Knochen

German

Etymology

From Middle High German knoche, from Old High German knohha, from Proto-West Germanic *knokō (“bone, joint”).

Compare Dutch knook (“bone”), knokkel (“knuckle”), knekel (“bone (of a dead person)”), English knuckle, Danish kno and Swedish knoge (both “knuckle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈknɔχn̩], [ˈknɔχŋ̍], [ˈknɔχən]

• Audio:

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• Audio:

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• Hyphenation: Kno‧chen

Noun

Knochen m (strong, genitive Knochens, plural Knochen, diminutive Knöchlein n)

1. bone
2. (as a dependent of compounds, colloquial) backbreaking, demanding

   Knochenjob ― backbreaking job.

   Knochenstudium ― wasteful academic studies

Declension

Declension of Knochen [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Knochen	die	Knochen
genitive	eines	des	Knochens	der	Knochen
dative	einem	dem	Knochen	den	Knochen
accusative	einen	den	Knochen	die	Knochen

Derived terms

• Knöchel
• Musikantenknochen
• Penisknochen

Further reading

• “Knochen” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “Knochen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Knochen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Knochen” in Duden online
• Knochen on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de