Definition
A polite or formal term for an adult woman.
Translations
- English
- lady
- Français
- dame
- Türkçe
- hanımefendi
- Polski
- dama
- Русский
- дама
- Українська
- пані
GERMAN DICTIONARY
die Dame
- A1
- Noun
- People & Family
lady
/diː ˈdaːmə/
Meaning and translations
Meaning, definition and translations of this sense.
Grammar & classification
Main grammatical and classification properties of the word.
- Article
- die
- Gender
- Feminine
- Plural
- Damen
- Part of speech
- Noun
- CEFR level
- A1
- Morphology
- Borrowing
- Topics
- People & FamilyPrimary
Usage examples
Examples showing real usage and grammatical forms.
- Die Dame wartet geduldig vor dem Theater.NominativSing.The lady waits patiently in front of the theater.
- Der Gastgeber begrüßte die Dame herzlich.AkkusativSing.The host warmly welcomed the lady.
- Der Mann half der Dame über die Straße.DativSing.The man helped the lady cross the street.
- Die Handtasche der Dame lag auf dem Tisch.GenitivSing.The lady’s handbag lay on the table.
- Die Damen unterhielten sich angeregt.NominativPlur.The ladies chatted animatedly.
- Die Verkäuferin beriet die Damen ausführlich.AkkusativPlur.The saleswoman gave the ladies detailed advice.
- Der Kellner brachte den Damen die Speisekarten.DativPlur.The waiter brought the ladies the menus.
- Die Stimmen der Damen waren deutlich zu hören.GenitivPlur.The ladies’ voices were clearly audible.
Pronunciation and forms
Pronunciation and audio for the lemma and important forms.
-
Lemma
Dame/ˈdaːmə/
-
Article phrase
die Dame/diː ˈdaːmə/
-
Plural
Damen/ˈdaːmən/
Declension / Forms
How the noun changes across German cases and singular or plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | die Dame | die Damen |
| Akkusativ | die Dame | die Damen |
| Dativ | der Dame | den Damen |
| Genitiv | der Dame | der Damen |
Usage and collocations
Typical constructions, prepositions and word combinations.
- Collocationeine Dame begrüßen
- Adjective combinationeine ältere Dame
- Adjective combinationeine vornehme Dame
- Prepositional constructionmit einer Dame sprechenmit + Dativ
Semantic relations
How this meaning relates to other meanings and easily confused words.
- Near-synonymFrau — woman
Dame usually sounds more polite or elevated than Frau and is particularly suitable in formal or respectful forms of address.
Word formation and word family
How the word is formed and its reviewed lexical family.
Formation typeBorrowing
„Dame“ is a noun borrowed from French and is not synchronically productive in further word formation.