der Ehemann
husband
Der Ehemann (the husband) is the formal German word for a married man, paired with his wife. It is masculine, takes der as the definite article, and forms the plural die Ehemänner. The word is a compound: Ehe (marriage) plus Mann (man), so the literal meaning is "marriage man".
In everyday German, people usually say mein Mann instead of mein Ehemann. Mann is shorter and more natural in conversation, and the context makes clear that you mean your husband rather than any random man. Ehemann shows up more often in formal writing, in legal texts, on official forms, and when the speaker needs to be explicit about marital status. The same applies to Frau (woman or wife) versus Ehefrau (wife specifically).
You will see Ehemann in sentences like ihr Ehemann arbeitet im Krankenhaus (her husband works at the hospital), der Ehemann meiner Schwester (my sister's husband), and als Ehemann und Vater (as a husband and father). The genitive form is des Ehemanns or des Ehemannes, and the dative is dem Ehemann.
A related word is der Gatte, which is even more formal and sounds slightly old-fashioned. Gemahl is more formal still, mostly found in literature or in respectful address. Neither is common in casual speech.
Pronunciation: "EH-eh-mann", with stress on the first syllable. The two e sounds at the start are short and clear, spoken as separate vowels rather than blended together. The double n at the end keeps the a short, like in English "man".
Article / Gender
English
husband
Singular
der Ehemann
Plural
die Ehemänner
der Ehemann appears in the following vocabulary collections:
Der Ehemann sitzt im Wohnzimmer.
The husband sits in the living room.
Subject first, verb in position 2.
Ich sehe den Ehemann im Garten.
I see the husband in the garden.
Accusative object follows the verb.
Der Ehemann ist müde.
The husband is tired.
Predicative adjective after 'sein'.
- What does Ehemann mean in German?
- Ehemann means "husband" in German. It is a compound of Ehe (marriage) and Mann (man), so it literally means "marriage man". The word is used when you need to be specific about marital status, often in formal writing.
- What is the plural of Ehemann?
- The plural is die Ehemänner. The a takes an umlaut and -er is added to the end, following the same pattern as the simpler word Mann, which becomes Männer.
- Is Ehemann masculine, feminine, or neuter?
- Ehemann is masculine, so it takes der. The gender follows from the second part of the compound, Mann: in German compound nouns, the last element always determines the gender of the whole word.
- What is the difference between Mann and Ehemann?
- Mann means "man" in general, but in possessive phrases like mein Mann it also means "my husband". Ehemann is more specific and is the safer choice in formal contexts. In everyday speech, mein Mann is far more common than mein Ehemann.
- How do you say "my husband" in German?
- Mein Mann is the everyday way to say "my husband", and mein Ehemann is the more formal variant. Both are masculine, so the possessive mein takes no extra ending. In the dative case, "to my husband" becomes meinem Mann or meinem Ehemann.