die  Brut

B2

Estimated CEFR level.

/bʁuːt/

🐣 What exactly does "die Brut" mean?

The word die Brut (feminine) has several meanings, often related to offspring:

• Animal offspring: The most common meaning refers to the entirety of eggs or young animals produced or hatched by an animal (especially birds or insects) at the same time. For instance, one might speak of Vogelbrut (bird brood) or Bienenbrut (bee brood).
• Beekeeping: Specifically, the young bees (eggs, larvae, pupae) inside the hive.
• (Colloquial, often pejorative): Human offspring, children. Example: "Pass auf deine Brut auf!" (Watch your brood!) ⚠️ This usage can sound negative or disparaging.
• (Colloquial, strongly pejorative): A group of people considered unpleasant or inferior; mob, gang. Example: "Diese ganze Brut sollte verschwinden." (This whole mob should disappear.) 🚨 This meaning is very negative and should be used with caution.

The word derives from the verb brüten (to brood, to hatch).

🧐 Grammar of "die Brut" at a Glance

Die Brut is a feminine noun. It is mostly used in the singular as it's often a collective term. The plural "die Bruten" is rare and primarily used in technical language (e.g., ornithology) for multiple clutches or generations.

💬 Example Sentences

1. Die Amsel kümmert sich liebevoll um ihre Brut.
   (The blackbird lovingly cares for its brood.)
2. Der Imker kontrolliert die Gesundheit der Brut im Bienenstock.
   (The beekeeper checks the health of the brood in the beehive.)
3. Er nannte die Nachbarskinder abschätzig "diese laute Brut".
   (He disparagingly called the neighbor's children "this loud brood".)
4. Die Polizei nahm die kriminelle Brut fest.
   (The police arrested the criminal mob/gang.)

💡 How to use "die Brut" correctly?

The use of die Brut strongly depends on the context:

• Biology/Zoology: Here, "die Brut" is a neutral technical term for the offspring of animals, especially birds, reptiles, and insects (e.g., Brutpflege - parental care, Brutzeit - breeding season, Brutparasitismus - brood parasitism).
• Beekeeping: A specific term for the unhatched bees in the hive.
• Colloquial (Children): When used for children, it often carries a negative, or at least very informal to disparaging, connotation. It frequently implies that the children are annoying or badly behaved. Words like Kinder (children), Nachwuchs (offspring, more neutral), or Nachkommen (descendants) are more neutral.
• Colloquial (Group): Using it for a group of people (e.g., "eine üble Brut" - a vile mob/brood) is highly pejorative and offensive. It's used to condemn a group wholesale (similar to Gesindel - riffraff or Bande - gang).

⚠️ Avoid the pejorative meanings in formal or polite conversation.

🧠 Mnemonics for "die Brut"

Remembering the Article: Think of female animals that brood: die Henne (hen), die Gans (goose), die Biene (bee) – they all have die Brut. Feminine like the mother animals!

Remembering the Meaning: "Brut" sounds like the English verb to brood. Who broods? Birds on their eggs. What results from brooding? The Brut (the chicks/offspring)!

🔄 Synonyms & Antonyms

⚠️ Similar but different words:

• Brutto: (Gross) - An economic term (opposite of Netto/Net), unrelated to "Brut".
• Brot: (Bread) - The food item. Sounds vaguely similar but means something completely different.

😂 A Little Joke

Fragt die kleine Schlange ihre Mutter: "Mama, sind wir eigentlich giftig?"
Antwortet die Mutter: "Ja, mein Kind. Warum fragst du?"
Die kleine Schlange: "Ich hab mir gerade auf die Zunge gebissen!"

(Translation: The little snake asks its mother: "Mom, are we poisonous?"
The mother replies: "Yes, my child. Why do you ask?"
The little snake: "I just bit my tongue!")

(Okay, not directly about "Brut", but about animal offspring!)

✒️ Poem about the Brood

Im Nest, ganz warm und weich,
da sitzt die Amsel, gleich,
beschützt mit Flügel voller Mut,
ihre kleine, piepsende Brut.

Die Sonne scheint, der Tag erwacht,
die Mutter hat gut Wacht gehalten die Nacht.
Bald fliegen sie aus, die kleine Schar,
die junge Brut, so wunderbar.

(Translation:
In the nest, so warm and soft,
there sits the blackbird, aloft,
protecting with wings full of courage,
its small, cheeping brood.

The sun shines, the day awakes,
the mother kept good watch through the night's breaks.
Soon they'll fly out, the little band,
the young brood, so wonderfully grand.)

❓ Little Riddle

Ich bin oft klein und lieg' im Nest,
manchmal im Stock, von Bienen fest.
Mal bin ich nur ein Ei, mal schon ein Tier,
manchmal nennt man Kinder so, nicht nur zum Pläsier.

Was bin ich?

(Translation:
I'm often small and lie in a nest,
sometimes in a hive, put to the test by bees.
Sometimes I'm just an egg, sometimes already a creature near,
sometimes children are called this, not just out of cheer.

What am I?
Solution: die Brut (the brood))

✨ Other Information

Word Family (Wortfamilie):

• brüten: (to brood, to hatch) - the verb from which "die Brut" is derived (hatch eggs, ponder over something).
• ausbrüten: (to hatch something out) - to bring something to hatching by brooding; (colloquial) to develop an illness or devise a plan.
• bebrüten: (to incubate) - to warm eggs until the young hatch.
• Brutpflege: (parental care, brood care) - the care provided by parent animals for their brood.
• Brutkasten: (incubator) - a device for artificially hatching eggs or caring for premature babies.
• Brutzeit: (breeding season) - the period during which birds brood.