man (adult male person)
The default, neutral word for an adult male.
ein alter Mann
an old man
der Mann dort
the man over there
#67 · Noun · NOUN
In German, der Mann means “man (adult male person)”. It’s the #67 most frequently used German word. Below you’ll find how to use it, its forms, real example sentences, and common word pairings.
A very high-frequency masculine noun meaning "man" (adult male) — and, colloquially, "husband". It is the base of many everyday compounds.
neutralThe default, neutral word for an adult male.
an old man
the man over there
Colloquial; "mein Mann" almost always means "my husband", not "my man".
This is my husband.
Ranked by how often each form shows up in spoken German. The top 2 forms cover about 95% of everyday use — learn these first.
| nominative singular | der Mann | |
|---|---|---|
| accusative singular | den Mann | |
| dative singular | dem Mann | |
| genitive singular | des Mannes | |
| nominative plural | die Männer | |
| accusative plural | die Männer | |
| dative plural | den Männern | |
| genitive plural | der Männer |
| Nominative | der gute Mann | the good man (subject) |
|---|---|---|
| Accusative | den guten Mann | direct object |
| Dative | dem guten Mann | indirect object |
| Genitive | des guten Mannes | possessive; noun adds -es |
Der Mann liest eine Zeitung.
The man is reading a newspaper.
der Mann - nominative — the subject
Ich sehe den Mann.
I see the man.
den Mann - accusative — direct object
Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch.
I give the man the book.
dem Mann - dative — indirect object
Das ist das Auto des Mannes.
That is the man's car.
des Mannes - genitive — note the -es ending
| das Männchen | little man; (animal) male | diminutive |
|---|---|---|
| männlich | male, masculine | adjective |
| die Mannschaft | team, crew | derived noun |
| der Ehemann | husband | compound |
der Mann — a masculine person takes the masculine article der. The plural fronts the vowel: Mann → Männer.