hübsches Mädchen
In German, "cute girl" is hübsches Mädchen.
The phrase refers to a girl who is physically attractive or pretty.
What does it mean word for word?
Mädchen is the German word for girl.
Which one should you use?
While hübsches Mädchen focuses on being pretty or attractive, süßes Mädchen (sweet/cute girl) is often used to describe a girl who is cute in a more endearing or precious way.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase hübsches Mädchen is in the nominative singular case, which is used for the subject of a sentence. To say "a cute girl", you add the indefinite article ein before the phrase to get ein hübsches Mädchen.
Did you know?
- The word hübsch can also be used to describe a large amount of money, such as eine hübsche Summe, meaning 'a tidy sum'.
- The word Mädchen is grammatically neuter, even though it refers to a person. This is because the diminutive suffix -chen always forces a noun into the neuter gender, regardless of the person's biological sex.
- The root of Mädchen is related to the word Magd, which historically referred to a maiden or a female servant. While Magd sounds very old-fashioned now, its descendant Mädchen is used by everyone every day.
Examples in context
- Das ist ein hübsches Mädchen.That is a cute girl.
- Dort drüben läuft ein hübsches Mädchen.A cute girl is walking over there.
Example conversation
Maximilian and Sarah are looking at a family photo.
- MaximilianWer ist dieses hübsche Mädchen auf dem Foto?Who is this cute girl in the photo?
- SarahDas ist meine kleine Cousine, Maximilian.That is my little cousin, Maximilian.
- MaximilianSie sieht wirklich sehr süß aus.She looks really very sweet.
- SarahJa, sie ist ein sehr hübsches Mädchen.Yes, she is a very cute girl.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Mädchen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
