14

That is, a polite, everyday vocative expression that is used to attract attention in case I don't know the person's name. E.g:

Ma'am... you've left your wallet behind.

The only thing that comes to mind is Hey, Sie da, but that doesn't sound too polite :-)

Mihai
  • 562
  • 2
  • 6
  • 11
  • 4
    A very polite form would be: “Gnädige Frau”. But you can also say: “Entschuldigen Sie” – Devon May 21 '17 at 12:25
  • 3
    @Devon: Please elaborate it more and make it an answer. – Janka May 21 '17 at 12:31
  • 3
    "“Gnädige Frau" is rather outdated at least in Germany. – FooBar May 22 '17 at 06:02
  • 2
    Note that using "Sir!" or "Ma'am" is common in American English, but sounds very old-fashioned (or an Americanism) to this British English ear. – Martin Bonner supports Monica May 22 '17 at 06:51
  • "Junger Mann" or "junge Frau" are also used, even if the adressed person is obviously not young, in which case the expression gains a certain momentum of humor and/or compliment. "Junger Mann, Sie haben ... vergessen!" This is of course only valid in colloquial speech. – JimmyB May 22 '17 at 09:17
  • Gnädige Frau is so outdated it comes across like making fun of the adressee. Junge Frau/Junger Mann can only ever be used for young people as it can also easily be taken as an insult by middle-aged and older people. – Felix Dombek May 22 '17 at 14:13
  • @MartinBonner I would say Sir/Ma'am in BE is not quite uncommon yet from people in (official) uniform, but very uncommon in other situations. But that's all part of a general shift to a more informal tone over the last couple of decades (e.g. when booking a restaurant surnames were the norm, now it's more like first with surname only if needed because of a common first name). Similarly, in the example here, the English version would probably start "excuse me", or even "err, mate". – Chris H May 22 '17 at 14:23
  • FWIW, in the military context (where "Sir!" is used in English as well), the correct form of address in the German forces is "Herr ". There is no equivalent to the unqualified "Sir!" in this context. – DevSolar May 23 '17 at 11:12

3 Answers3

30

Modern German does not have an equivalent generic vocative. The use of antiquated forms such as «mein Herr!», «gnädige Frau!» or «Monsieur!» would be extremely unusual and probably lead to amusement or puzzlement.

In the absence of a generic vocative, people use forms such as «entschuldigen Sie!», «hallo!», «excusez!», etc. etc.

mach
  • 7,262
  • 17
  • 32
  • 6
    In which Bundesland is "excusé" used? (and "+1" for not starting out with old-fashioned sentences that would be absolutely outlandish these days...) – AnoE May 21 '17 at 16:37
  • 7
    @AnoE not a Bundesland, but it is used in Switzerland, or rather: Äxgüsi. – Winkelried May 21 '17 at 17:11
  • 2
    A schwiizer... :) @Winkelried – AnoE May 21 '17 at 17:24
  • This answer is the reasonable one, don't use the forms suggested in the accepted answer! One note; I would suggest Pardon in place of Excusé, it's way more standard. – Felix Dombek May 22 '17 at 14:18
  • @FelixDombek: «Pardon!» vs. «Excusé!» is a question of regional varieties of (standard) German. I happen to live in a region where «Excusé!» is more common. But of course, any number of different forms are possible. – mach May 22 '17 at 19:00
  • Does "excusé" come from French's "excusez"? – Right leg May 23 '17 at 12:12
  • @Rightleg: D’oh! Danke für den Hinweis. Ist es jetzt ein Hinweis auf gute oder auf schlechte Französischkenntnisse, wenn man schon anfängt, nach der Aussprache zu schreiben? – mach May 23 '17 at 19:17
  • @mach Sorry but my German is a bit rusty, I could understand but please let me answer in English. "excusé" definitely looks French, but it's a really strange writing, because it would mean "forgiven" (or "excused"). On the other hand, "excusez" (which is read exactly the same) used to be used, as a short version of "excusez-moi" (which is still very commonly used), or as you could guess, "excuse me". So I admit I was intrigued by this writing. BTW, this reminds me of an audio dialog I listened to when I was starting learning German, in which a guy said "à propos". Is it actually used? – Right leg May 23 '17 at 20:27
9

Other possible forms (but like those mentioned in other answers here tending to be old-fashioned):

Verzeihen Sie, die Dame [der Herr], Sie haben...

Sometimes people mention some particular element of the person's appearance in order to be sure they feel addressed, especially when they are walking away without eye contact:

Verzeihung, der Herr im grünen Anzug, Sie haben...

Verzeihung, die Dame mit dem kleinen Hund, Sie haben Ihren Geldbeutel liegen lassen.

Community
  • 1
Christian Geiselmann
  • 31,137
  • 39
  • 108
  • 4
    The trick with these old-fashioned forms of address is not to make them sound sarcastic (which will probably offend the addressee!). – rackandboneman May 21 '17 at 19:13
4

If you like to use an equivalent of Sir/Madam, you may use

"Junge Frau" or "Junger Mann".

Regardless of the person's age this will be perceived cordially. For elder persons this will add a slight touch of humour.

"Junge Dame" or "Junger Herr"

is also possible but it is rather snobbish and oldfashioned. However you may use this for children or teenagers as this adds a touch of humour.

Community
  • 1
Christoph
  • 41
  • 1