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die Enkelin
granddaughter
The daughter of one's own son or daughter.
example
Meine Großmutter freut sich immer, wenn ihre Enkelin sie besucht.
My grandmother is always happy when her granddaughter visits her.
die Enkelin
granddaughter
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word structure
The word is derived from the masculine form 'der Enkel' (grandson) with the ending '-in'. This ending is the most common way to form female personal nouns in German.
EXAMPLE
Der Enkel spielt Fußball, die Enkelin liest ein Buch.
The grandson is playing soccer; the granddaughter is reading a book.
Word family
'Enkelin' (granddaughter) belongs to the word family related to descendants. This includes 'der Enkel' (grandson), 'das Enkelkind' (grandchild), and 'die Enkelkinder' (grandchildren, plural for all genders).
EXAMPLE
Die Großeltern haben drei Enkelkinder.
The grandparents have three grandchildren.
Showing possession
To express belonging, you usually use the genitive or the preposition 'von'. The genitive is more formal, while 'von' + dative is very common in everyday speech.
EXAMPLE
Das ist die Enkelin meiner Nachbarin.
That is my neighbor's granddaughter.
Compare with
Enkelin vs Tochter
daughter
'die Tochter' and 'die Enkelin' both refer to female family members, but they belong to different generations. A 'Tochter' is one's own female child. An 'Enkelin' is the female child of one's own son or daughter. Learners may confuse the words because in both cases they refer to a younger female person in the family. The simple guide is: from the parents' point of view, you say 'Tochter'; from the grandparents' point of view, you say 'Enkelin'.
Enkelin
Heute holt mein Nachbar seine Enkelin vom Kindergarten ab.
Today my neighbor is picking up his granddaughter from kindergarten.
Tochter
Meine Tochter geht seit diesem Jahr allein zur Schule.
My daughter has been going to school by herself since this year.
In real life
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