braves Mädchen
The German phrase for "good girl" is braves Mädchen.
braves Mädchen is used to describe a girl who is well-behaved and obedient. This phrase is primarily used for children or pets to praise their obedience and is not used for adult women to mean "a good person."
Which one should you use?
While gutes Mädchen is grammatically possible, braves Mädchen is the idiomatic way to describe a child who is being well-behaved.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because Mädchen is a neuter noun, the adjective takes the -es ending when used with the indefinite article ein.
Did you know?
- The word brav is a cognate of the English word 'brave' but their meanings diverged completely. While 'brave' now means courageous, in German it stuck to the meaning of being well-behaved.
- The word Mädchen is actually a diminutive of the older word Magd, which used to mean 'maid' or 'servant'.
- The noun Mädchen is considered a 'grammatical neuter' but a 'natural feminine'. This means that while the grammar is neuter, pronouns used to refer back to the girl in conversation often switch to feminine forms.
Examples in context
- Emi ist ein braves Mädchen.Emi is a good girl.Tatoeba #1514532 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #65291 by CN
- Du bist ein braves Mädchen.You're a good girl.Tatoeba #6645306 by Felixjp, translation #2548447 by CK
- Warst du ein braves Mädchen?Have you been a good girl?Tatoeba #8598975 by Roujin, translation #8594676 by CM
- Das war eine sehr gute Präsentation. Du bist ein tüchtiges Mädchen!That was a very good presentation. You are a competent girl!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maximilian is praising Julia for helping him clean up.
- MaximilianDanke, dass du mir geholfen hast.Thank you for helping me.
- JuliaDas mache ich gerne!I'm happy to do it!
- MaximilianDu bist wirklich ein braves Mädchen, Julia.You really are a good girl, Julia.
- JuliaDanke, Maximilian!Thank you, Maximilian!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Mädchen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
