der Hesse
Hessian
A male person who comes from or lives in the German federal state of Hesse.
EXAMPLE
Mein Nachbar ist gebürtiger Hesse und liebt Apfelwein.
My neighbor is a native Hessian and loves apple wine.
der Hesse
Hessian
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Meanings
der Hesse
Hessian
A member of the West Germanic tribe of the Chatti, who are considered the ancestors of today's Hessians.
EXAMPLE
Die Römer führten mehrere Kriege gegen die Stämme der Hessen.
The Romans fought several wars against the tribes of the Hessians.
Usage tips
Word family
'Der Hesse' (Hessian) belongs to a word family: the person is 'der Hesse' (the Hessian), the federal state is 'Hessen' (Hesse), and the corresponding adjective is 'hessisch' (Hessian).
EXAMPLE
Die hessische Spezialität ist „Grüne Soße“.
The Hessian specialty is 'Grüne Soße' (green sauce).
N-declension
'Der Hesse' (Hessian) is a noun of the N-declension. This means it gets the ending '-n' in all cases except the nominative singular. This is a common source of mistakes.
EXAMPLE
Ich habe gestern einen netten Hessen kennengelernt.
I met a nice Hessian yesterday.
Context clue
The meaning 'Angehöriger eines Germanenstammes' (member of a Germanic tribe) is used exclusively in historical texts, usually in connection with the Roman Empire. In all modern contexts, it refers to a person from the federal state of Hesse.
EXAMPLE
Der Geschichtslehrer erzählte vom Widerstand der Hessen gegen die römischen Legionen.
The history teacher talked about the resistance of the Hessians against the Roman legions.
In real life
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