Meaning & use
fräulein
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableold-fashioned
A German title or form of address for an unmarried woman, formerly used the way English uses Miss.
Grammar: Used with a surname or alone to address a young woman, often capitalized.
Patterns
- Fräulein plus surname
- Fräulein Schmidt
The shopkeeper greeted her with a polite 'Guten Tag, Fräulein.'
In the old novel, the family hired a Fräulein to teach the children German.
Fräulein Weber waited at the station with a small suitcase.
nouncountableliterary
A young woman from a German-speaking country, or a German governess, as described in older English writing.
Grammar: Appears mostly in historical or literary contexts.
Patterns
- a German Fräulein
The story begins with a prim Fräulein arriving at the manor.
A young Fräulein sang at the village festival.
The English family employed a Fräulein to teach the girls music.
Word forms
| plural | Fräulein |
|---|---|
| plural (also) | Fräuleins |
Common combinations
- Fräulein plus surname
- The old teacher was always addressed as Fräulein Keller.
- a young Fräulein
- A young Fräulein held the door for us.
- the Fräulein from Berlin
- The Fräulein from Berlin had an accent that charmed everyone.
- German Fräulein
- A German Fräulein ran the small hotel in the film.
- a Fräulein as governess
- The family hired a Fräulein as governess to teach the children German.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Miss
- Miss is the English equivalent and is still current, whereas Fräulein now sounds old-fashioned in German.
- Mademoiselle
- Mademoiselle is the French counterpart, used the same way for an unmarried woman.
- Señorita
- Señorita is the Spanish counterpart and, unlike Fräulein, is still in everyday use.
Word family
Commonly confused: fräulein or Frau? fräulein or Fraulein?
fräulein vs Frau
Frau is the current German title for any adult woman, while Fräulein is now rare and considered old-fashioned or patronizing.
fräulein vs Fraulein
This is the English spelling without the umlaut; the German spelling is Fräulein.
Practice
In modern German, which title is normally used for an adult woman, whatever her marital status?
Choose one answer.
Frau is now standard for adult women. Fräulein is old-fashioned, Herr is the title for men and Mädchen means girl.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fräulein”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.