Enkelin
[ˈɛŋkəlɪn]feminine
The German word for granddaughter is Enkelin.
Enkelin is a feminine noun used to describe the daughter of someone's child.
Meaning: daughter of someone’s child (noun)
Which one should you use?
While Enkelin specifically refers to a granddaughter, the word Enkel can be used to refer to a grandson or to grandchildren in general (as a masculine plural). Additionally, although Großtochter is a literal compound of 'groß' (big/grand) and 'Tochter' (daughter), Enkelin is much more common in everyday German.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of Enkelin is Enkelinnen.
Did you know?
- In some traditional German dialects, people use different terms for a granddaughter depending on whether she is the child of a son or a daughter, though Enkelin covers both in standard German.
- If a person is referred to as an Enkelkind, the term is gender-neutral, meaning 'grandchild' regardless of whether the child is an Enkel or an Enkelin.
- The suffix '-in' in Enkelin is a standard grammatical marker used to turn almost any masculine occupation or family role into a feminine one.
Examples in context
- Wo ist deine Enkelin?Where's your granddaughter?This sentence is useful for asking about someone's granddaughter using Enkelin.Tatoeba #10362803 by Yorwba, translation #7467273 by CK
- Das ist Nina, deine Enkelin.This is Nina, your granddaughter.This sentence is useful for introducing a granddaughter using Enkelin.Tatoeba #1712703 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1635447 by Amastan
- Meine Enkelin ist acht Jahre alt.My granddaughter is eight.This sentence is useful for stating the age of a granddaughter using Enkelin.Tatoeba #11031632 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #11031628 by CK
- Meine Enkeltochter Anna hat heute Geburtstag!My granddaughter Anna has her birthday today!
- Kannst du bitte das Bild von meiner Enkelin zeigen?Can you please show the picture of my granddaughter?
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Julia and Maximilian are looking at a photo album.
- JuliaIst das deine Enkelin?Is that your granddaughter?
- MaximilianJa, das ist meine Enkelin Lea.Yes, that is my granddaughter Lea.
- JuliaSie sieht sehr glücklich aus.She looks very happy.
- MaximilianSie ist wirklich ein Sonnenschein.She really is a ray of sunshine.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “granddaughter” translations and entries Enkelin, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
