Bein

See also: bein, be-in, and bein'

German

Etymology

From Middle High German bein, from Old High German bein, from Proto-West Germanic *bain, from Proto-Germanic *bainą. Compare Dutch been, English bone, Danish ben.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /baɪ̯n/
  • audio(file)
  • audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪ̯n

Noun

Bein n (strong, genitive Beines or Beins, plural Beine, diminutive Beinchen n)

  1. leg of a person, animal, or object
  2. (technical, archaic, except in compounds) bone
    Synonym: Knochen

Usage notes
  • In a narrower sense, German Bein excludes the feet, but for the most part it includes them. It can even refer to the feet specifically in some regions where a clothed but barefoot person might hear Du hast ja nichts an den Beinen! (literally “You have nothing on your legs!”) Compare also the phrase wieder auf den Beinen, where English says “back on one’s feet”.
  • The sense of bone is widely obsolete in standard usage, apart from technical usage ("aus Bein geschnitzt"), some common phrases, such as "durch Mark und Bein", and various compounds, such as Schlüsselbein, Elfenbein, Steißbein.

Declension
Declension of Bein [neuter, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein das Bein die Beine
genitive eines des Beines, Beins der Beine
dative einem dem Bein, Beine1 den Beinen
accusative ein das Bein die Beine

1Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

(leg):

(bone):

Further reading

German Low German

Alternative forms
  • (in other dialects, including Low Prussian) Been

Etymology

See Been.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /bɛɪ̯n/, /baɪ̯n/

Noun

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Bein ? (plural Beiner)

  1. (in some dialects) leg

Noun

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Bein ? (plural has not been set)

  1. (in some dialects) bone (as material)
  2. (in some dialects) bones; a skeleton or skeletons

See also
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