German

Alternative forms

• Herre (archaic)
• Herꝛ (archaic; sometimes used in fraktur)

Noun

Herr m ‎(genitive Herrn or Herren, plural Herren or Herrn)

1. Mr., mister, sir
2. gentleman

   Meine Damen und Herren = Ladies and gentlemen

3. master, lord, generally denotes that somebody has control over something, either in a generic or in a regal sense
   • Herr der Lage sein ('to be master of the situation'; a phrase meaning that somebody is able to cope with something)
   • Weil die Tiere auf seinen Wink reagieren, nennt man ihn den Herren der Wölfe. ('Because the animals react on his wink, he is called lord of the wolves.')
   • Wer ist Herr dieser Landen? Der Graf von Karabas. ('Who is the ruler/owner of these lands? The Count of Karabas.' From Der gestiefelte Kater, 'The Booted Tomcat'.)
4. Lord, God

   Das Haus des Herrn = The House of God

5. Used as a title of respect that is not translated into English or replaced with Sir:
   • Herr Schmidt = Mr. Schmidt; but:
   • Herr Doktor von Braun = Dr. von Braun
   • Herr Professor = Dr. (Ph.D.); professor
   • Jawohl, Herr Oberst! = Yes, sir! (lit.: 'Yes, Mr. Colonel.' Because Herr already is a respectful form of address, adding a term like 'sir' is unnecessary)
   • Mein Herr? Sie haben Ihre Uhr verloren. = Sir? You've lost your watch. (standard usage between strangers)
   • After supper Frau Brechenmacher packed four of the five babies to bed, allowing Rosa to stay with her and help to polish the buttons of Herr Brechenmacher's uniform. - "Frau Brechenmaster Attends A Wedding", from "Selected Short Stories" by Katherine Mansfield (first published in 1910)
   • (18th century), Beschreibung, Wie es bey der Allerdurchlauchtigst- und Großmächtigsten Fürstin und Frauen, Frauen Elisabethae Christinae, Römischen Kayserin, In Germanien, Hispanien, Hungarn und Böheim Königin, Ertz-Hertzogin zu Braunschweig-Lüneburg, Am 8. Septembris Anno 1723. In der Königlichen Haupt- und Residentz-Statt Prag Fürgegangenen Königlichen Böhmischen Krönung gehalten worden., Prag, page "C 2" (at books.google):

     (actual spelling:) Der Herꝛ Erꜩ⸗Bischoff wendete ſich ʒu dem Altar um vor ſeinem Faldiſtorio niederʒuknyen/ und die Litaney Aller⸗Heiligen vorʒubethen/

     (common modern transcription:) Der Herr Ertz-Bischoff wendete sich zu dem Altar um vor seinem Faldistorio niederzuknyen, und die Litaney Aller-Heiligen vorzubethen,

Usage notes

• Omitting Herr (or the female form Frau) when addressing a person with their last name is usually perceived as disrespectful, but it is more common when speaking about somebody who is not present, except in formal contexts. However, there may be contextual pitfalls and regional differences, which makes it advisable for learners not to leave out Herr (and Frau).
• When people address each other with their last name, but say du to each other, the words Herr and Frau are always left out in most regions. In parts of western Germany, however, there is (or was) a system of saying du and Herr (Frau) among coworkers.

Declension

• The forms Herrn and Herren were originally simple phonetic/graphic variants. Both were used for the singular and plural inflections. In contemporary standard German they are—usually—distinguished functionally, Herrn being the inflected singular, Herren the plural.

• Contemporary standard:

• Without functional split of -n/-en:

Derived terms

Related terms

• herrschen

Albanian

Noun

herr f (indefinite plural herra, definite singular herri, definite plural herrat)

1. dwarf, small creature

References

1. ↑ Orel, Vladimir (1998), “herr”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, page 146

Related terms

• harr
• harrje
• harlë

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhæːr/
• Homophone: här
• Rhymes: -æːr

Noun

herr c

1. Mister, Sir (used in address and titles); a form of herre

   I Solberga prästgård satt prästen, herr Arne, och åt aftonvard i kretsen av allt sitt husfolk.

   In Solberga rectory, the parish priest, Sir Arne, had supper in the company of all his servants. (Sir Arne's Treasure, novel by Selma Lagerlöf)

See also

• fru