Kaiser
/ˈkaɪ̯zər/masculine
The German word for "emperor" is Kaiser.
Kaiser refers to the ruler of an empire.
Meaning: ruler of an empire (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of Kaiser is the same as the singular form. If you need to refer to an empress, the feminine form is Kaiserin. To indicate the possessive "emperor's" in the singular, use Kaisers.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈkaɪ̯zər/
Did you know?
- The word Kaiser is used in the name of the Kaiserbrötchen, a common crusty white bread roll found in German bakeries.
- In some German dialects, calling someone a Kaiser can be a sarcastic way to describe a person who is acting bossy or arrogant.
- The word Kaiser is a linguistic relative of the English name 'Caesar', both tracing back to the same Roman title.
Examples in context
- Es lebe der Kaiser!Long live the Emperor!Tatoeba #569227 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #569233 by Scott
- Sind Sie der Kaiser?Are you the emperor?Tatoeba #12615688 by Waldelfe, translation #12101363 by CK
- Der Kaiser will abdanken.The emperor wants to abdicate.Tatoeba #12430335 by Waldelfe, translation #12430298 by Miktsoanit
- Wilhelm II war der letzte Kaiser von Deutschland.Wilhelm II was the last Emperor of Germany.
- Karl der Große war ein König und Kaiser des Fränkischen Reiches.Charlemagne was a king and emperor of the Carolingian Empire.
- Der Herrscher des Byzantinischen Reiches trug den Titel des Basileus.The ruler of the Byzantine Empire held the title of Basileus.
- Hast du gehört, dass Napoleons Bruder zum Kaiser von Frankreich ernannt wurde?Did you hear that Napoleon's brother was appointed as the emperor of France?
- 39 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lukas and Hannah are visiting a history museum.
- LukasWer war dieser Kaiser?Who was this emperor?
- HannahDas war Karl der Große.That was Charlemagne.
- LukasWar der Kaiser sehr mächtig?Was the emperor very powerful?
- HannahJa, er beherrschte viel Land.Yes, he ruled a lot of land.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “emperor” translations and entries Kaiser, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Kaiser, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
