Maus
/maʊ̯s/
The German word Maus means mouse.
Maus refers to a small rodent with a long tail.
Which one should you use?
Mäuschen is a sweet and affectionate way to say mouse, and Mausilein is a diminutive form that can be translated as little mouse.
How does it change in a sentence?
Maus is a feminine noun, so when using the indefinite article, you use eine Maus. The plural form of Maus is Mäuse. In the dative or genitive case, the word changes to der Maus.
How do you pronounce it?
/maʊ̯s/
Did you know?
- In German, calling a romantic partner Maus or Mäuschen is a common term of endearment, similar to calling someone 'honey' or 'sweetie' in English.
- The word Maus is a doublet of the English word 'mouse', meaning they both descended from the same prehistoric root *múHs.
- In some German dialects, calling someone Maus can be used ironically or condescendingly to imply they are insignificant or weak.
Examples in context
- Kannst du mir bitte die Maus geben?Can you please give me the mouse?
- Hast du meine Computermaus gesehen?Have you seen my computer mouse?
- Wo ist mein Mäuschen?Where is my little mouse?
- Hey Mausi, kannst du mir bitte deine Maus leihen?Hey darling, can you please lend me your mouse?
- Dort im Gras läuft eine kleine Maus.A small mouse is running there in the grass.
- Die Maus hat ein langes Schwänzchen.The mouse has a long little tail.
- Ich habe eine Maus im Garten gesehen.I saw a mouse in the garden.
Example conversation
Sarah and Julian are sitting in their garden.
- SarahJulian, schau mal, eine Maus!Julian, look, a mouse!
- JulianWo ist die Maus?Where is the mouse?
- SarahSie sitzt unter dem Busch.It is sitting under the bush.
- JulianOh, sie ist wirklich klein.Oh, it is really small.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry Maus, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Maus, CC BY-SA 4.0.
