mistress / lady
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lady / mistress
A woman who has power, ownership, or authority over something or someone, e.g. as the owner of an animal or as the lady of the house.
Die Herrin des Anwesens begrüßte ihre Gäste persönlich.
The lady of the estate personally greeted her guests.
'Die Herrin' (mistress/lady) is the feminine form of 'der Herr' (master/gentleman). It describes a woman with authority or ownership, just as 'der Herr' describes a man.
Der Hund gehorcht nicht nur seinem Herrn, sondern auch seiner Herrin.
The dog obeys not only his master, but also his mistress.
To express what a woman is the 'Herrin' (mistress/lady) of, German often uses the genitive or the preposition 'von' (of/from). The combination 'die Herrin des Hauses' (the lady of the house) is especially common.
Sie ist die Herrin eines großen Landgutes.
She is the lady of a large estate.
The expression 'Herrin der Lage sein' (to be in control of the situation) is a fixed phrase. It means that a woman controls or manages a difficult situation.
Trotz des Chaos blieb die Managerin stets Herrin der Lage.
Despite the chaos, the manager always remained in control of the situation.
The meaning 'Geliebte' (lover/mistress) is outdated and sounds old-fashioned today. It is now used almost only in historical contexts such as books or films.
Im Roman traf der Adlige seine Herrin im Geheimen.
In the novel, the nobleman met his mistress in secret.
female slave
'die Herrin' and 'die Sklavin' stand in a strong contrast when it comes to power and dependence. A 'Herrin' has authority or ownership over something or someone. A 'Sklavin' has no freedom and is controlled by another person. The words can be confused because both occur in old or historical contexts and describe a relationship between people. What matters is the direction of power: the 'Herrin' decides, the 'Sklavin' must obey.
In der alten Geschichte gibt die Herrin den Bediensteten strenge Anweisungen.
In the old story, the mistress gives the servants strict instructions.
Die Sklavin durfte nicht frei entscheiden, wo sie leben wollte.
The female slave was not allowed to decide freely where she wanted to live.