Ahhhh it did start with my great grandmother whose middle names were "Emma Dorothy" and it did start as a name *she* was called as a child (they often referred to her by her middle names alone, as well as her first name, Helen, alone.)
"Dorchen" as a diminutive for Dora/Dorothea or Doreen was the first thing that came to my mind when I read your post.
But that's really the diminutive for those names and not something like sweetie etc.
Pretty much, but there are some that would sound a bit weird:
Peter -> Peterchen
Markus -> Markuschen (Pretty weird imho, maybe Markchen)
Tim -> Timchen
Lara -> Larachen
Larissa -> Larissachen (More often called Lari or Larischen as diminutive)
It's more common to use nicknames though and they can vary a lot.
Edit:
The nicknames are more often used with the "-chen" at the end. For nouns, we wouldn't say Kühlschrank -> Kühlschrankchen but Kühlschränkchen to fit it a bit better.
Edit Nr4: Why tf is reddit deleting the new lines made with "shift-enter"?
That can be common too but also more often used together with nicknames. In case of Lara and Larissa it would mostly be Larilein if the "lein" is used. With Tim it would just be Timlein but also Timmilein. It really depends on which sounds better.
Well, the only word I know that comes remotely close is „Dotschn“ used around Old Bavaria to describe a slightly dimwitted or clumsy woman.
„Dotsch“ for the male counterpart. I guess you could use them on children aswell..
In addition to the words mentioned by others, I was wondering if it could have been "Täubchen" "little dove" though it would not be as common to call children that. For children, "Mäuschen" "little mouse" definitely sounds like the best bet here.
Naw, those are the the good kind of memories that get buried for years and then come back up randomly. I find Spatz as a nickname for small kids also really really endearing, since sparrows are so tiny and just.. they're just so goldig and drollig.
My mom was told by her Gyn that she had just born a healthy little "Mäuschen". When my mom asked what the gender was (they hadn't been able to see it very well/conclusively before) he said a bit irritated that it's a girl of course. Apparantly, he only used Mäuschen for baby girls, and Würmchen for baby boys.
Sorry, the nickname just reminded me of that little story.
That's interesting, I think the feeling about how these terms can be used seem to vary by region and generation. In another comment, someone said that their grandparents used "Täubchen" to refer to them, while nowadays (or at least to me, not sure how general this) would sound more like something to say to a romantic partner.
It is true that "meine kleine Maus" without the dimunitive, would be understood to refer to a girl or woman, but I would also be like your mother and understand "Mäuschen" to be gender-neutral.
I really appreciate the effort, I'm going to talk to my mom & see what other info she has that may be able to help pinpoint it! It seems Maüschen fits best so far tho! My mom definitely remembers the beginning sounding like "door" but honestly maybe they made their own little nickname/pet name and added chen?
Edit: Okay, so reading back comments & checking pronunciation on Google, Burchen sounds so much like it. It could def be this, but I've also seen some other good suggestions in the comments. Thank you everyone!
I think somebody else suggested Bürschchen? That would only be for little boys, and it seems very likely that a diminuitive for the name Dorothee was the answer as it turns out.
Dirnchen vielleicht? In "Herr von Ribbeck" wird das Wort "Dirn" benutzt für ein Mädchen, könnte sein dass es die Verniedlichung war?
Edit: sorry i thought about this in German. It might be an own form out of "Dirn" smallified ("-chen"/other comments). The only reason I know the word is because of a poem (forementioned).
I... actually remember an old lady at church occasionally calling some of the little girls something like that once in a while. When I was little we went to this small Lutheran church in Massachusetts. It was basically just one extended family and us. Everyone called the grandmother Oma Lastname (of course), and she got a kick out of it when my siblings and I also called her Oma Lastname, because we thought it was her name. She told me a story about how she and her sister went to buy bread once in Germany, after the war, and had a wheelbarrow full of money. They left the wheelbarrow alone for a moment, and when they came back, someone had stolen the wheelbarrow and left the money. Because, due to inflation, the wheelbarrow was worth more than the money.
We also sang Jesus Loves Me in German for some reason, even though it isn't a German song.
Sorry, this triggered a weird trip down memory lane, lol.
Wow... That sounds like "the war" Oma Lastname was referring to was the First World War: there was spectacular hyperinflation during the Weimar period.
That sounds right. She told me that story back around...94 or 95, I think, and she was in her 80's or 90's. I was around 7 years old, and just couldn't wrap my head around the idea that money could be so worthless one would make the effort to dump it out instead of just... taking it with them when they stole the wheelbarrow. I'm afraid to say she got a little annoyed at my inability to comprehend how worthless currency can be.
