins
In German, the phrase for "cousins" is Cousins.
Cousins is used to refer to the children of one's aunts or uncles.
Which one should you use?
The form Cousin refers to a single male cousin, while Cousins is the plural form. If you are referring to a group that consists only of female cousins, you should use Cousinen instead.
How does it change in a sentence?
Cousins is the masculine plural form and is used to describe a group of male cousins or a mixed-gender group. For a group of female cousins, use the feminine plural form Cousinen. For a single female cousin, use the feminine singular form Cousine.
Did you know?
- Although Cousin is a standard word today, it was borrowed from French. In older German texts, you might find the native Germanic term Base for a female cousin.
- In very formal or old-fashioned German contexts, you might encounter the word Vettern for male cousins. However, this is much rarer today and often sounds archaic to modern ears.
- The term Cousine (singular female) is pronounced with a soft 'z' sound in German, similar to the French pronunciation, rather than a hard German 's'.
Examples in context
- Tom hat drei Cousins.Tom has three cousins.This sentence is useful for stating how many cousins a person has.Tatoeba #1944592 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1025298 by CK
- Ich habe zwei Cousins.I have two cousins.Tatoeba #547290 by Espi, translation #394669 by Dorenda
- Das sind meine Cousins.They are my cousins.This sentence is useful for identifying a group of people as one's cousins.Tatoeba #4177312 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #305365 by CK
- Ich möchte meinen Vettern zu ihrem Erfolg gratulieren.I would like to congratulate my male cousins on their success.
- Hallo Cousin, wie geht es dir?Hello cousin, how are you?
- Ich habe mich mit meinen Cousins und Cousinen getroffen.I met up with my male and female cousins.
- 34 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Felix and Sarah are looking at family photos.
- FelixWer sind diese Jungen hier?Who are these boys here?
- SarahDas sind meine Cousins aus Berlin.Those are my cousins from Berlin.
- FelixBesuchst du deine Cousins oft?Do you visit your cousins often?
- SarahJa, wir sehen uns jedes Jahr.Yes, we see each other every year.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
