German word

Tugend

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈtuːgənt/

Meaning

  • feminine nounvirtue

Example

Geduld und Ehrlichkeit sind Tugenden.

Patience and honesty are virtues.

Illustration for Tugend (virtue)

More examples

Die Tugend der Mäßigung hilft, extreme Meinungen zu vermeiden.

The virtue of moderation helps avoid extreme opinions.

Core concept

A settled quality of character that repeatedly leads to good choices.

Common phrases

  • an Tugenden festhalten

    hold on to virtues

  • die Tugend der Mäßigung

    the virtue of moderation

  • eine Tugend kultivieren

    cultivate a virtue

Similar words

Eigenschaft: A distinctive feature or quality of a person or thing.
Wert: A principle or ideal regarded as important and worthy of respect.
Moral: A system of beliefs or rules for judging right and wrong.

Definition in German

Tugend bezeichnet eine positive, moralisch geprägte Eigenschaft oder Haltung einer Person.

Word origin

The noun goes back through Middle High German tugent to Old High German tuguont, a formation related to the German verb taugen.

Usage tips

  • Tugend has a formal or philosophical tone, while Alltag German often uses gute Eigenschaft or names the specific quality instead.

Other meanings

  • moral characternoun

Opposites

  • Lastervicenoun
  • Untugendvicenoun

Related words

  • tugendhaftvirtuousadjective
  • tugendlosunvirtuousadjective

Word lists with this word