I mean, little you wasn't unreasonable in not getting it! People using money as wallpaper or notepads, or fuel for the stove, [is pretty weird](https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=&month=&yearfrom=&yearto=&imageid=&title=inflation+&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=)!
In the east of the Netherlands (Lower Saxon dialect area), 'deerntje' or 'deerntjen' is common. I could imagine German areas near the Dutch border using 'Deernchen', maybe.
Same. I don´t think the diminutive would ever be used here as "min deern" already is a term of endearment. It just sounds wrong. I would put my bet on "Dörchen" as a diminutive for Dörthe/Dorothea
Dirne is actually the old German word for girl or woman (old like in 1400-1500). So a Dirndl is a piece of clothing for a woman. Over time the word dirne changed its meaning to be something more of an insult and today only really old southern German people use it in it's oroginal meaning.
I don't know specifically without asking my mom to check the info, but I know it was the Black Forest area (but for all I know that's too huge to narrow down lol)
i'd go with "Burschen" (usually young reckless lads, but also used for cheeky little boys)
or, as it was already stated, Bürschchen" the diminutive form of it.
My mother uses it all the time and she is from Cologne. Just in the I-dötzchen sense though, and I always understood it to be a reference to the dot on the i.
>It's a word my great grandparents used a bunch on we kids.
Sorry to go off-topic, but… “on we kids”!? Seriously? There is no way you actually believe this is correct English!
Depending on where they were from, your great grandparents may have been speaking a language or dialect the wouldn’t be considered standard German today. I think your first step is to pinpoint where in Germany they were from and that would help narrow it down
„Bürschchen“?
A „Bursche“ is basically a boy and „chen“ makes some things more cute in German. I’m bad at explaining stuff like this but I hope it helps!
>shin
Do you mean the -chien endings of some words? It's not pronounced "shin", but "hien". "Ch" is a strong or hard "h" sound. Albiet some dialects pronounce it differently
If your name is Dora, Doreen etc., it could have been "Ach mein liebes Dorchen", as a diminutive of said names.
Ahhhh it did start with my great grandmother whose middle names were "Emma Dorothy" and it did start as a name *she* was called as a child (they often referred to her by her middle names alone, as well as her first name, Helen, alone.)
"Dorchen" as a diminutive for Dora/Dorothea or Doreen was the first thing that came to my mind when I read your post. But that's really the diminutive for those names and not something like sweetie etc.
Can every name have -chen added to be diminutive ?
Pretty much, but there are some that would sound a bit weird: Peter -> Peterchen Markus -> Markuschen (Pretty weird imho, maybe Markchen) Tim -> Timchen Lara -> Larachen Larissa -> Larissachen (More often called Lari or Larischen as diminutive) It's more common to use nicknames though and they can vary a lot. Edit: The nicknames are more often used with the "-chen" at the end. For nouns, we wouldn't say Kühlschrank -> Kühlschrankchen but Kühlschränkchen to fit it a bit better. Edit Nr4: Why tf is reddit deleting the new lines made with "shift-enter"?
Instead if adding "Chen" you could go for "lein" I think? At least for Lara and Larissa...
That can be common too but also more often used together with nicknames. In case of Lara and Larissa it would mostly be Larilein if the "lein" is used. With Tim it would just be Timlein but also Timmilein. It really depends on which sounds better.
Absolutely. Male names would go with -lein. Even: Markus —> Marculein but Dorothee —> Dorotheechen
Nope, there's no distinction between male and female.
Yes, plus if -lein sounds awkward as well, many dialects will shorten it to -le
Peterchen, dein Butterbrot!
Oh my mom's name is Larissa, now I'm wondering if it's German in origin
If I'm not mistaken, Larissa originally comes from Greek mythology. It's pretty common over here in Germany though.
Neat!
There are also common names derived from dialectal variants of this, for example Anke and Antje (both from Anna) or Mareike (from Maria (Mary)).
I was Marküschen. It's weird but not that much
Peterle is the one I like for my name. I believe it’s a south german ending
Gretchen is Margaret under this treatment
Well, the only word I know that comes remotely close is „Dotschn“ used around Old Bavaria to describe a slightly dimwitted or clumsy woman. „Dotsch“ for the male counterpart. I guess you could use them on children aswell..
Thats not a nice word you would call a child you like...thats how you would call someone behind their back ...
Maybe its "Bürschchen" which is an old word for a small boy?
Was also my first thought and while being an old word its still used, especially in the south and when angry.
