Mädchen

German thumb|right|220px|Ein Mädchen thumb|right|Two German girls in the children refugee care center in Urdenbach, Germany in the immediate post-Second World War period Alternative forms de Mägdchen obsolete Etymology From de gmh magedichīn, gmh meidichīn, from de goh *magadihhīn or calqued from de gml mēgedeken 1, gml megedekīn, both from de gmw-pro *magaþukīn. Equivalent to de Magd -chen. Pronunciation de /ˈmɛːtçən/ Germany,prescriptive; used naturally in western Germany de /ˈmeːtçən/ Germany,overall more common; particularly northern and eastern regions de De-Mädchen.ogg Germany de De-Mädchen2.ogg <<Germany>> (<<Berlin>>) de ɛːtçən 2 de /ˈmeːtçɛn/ Austria,South German de /ˈmɛːtçɛn/ Switzerland,South German Noun n,s,-:s[nonstandard, uncommon] girl maiden Usage notes Since de Mädchen is a grammatically neuter noun, all preceding articles, determiners, and adjectives take neuter forms: ein kleines Mädchen (“a little girl”). This rule is followed throughout all registers of German. There is more variation concerning pronouns referring back to Mädchen. These are usually neuter within the same sentence: Das Mädchen, das eben hier war, hat seine Tasche vergessen. – “The girl who was just here, forgot her purse.” (But feminine de ihre would be acceptable in colloquial usage.) It is quite common, however, to use feminine pronouns in following sentences: Siehst du das Mädchen, das da steht? Kennst du die? – “Do you see the girl who [neuter] is standing there? Do you know her [feminine]?” (But neuter de es would be acceptable in literary usage.) de Mädchen is typically used to refer to young women up to the age of 30. Past this age it is uncommon (unlike en girl) – the related term de Mädel is more widely used colloquially for adult women. The plural de Mädchens is archaic. Compare colloquial de Jungs. Declension n,s,-:s[nonstandard, uncommon] Synonyms de Mädel n colloquial de Mädken, de Mädle n regional Antonyms by gender de Bub m, de Bube m Austrian Swiss, de Junge m, de Knabe m by age de Frau f, de Greisin f Derived terms de Dienstmädchen Freudenmädchen Hausmädchen Kindermädchen Kopftuchmädchen Mädchenherze Milchmädchen Schulmädchen Zimmermädchen Further reading de diminutiva tantum