01
das Huhn
chicken
A domesticated bird kept for its eggs and meat. Female animals are called hens, male ones roosters.
example
Die Hühner im Garten scharren nach Würmern.
The chickens in the garden are scratching for worms.
das Huhn
chicken
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Context clue
Context tells you whether the animal or the food is meant. Verbs like 'kochen' (to cook) or 'braten' (to roast/fry) point to the meat. Verbs like 'gackern' (to cluck) or 'Eier legen' (to lay eggs) refer to the living animal.
EXAMPLE
Für die Suppe brauchen wir ein frisches Huhn vom Markt.
For the soup, we need a fresh chicken from the market.
Countable or uncountable?
When 'Huhn' (chicken) refers generally to a dish or type of meat, it is often used without an article like an uncountable noun. When a whole animal carcass is meant, it is used countably.
EXAMPLE
Möchtest du lieber Fisch oder Huhn essen?
Would you rather eat fish or chicken?
Fixed expression
The idiom 'mit den Hühnern schlafen gehen' (to go to bed with the chickens) is a fixed unit. The person who goes to bed early is the subject of the sentence.
EXAMPLE
Morgen ist ein wichtiger Tag, deshalb gehe ich heute mit den Hühnern schlafen.
Tomorrow is an important day, so I'm going to bed early today.
Using the proverb
The proverb 'Ein blindes Huhn findet auch mal ein Korn' (even a blind chicken finds a grain sometimes) is often used as a standalone sentence to comment on a situation in which someone unexpectedly succeeded by chance.
EXAMPLE
Ich habe die Antwort nicht gewusst und nur geraten. Aber es war richtig! Ein blindes Huhn findet auch mal ein Korn.
I didn't know the answer and only guessed. But it was right! Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.
Compare with
Huhn vs Hahn
rooster / tap
'der Hahn' and 'das Huhn' both belong to the same animal species. The important difference is gender and precision. A 'Hahn' is always the male animal. 'Huhn' is more general and can refer to the species; in everyday language, it often means an individual animal without emphasizing its gender. Learners may confuse the words because a rooster is also a chicken, but not every chicken is a rooster. If the male animal is important, you say 'Hahn'.
Huhn
Im Garten läuft ein Huhn zwischen den Bäumen herum.
A chicken is walking around among the trees in the garden.
Hahn
Am frühen Morgen kräht der Hahn auf dem Bauernhof sehr laut.
Early in the morning, the rooster crows very loudly on the farm.
In real life
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