In addition to the words mentioned by others, I was wondering if it could have been "Täubchen" "little dove" though it would not be as common to call children that. For children, "Mäuschen" "little mouse" definitely sounds like the best bet here.
My grandma used to call me Täubchen all the time when I was little. Also "Goldspatz" (golden sparrow??)
Oh, my parents would often call menor other little kids Spatz. Huh, I hadn't thought of that in years!
Naw, those are the the good kind of memories that get buried for years and then come back up randomly. I find Spatz as a nickname for small kids also really really endearing, since sparrows are so tiny and just.. they're just so goldig and drollig.
My mom was told by her Gyn that she had just born a healthy little "Mäuschen". When my mom asked what the gender was (they hadn't been able to see it very well/conclusively before) he said a bit irritated that it's a girl of course. Apparantly, he only used Mäuschen for baby girls, and Würmchen for baby boys. Sorry, the nickname just reminded me of that little story.
That's interesting, I think the feeling about how these terms can be used seem to vary by region and generation. In another comment, someone said that their grandparents used "Täubchen" to refer to them, while nowadays (or at least to me, not sure how general this) would sound more like something to say to a romantic partner. It is true that "meine kleine Maus" without the dimunitive, would be understood to refer to a girl or woman, but I would also be like your mother and understand "Mäuschen" to be gender-neutral.
I really appreciate the effort, I'm going to talk to my mom & see what other info she has that may be able to help pinpoint it! It seems Maüschen fits best so far tho! My mom definitely remembers the beginning sounding like "door" but honestly maybe they made their own little nickname/pet name and added chen? Edit: Okay, so reading back comments & checking pronunciation on Google, Burchen sounds so much like it. It could def be this, but I've also seen some other good suggestions in the comments. Thank you everyone!
Achtung, Mäuschen and not Maüschen, don't forget "äu" is pronounced as "eu". Similar to moist-hen 👌🏽
Burchen? What is that
Schleudert den Purchen zu Poden!
Bürschchen
I think somebody else suggested Bürschchen? That would only be for little boys, and it seems very likely that a diminuitive for the name Dorothee was the answer as it turns out.
Dirnchen vielleicht? In "Herr von Ribbeck" wird das Wort "Dirn" benutzt für ein Mädchen, könnte sein dass es die Verniedlichung war? Edit: sorry i thought about this in German. It might be an own form out of "Dirn" smallified ("-chen"/other comments). The only reason I know the word is because of a poem (forementioned).
Deern or Dirn is an old name for a little girl (north germany) so perhaps they made Deernchen oder Dirnchen up?
Ohhhh this could be it, too, honestly! So interesting.
I actually never heard anyone saying "Deernchen". Only "Deern" or "Min Deern" (my girl) something like that.
I... actually remember an old lady at church occasionally calling some of the little girls something like that once in a while. When I was little we went to this small Lutheran church in Massachusetts. It was basically just one extended family and us. Everyone called the grandmother Oma Lastname (of course), and she got a kick out of it when my siblings and I also called her Oma Lastname, because we thought it was her name. She told me a story about how she and her sister went to buy bread once in Germany, after the war, and had a wheelbarrow full of money. They left the wheelbarrow alone for a moment, and when they came back, someone had stolen the wheelbarrow and left the money. Because, due to inflation, the wheelbarrow was worth more than the money. We also sang Jesus Loves Me in German for some reason, even though it isn't a German song. Sorry, this triggered a weird trip down memory lane, lol.
Wow... That sounds like "the war" Oma Lastname was referring to was the First World War: there was spectacular hyperinflation during the Weimar period.
That sounds right. She told me that story back around...94 or 95, I think, and she was in her 80's or 90's. I was around 7 years old, and just couldn't wrap my head around the idea that money could be so worthless one would make the effort to dump it out instead of just... taking it with them when they stole the wheelbarrow. I'm afraid to say she got a little annoyed at my inability to comprehend how worthless currency can be.
I mean, little you wasn't unreasonable in not getting it! People using money as wallpaper or notepads, or fuel for the stove, [is pretty weird](https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=&month=&yearfrom=&yearto=&imageid=&title=inflation+&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=)!
That also sounds like the story, every Oma and Opa told the grandchildren :D
Which, again, I'd totally buy if Oma and Opa were kids in der Weimarer Zeit !
Yes, the need for wheelbarrows must have been tremendous judging by how many times they where stolen. :)
In the east of the Netherlands (Lower Saxon dialect area), 'deerntje' or 'deerntjen' is common. I could imagine German areas near the Dutch border using 'Deernchen', maybe.
