die Königin
queen
The female ruler of a kingdom.
EXAMPLE
Königin Margrethe II. war Staatsoberhaupt von Dänemark.
Queen Margrethe II was the head of state of Denmark.
die Königin
queen
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Meanings
die Königin
queen
The wife of a king.
EXAMPLE
Der König betrat den Saal zusammen mit der Königin.
The king entered the hall together with the queen.
die Königin
queen
The most powerful piece in the game of chess.
EXAMPLE
Mit seiner Königin schlug er den gegnerischen Turm und setzte den König schachmatt.
With his queen, he captured the opponent's rook and checkmated the king.
die Königin
queen
The only reproductive female in a colony of social insects such as bees, ants, or termites.
EXAMPLE
Das ganze Bienenvolk dient der einen Königin.
The whole bee colony serves the one queen.
die Königin
queen
A woman who is considered the best or most beautiful in a certain field or at a certain event (e.g., prom queen, wine queen).
EXAMPLE
Sie wurde zur Schönheitskönigin des Landes gewählt.
She was chosen as the country's beauty queen.
Usage tips
Word structure
The word 'Königin' (queen) is the feminine form of 'der König' (the king). The ending '-in' is used very frequently in German to form the feminine form from a masculine person or profession noun.
EXAMPLE
Die Königin regierte das Land weise.
The queen ruled the country wisely.
Word family
'Königin' (queen) belongs to the word family around 'der König' (the king). The adjective 'königlich' (royal) also belongs to it and describes things that belong to a king or queen, or are worthy of them.
EXAMPLE
Die Familie besuchte das königliche Schloss.
The family visited the royal castle.
Context clue
The context tells you whether a ruling monarch or the wife of a king is meant. A female ruler is often mentioned together with her country (e.g., 'Königin von England' — Queen of England), while the wife is often mentioned together with the king.
EXAMPLE
Die Königin von Spanien hielt eine Rede.
The queen of Spain gave a speech.
Typical collocations
In the figurative meaning, 'Königin' (queen) is often used as the second part of compound words. Examples are 'Ballkönigin' (prom queen), 'Weinkönigin' (wine queen), or 'Schützenkönigin' (shooting queen / markswoman queen).
EXAMPLE
Zur Eröffnung des Weinfestes wurde die neue Weinkönigin gekrönt.
At the opening of the wine festival, the new wine queen was crowned.
Context: chess
In chess, the queen is the strongest piece. Typical verbs in this context are 'die Königin opfern' (to sacrifice the queen), 'die Königin bewegen' (to move the queen), or 'mit der Königin schlagen' (to capture with the queen).
EXAMPLE
Er opferte seine Königin, um das Spiel zu gewinnen.
He sacrificed his queen to win the game.
Context: insects
This meaning occurs only in a biological context. The word is usually combined with the insect species, for example 'Bienenkönigin' (queen bee) or 'Ameisenkönigin' (queen ant).
EXAMPLE
Forscher haben die Bienenkönigin mit einem Punkt markiert.
Researchers marked the queen bee with a dot.
Compare with
Königin vs Dame
lady / queen / checkers
In chess, die Dame and die Königin refer to the same, most powerful piece. Dame is the usual and standard German term, while Königin is understandable but is not the traditional name for the piece. So in chess texts and while playing, Dame is the appropriate term.
Königin
Im Schach erklärte der Anfänger, dass seine Königin das freie Feld neben dem König besetzte.
In chess, the beginner explained that his queen occupied the empty square next to the king.
Dame
Im Schach setzte Lisa die Dame auf das freie Feld neben dem König.
In chess, Lisa moved the queen to the empty square next to the king.
In real life
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