# Cousin vs Vetter



## Thomas1

Hallo, 

I am doing a chapter on family in my textbook and it gives two words for cousin. Is there any difference between _Cousin _and _Vetter _please?

Danke, 
Thomas


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## Hutschi

No, there is no difference in the meaning. However, in my family they use "Cousin" much more often.
I do not know, whether this corresponds to a regional difference or if it depends on age.


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## cyanista

In the few years that I've lived in Germany I haven't heard anyone say Vetter so far, only Cousin.


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## Henryk

"Cousin" is way more common. What might be interesting to know for learners of German is that the pronunciation of exactly this word is totally skewed by many native speakers. In my neck of the woods it's actually always pronounced "Koseng", with the stress on the second syllable.


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## cyanista

Henryk said:


> "Cousin" is way more common. What might be interesting to know for learners of German is that the pronunciation of exactly this word is totally skewed by many native speakers. In my neck of the woods it's actually always pronounced "Koseng", with the stress on the second syllable.



Not "Kuseng" by any chance?


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## Thomas1

I have been pronouncing it more or less the French way all the time. So, is the French-like pronunciation in use in German at all? This pronunciation is also given in my dictionary, btw [ku'zE:] the E is nasalised.

Tom


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## Rabyte

Yes, the French way is perfect. The problem is that most Germans have a tough time nasalizing and rather say [ku'zeng]. This "substitution" is found a lot in French words ie. Croissant: [kros'song] instead of [kroa'so~] if you know what I mean. However try to say it the French way cause that's the right way and everyone will understand you. Have a nice day


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## avok

The Germans pronounce "cousin" something like kuzeng or even kuzenk and "cousine" as "kuzine".


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## EvilWillow

avok said:


> The Germans pronounce "cousin" something like kuzeng or even kuzenk


Some people do, yes, but luckily not all.  
The word _Vetter_ is not very common around here and personally I don't ever use it.


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## Hutschi

Mainly I heard "Vetter" in the "Operette" "Der Vetter aus Dingsda". And for this special case I used the word.


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## sokol

As already mentioned, the basic semantics of 'Vetter' and 'Cousin' is exactly the same, but 'Vetter' is outdated probably in the whole German speech community, although I'm not sure - is anyone out there who still constantly uses 'Vetter'?
Accordingly, if someone were to use 'Vetter', one should not use 'Cousine', either, but rather 'Base', and I ask you, who of you foreros do even know that the word 'Base' exists? 
('Vetter' is a tiny little bit more commonly known as 'Vetternwirtschaft', for example, still is used, though rarely.)

And as for this one:


cyanista said:


> Not "Kuseng" by any chance?





Thomas1 said:


> I have been pronouncing it more or less the French way all the time. So, is the French-like pronunciation in use in German at all? This pronunciation is also given in my dictionary, btw [ku'zE:] the E is nasalised.



In Austria, we exclusively pronounce 'Cousin' the French way (meaning, with nasal) and you will at once be thought of as 'German' (meaning: coming from Germany) if you say 'Kuseng' or similar.
The 'eng' is, so to speak, a nationality marker for us Austrians meaning Federal Republic of Germany. However, not every German says 'Kuseng' ... so no offence meant, if you're German and if you think that 'Kuseng' sounds awful.


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## Rah

We still seem to be teaching Vetter und Kusine in the UK!! What then are the plurals for Cousin and Cousine?


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## EvilWillow

die Cousins (male plural)
die Cousinen (female plural)


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## Toadie

My German teacher, who is actually German (unlike most teachers in America :/), has no problem nasalizing the /n/ sound to sound like French, but he _still_ pronounces words like Cousin and Ballon as "Kusang" and "Ballong".  I found that interesting.


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## Lykurg

I do sometimes use "Vetter" (perhaps more often than "Cousin"), and of course I _know _"Base", although I probably never said it aloud; we sometimes sum it up in the 'mixed' form "meine Vettern und Cousinen".


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## Sepia

Wir haben aber immer noch das Wort "Vettern-Wirtschaft" - wir sagen nicht "Cousin-Wirtschaft". (Wäre mir zumindest neu.)


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## Hutschi

Toadie said:


> My German teacher, who is actually German (unlike most teachers in America :/), has no problem nasalizing the /n/ sound to sound like French, but he _still_ pronounces words like Cousin and Ballon as "Kusang" and "Ballong".  I found that interesting.



"Cousin" is assimilated by the German language, and so it got the German pronunciation.  

It is similar to "Cent".

I speak "tsent" for the Euro Cent. Many say "sent"


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## Sidjanga

I, too, use exclusively _Cousin _and _Cousine_, and I always pronounce _Cousin _nasalised, as well as many people I know.

_Cousine _may also be spelt _Kusine_ (the final _-e_ is pronounced either way).


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## hhtt

Sidjanga said:


> _Cousine _may also be spelt _Kusine_ (the final _-e_ is pronounced either way).



Which one is common if Cousine, Kusine and Wetter mean "cousin"?

Thank you.


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## Hutschi

hhtt said:


> Which one is common if Cousine, Kusine and *V*etter mean "cousin"?
> 
> Thank you.



Hi, I would prefer "Cousin" and "Cousine".

"Kusine" came due to spelling reform but I never saw it in a text, except today here.

You could also use the "Vetter" and "Base".

At least in my region it sounds dated, however.

Both words are used frequently. Cousin is increasing in frequence, Vetter is decreasing.



Compare:
DWDS              –                Das Wortauskunftssystem zur deutschen Sprache in Geschichte und Gegenwart Cousin
DWDS              –                Das Wortauskunftssystem zur deutschen Sprache in Geschichte und Gegenwart Vetter

You can see in the curves, that Cousin is appr. 2 times more frequently used today.

The form "Kusine" is extremely seldom today.
DWDS              –                Das Wortauskunftssystem zur deutschen Sprache in Geschichte und Gegenwart Kusine
DWDS              –                Das Wortauskunftssystem zur deutschen Sprache in Geschichte und Gegenwart Cousine

---
Anyways, I'd use the forms symmetrically.


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## Hutschi

(I wrote details in a PM to hhtt. The easy way is: press "Watch this thread" above the article. Or mark it in preferences -- or under "more options" when creating or modifying an entry.)

PS:
*Summary*
Vetter, Cousin - male
Base, Cousine, Kusine - female

Cousin and Cousine are prefered.
Kusine ist extremely seldom.
Vetter and Base are relatively seldom today, "Vetter" is frequently used in fixed expressions like "Vetternwirtschaft".


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## nellysmutti

Vetter is the German word, Cousin or Cousine came to Germany with Napoleon when he invaded.  The highest number of words of french origin are found in Austria, where you won't hear Gehsteig as much as Trottoir.


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## anahiseri

I have never used *Vetter* and I don't think I have ever heard it either; I have only met it in writing. it sounds terribly old fashioned. *Base*, as has been noted, even more.
it's like saying *Oheim* instead of *Onkel*.


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## Schlabberlatz

nellysmutti said:


> Cousin or Cousine came to Germany with Napoleon when he invaded.


This could be true. But it’s also possible that those words entered the German language earlier. French had a great influence as early as in the 18th century; catchwords: Age of Enlightenment, l’Encyclopédie, Voltaire, French Revolution, etc. A lot of French words entered the language, many of which disappeared again later. One example is "ennuyieren":


> Was heißt das für ein Leben führen,
> Sich und die Jungens ennuyieren?
> Goethe, Faust


P. S.: Willkommen im Forum


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