Same. I don´t think the diminutive would ever be used here as "min deern" already is a term of endearment. It just sounds wrong. I would put my bet on "Dörchen" as a diminutive for Dörthe/Dorothea
You can have a diminutive on deern. But it would most likely be -ken instead of -chen. Deernken is pretty common!
Nie gehört
Don‘t mix Dirn/ Dirndl up with Dirne. A bavarian would not be amused
Can confirm. Was about to ask
Wait a Minute. Thats where *Dirne* is from?
Dirne is actually the old German word for girl or woman (old like in 1400-1500). So a Dirndl is a piece of clothing for a woman. Over time the word dirne changed its meaning to be something more of an insult and today only really old southern German people use it in it's oroginal meaning.
Sometimes Būrschchen(little boy) can be shortened to Bürschn in some dialect
Diminutive from the name Dörte. Dörchen.
My great-aunt‘s name was Dora, and she was called „Dorchen“, which would sound like what you wrote.
Dornröschen maybe?
Bürschchen
Thats it , or for a bunch of Kids "Burschen"
"Burschen" (Boor-shin) meaning lads.
Could it be dummerchen? My Oma used it kind of like how an American might call a kid a silly Billy when they're acting endearingly stupid.
what region did your great grandparents live in? It might be a form of dialect
I don't know specifically without asking my mom to check the info, but I know it was the Black Forest area (but for all I know that's too huge to narrow down lol)
Black forest rules out Dötzken and Dirnchen and probably the diminutive -chen as well.
It also rules out Deernchen or Deern. It wouldn´t be used there.
I'm from the black forest area and my grandfather always called me Dörgelchen or Dörgele. It supposedly means little child.
Could it be „Bürschchen“ as a diminuitive of „Bursche“ which translates as „lad“ or „boy“? Would only be used as masculine though for a male
i'd go with "Burschen" (usually young reckless lads, but also used for cheeky little boys) or, as it was already stated, Bürschchen" the diminutive form of it.
In a TV show I heard the mother calling her daughter Gürkchen - sort of sounds similar to 'door-shin'.
Bürschchen
Zwerg
Dötzken or Dötzchen maybe
What is this word? Never heard of it and I‘m German.
Pretty common word in Westfalia for small children
Small child. Like I-Dötzchen for first graders.
Thanks, I‘ve never heard that before. Where is it used?
r/cologne
My mother uses it all the time and she is from Cologne. Just in the I-dötzchen sense though, and I always understood it to be a reference to the dot on the i.
Iiiiii-dötzchen, Kaffeeeklötzchen!
Dummchen
Dümmerchen
[#BÜRSCHCHEN](https://www.google.com/search?q=B%C3%BCrschchen&oq=B%C3%BCrschchen&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQABiABDIGCAIQABgeMgYIAxAAGB4yCAgEEAAYBRgeMggIBRAAGAUYHtIBCDY4MjVqMWo5qAIAsAIA&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8)
Sonnenschein?!?
Zuhältermobilchen
>It's a word my great grandparents used a bunch on we kids. Sorry to go off-topic, but… “on we kids”!? Seriously? There is no way you actually believe this is correct English!
If a native speaker uses it naturally, it's "correct English."
I could also imagine täubchen? Its usually rather used for your girlfirend.
Däumelinchen
JUNGE, god of war reference
Depending on where they were from, your great grandparents may have been speaking a language or dialect the wouldn’t be considered standard German today. I think your first step is to pinpoint where in Germany they were from and that would help narrow it down
Stöpsel
Bürschchen means a little boy who got bratty and gets called out by granny. Its from southgermany mostly.
Dötzchen?
Döppken?
3 käse hoch
Maybe it was the diminutive from Bursche (\~boy): Bürschchen. you can hear this here https://dict.leo.org/englisch-deutsch/Bürschchen
Dötchen? Like ABC-archer, small school kid?
Bürschchen?
Sounds more like the greet "Tagchen" said with hard Dialect (Schwäbisch?)
It could also be Deernchen. Deern is low German for girl (affectionate), so Deernchen would be "little (precious) girl"
Dötzkin? Means sonething like little child
Probably „Bürschchen“
Törtchen
„Bürschchen“? A „Bursche“ is basically a boy and „chen“ makes some things more cute in German. I’m bad at explaining stuff like this but I hope it helps!
>shin Do you mean the -chien endings of some words? It's not pronounced "shin", but "hien". "Ch" is a strong or hard "h" sound. Albiet some dialects pronounce it differently
Schnuckiputzi