Reading · A1 · Text 30

Mädchen

21 words1 min read90% known at A1

Ein Mädchen ist ein Kind, aus dem später eine Frau wird.

A girl is a child who will later become a woman.

Früher bedeutete „Mädchen“ eigentlich „Mägdlein“, das war eine junge Magd.

In the past, 'Mädchen' actually meant 'Mägdlein', which was a young maid.

2 words above A1

a female servant, especially on a farm plural: Mägde maid; female servant, especially on a farm; virgin; girl, young woman C2/maːkt/

Mägdlein← das Mägdlein

a young maid (diminutive of Magd) diminutive form, often archaic

Grammar in this text

Relative clause with 'aus dem'

Ein Mädchen ist ein Kind, aus dem später eine Frau wird.

The relative pronoun 'dem' refers to 'Kind' (neuter) and is used after the preposition 'aus' (dative). The verb 'wird' goes to the end of the relative clause.

Simple past tense (Präteritum) of 'bedeuten'

Früher bedeutete „Mädchen“ eigentlich „Mägdlein“

The verb 'bedeuten' is regular and forms the simple past with '-te'. This tense is used for past events, common in written narratives.

Adverb 'eigentlich'

das war eine junge Magd.

The adverb 'eigentlich' means 'actually' and is used to clarify or correct a previous statement.

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Same text, graded forA2 version B1 version B2 version C1 version

Text from Mädchen — MiniKlexikon, used under CC BY-SA 4.0. See sources.

Translation, glossary and grammar notes are machine-generated and inherit the same licence.