Mutti (endearing term for "mother" spoken by adult)
- Thread starter Mikamocha
- Start date
No, it's not just for children, an adult can call his mother "Mutti", too.Would she call her mother "Mutti" as I've seen on other threadsor is that just for children?
Last edited:
Definitely. "Mutter" and "Vater" as form of addressing always sounds a little distant and unemotional to me.
Some adults even call their parents still "Mama" and "Papa".
Why “even”? That’s what I would expect.
There seem to be east-west differences too:
Pünktlich zum Muttertag 2013 veröffentlichte das Meinungsforschungsinstitut YouGov im Auftrag der Deutschen Presseagentur die Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen, online durchgeführten Umfrage. Der Trend geht zwar weg von „Mutti“, dafür boomt „Mama“, heißt es in der Studie. Aber die Ost-West-Verteilung erweist sich auch mehr als zwei Jahrzehnte nach dem Fall der Mauer als stabil: 57 Prozent der Kinder in den alten Bundesländern reden ihre Mutter mit Mama an, 22 Prozent bevorzugen Mutti. In den neuen Bundesländern ist es genau umgekehrt. 55 Prozent sagen Mutti, 24 Prozent Mama. Im ehemals geteilten Berlin liegen „Mutti“ und „Mama“ heute mit jeweils 38 Prozent Kopf an Kopf.
Mit dem Vornamen werden nur zwei Prozent der Eltern angesprochen – eine Marotte aus den 70ern, die sich offenbar nicht durchgesetzt hat. Alles zu seiner Zeit
(source: Mama, Mutti oder doch lieber Frau Mutter: Die Anrede sagt vieles über die Beziehungen in der Familie aus)
Pünktlich zum Muttertag 2013 veröffentlichte das Meinungsforschungsinstitut YouGov im Auftrag der Deutschen Presseagentur die Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen, online durchgeführten Umfrage. Der Trend geht zwar weg von „Mutti“, dafür boomt „Mama“, heißt es in der Studie. Aber die Ost-West-Verteilung erweist sich auch mehr als zwei Jahrzehnte nach dem Fall der Mauer als stabil: 57 Prozent der Kinder in den alten Bundesländern reden ihre Mutter mit Mama an, 22 Prozent bevorzugen Mutti. In den neuen Bundesländern ist es genau umgekehrt. 55 Prozent sagen Mutti, 24 Prozent Mama. Im ehemals geteilten Berlin liegen „Mutti“ und „Mama“ heute mit jeweils 38 Prozent Kopf an Kopf.
Mit dem Vornamen werden nur zwei Prozent der Eltern angesprochen – eine Marotte aus den 70ern, die sich offenbar nicht durchgesetzt hat. Alles zu seiner Zeit
(source: Mama, Mutti oder doch lieber Frau Mutter: Die Anrede sagt vieles über die Beziehungen in der Familie aus)
Sure.
Really wonderful information—Danke!
Hi, I also want to say that it might be regionally different and depend on age.
In my age it was very common to say Mutti and Vati to the parents, but I said Opa and Oma to the grandparents rather than Omi and Opi.
Additionally to the East-West difference there seems to be a north south difference.
There seems to be a language change, too.
Mama, Mutti und Frau Mutter.
I am from the east, and I am 67. To me it is Mutti and Vati.
Die Wortwahl von Kindern hat sich verändert: Stirbt das Wort „Mutti“ aus?
However - I come from the south of "Mitteldeutschland" and say "Mutti".
I found a map.
ZEIT ONLINE
They show Köln.
In Köln: ca. 80% Mama and Papa, 20% Mutti and Vati. (4 vs. 1)
I cannot quote the map here because of copyright.
As far as I know, today the most children do not use "Mutti" and "Vati". But the question was about adults.
Here is another map. mutti mama karte - Google Search
In my age it was very common to say Mutti and Vati to the parents, but I said Opa and Oma to the grandparents rather than Omi and Opi.
Additionally to the East-West difference there seems to be a north south difference.
There seems to be a language change, too.
Mama, Mutti und Frau Mutter.
I am from the east, and I am 67. To me it is Mutti and Vati.
Die Wortwahl von Kindern hat sich verändert: Stirbt das Wort „Mutti“ aus?
However - I come from the south of "Mitteldeutschland" and say "Mutti".
I found a map.
ZEIT ONLINE
They show Köln.
