Wiktionary

Mensch

See also: mensch, mènsch, and Mënsch

Bavarian

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Etymology

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From Middle High German mensche, mensch, from Old High German mennisko, a substantivization of the adjective mennisk, from Proto-West Germanic *mannisk, from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz (“human”), from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“human, man”). Cognates include German Mensch, Yiddish מענטש (mentsh), Dutch mens, English mannish, Old Norse mennskr, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌽𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (mannisks).

The secondary usage meaning "girl" or "woman" derives via an archaic sense of "servant", subsequently narrowed specifically to serving girls. The supposed corruption of Mädchen (“girl”) to Mensch is a folk etymology, but did indirectly influence the gender of des Mensch ("the girl"), which is neuter in this usage (as opposed to the masculine da Mensch ("the person")).

Noun

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Mensch m (accusative Menschen or Mensch'n, plural Menschen or Mensch'n or Menschn)

  1. human, human being, man

Noun

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Mensch n (plural Menscher, diminutive Menscherl)

  1. female person, girl, woman

Derived terms

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German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German mensche, mensch, from Old High German mennisko, a substantivization of the adjective mennisk, from Proto-West Germanic *mannisk, from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz (“human”), from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“human, man”). Compare Yiddish מענטש (mentsh), Dutch mens, Danish menneske, Swedish människa, all with the primary sense of “person” or “human being”.

The dialectal usage meaning "girl" or "woman" derives via an archaic sense of "servant", subsequently narrowed specifically to serving girls. The supposed corruption of Mädchen (“girl”) to Mensch is a folk etymology, but did indirectly influence the gender of das Mensch ("the girl"), which is neuter in dialectal usage (as opposed to the masculine der Mensch ("the person") in Standard German).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Mensch m (weak, genitive Menschen, plural Menschen, diminutive Menschchen n or Menschlein n, feminine Mensch or Menschin)

  1. human, human being, person, man
    Sie ist ein ganz toller Mensch.
    She is a really awesome person.

Usage notes

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  • Mensch is a weak noun in the standard language but is part of a group of nouns with a tendency to be strong colloquially, so one might hear dem Mensch instead of dem Menschen.
  • In older literature, the genitive des Menschens occurs.
  • The feminine die Menschin is very rare in actual use; most uses are jocular.

Declension

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Declension of Mensch [masculine, weak]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Mensch die Menschen
genitive eines des Menschen der Menschen
dative einem dem Menschen den Menschen
accusative einen den Menschen die Menschen

Hyponyms

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Noun

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Mensch n (strong, genitive Mensches or Menschs, plural Menscher)

  1. (dialectal, especially Southern Germany, Austria, now often derogatory) woman

Usage notes

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  • In older language a neutral term, then applied upon servants and dismissively as “baggage, broad”.

Declension

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Declension of Mensch [neuter, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein das Mensch die Menscher
genitive eines des Mensches, Menschs der Menscher
dative einem dem Mensch, Mensche1 den Menschern
accusative ein das Mensch die Menscher

1Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

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Interjection

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Mensch

  1. man! rah!

Synonyms

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Further reading

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Hunsrik

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Etymology

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From Middle High German mensche, mensch, from Old High German mennisko, a substantivization of the adjective mennisk, from man.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Mensch m (plural Mensche)

  1. human, human being, person
    Keen Mensch konnd do leve.
    No human being could live here.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Plautdietsch

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Etymology

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From Middle Low German mensche, minsche, from Old Saxon mennisk, mennisko, from Proto-West Germanic *mannisk, from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz.

Noun

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Mensch m (plural Menschen)

  1. human, human being, person
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