"He likes the girl."

Translation:Er mag das Mädchen.

April 2, 2013

6 Comments
This discussion is locked.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/dudeta

why is Madchen not feminine


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/gewisse

Normally you would expect a word meaning 'girl' to be feminine, like 'Mann' is masculine, 'Frau' is feminine etc. But Mädchen is a diminutive (i.e. with an ending that means little) - in German diminutives (usually -chen or -lein) are always neuter. So 'die Frau' (woman) but 'das Fräulein' (young woman) and 'das Mädchen'


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Levi

Finally a proper, DETAILED explanation ! Many thanks


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Germandy

Also: "Er mag die Mädchen" would mean "He likes the girls".


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/LeviEspana

Er liebt das Madchen why not good?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Germandy

"er liebt" = "he loves", but to like is much weaker in meaning than to love.

Learn German in just 5 minutes a day. For free.