In Köln: ca. 80% Mama and Papa, 20% Mutti and Vati. (4 vs. 1)
I cannot quote the map here because of copyright.
As far as I know, today the most children do not use "Mutti" and "Vati". But the question was about adults.
Here is another map. mutti mama karte - Google Search
I used to say "Mutti" (my mother preferred "Mutti" to "Mama"
) but to my father, I said "Papa".My nephews and nieces say "Mama" and "Papa" to their parents.
Adding Mami ot the graph. It shows a proportion of roughly 10 (Mama) : 2 (Mutti) : 1 (Mami). Taking written attestation for words that quintessentially belong to spoken registers has always to be taken with a grain of salt, but those numbers do not surprise me.
"Mama" and "Papa" is what I mostly hear in the German speaking movies now.
"Mutti" and "Vati" are the forms I'd learned in the early '80s, when I started learning German as a teenager. Is it maybe so, because these forms seem "more German" than the others which seem "international"?
"Mutti" and "Vati" are the forms I'd learned in the early '80s, when I started learning German as a teenager. Is it maybe so, because these forms seem "more German" than the others which seem "international"?
My grandchildren (living in Germany) say "Mami, Papi" to their parents, which always seems odd to me because in France you say "mamie, papy" to your grandparents.
Yes, that is why my wife was keen that our daughter would not call her Mami in German as we live in a French speaking area.
My grandchildren (living in Germany) say "Mami, Papi" to their parents, which always seems odd to me because in France you say "mamie, papy" to your grandparents.
In English you have mother and father as cognates. Only that Mutti and Vati are diminutives as endearing forms of Mutter and Vater.
For Grandmother and grandfather, there exists a map:
Großeltern « atlas-alltagssprache
Here is the picture for Grandma:
https://www.atlas-alltagssprache.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/f1_02a.jpg
You see, always everywhere "Oma" exists. Mami is not used in this sense at the map. But "Nani" exists in small areas.
Unfortunately they did not make a map for "Mutti" now.
In my childhood in Haselbach and in Dresden, the first was "Mama", this was replaced when I was 2 or 3 years old by "Mutti". I always refer to her as Mutti. (In Dresden, East, former GDR)
But in Köln it may be other, indeed it is most probably used in another way when I see the map in the link in #12.
In den französischen Lehrbüchern für Deutsch als Fremdsprache dieser Zeit wurden auch diese Bezeichnungen verwendet.
Aber
Edit:
Randbemerkung: Angela Merkel bekam den Spitznamen/ Kosenamen "Mutti", nicht "Mama".
Last edited:
Das war in meiner Familie auch so. Der Übergang war mit 2...3 Jahren.
Ein Kosewort, das ich öfters hörte, auch von Erwachsenen, war "Mutsch". Ich selbst habe es aber nicht verwendet.
Question for additional context to [B]Mikamocha[/B]
When is the handling of the novel, and how old are the parents at this time?
To make it explicite:
I think too: (as Frank in #7.
"Mama" is a good solution for your audience/readers. According to the map it is 4 times more frequently used in Köln than "Mutti". And your Audience will understand it.
Not "even", but that is very standard in my experience.
In some regions maybe, but most people use "Mama" not "Mutti".
Mutti surely is old fashened and almost ironic. I think of comedian Otto Waalkes when I hear that term.
Surprised to learn that Germans use Mami - I would have guessed that this was a Swiss-German phenomenon. 80 percent of all Swiss German speakers use Mami, followed by Mama or Müeti (which again is on the brink of sounding ironic).
Surprised to learn that Germans use Mami - I would have guessed that this was a Swiss-German phenomenon. 80 percent of all Swiss German speakers use Mami, followed by Mama or Müeti (which again is on the brink of sounding ironic).
Difference is that in Germany Mami is feminine and not neuter as in German speaking Switzerland.
This is the diminutive and intended to sound even more endearing. Most people use ending -a, but some might use -i. Same applies to Oma/Omi, Opa/Opi.
Similar diminutive formation is found in Hans/Hansi, Willhelm/Willi and similar first names.
It's partly regional. My extended family (in Berlin and surroundings) use this term, even when speaking to me about my mother: "Deine Mutti hat doch früher immer gesagt ...". No irony intended or involved.
But I agree: If the story is set in Köln, the better term to use is "Mama".
YOu all are so helpful. Thank you so much!