die
Mühle
⚙️ What does 'die Mühle' mean?
The German word die Mühle has several meanings:
- Building/Machine for grinding: The most common meaning is a building or facility where grain (or other materials like coffee, spices) is ground into flour or powder. Examples include Windmühlen (windmills) or Wassermühlen (watermills).
- Board game: It also refers to a well-known strategic board game for two players, known in English as Nine Men's Morris. The goal is to form "mills" (Mühlen - three pieces in a row) by placing and moving pieces, allowing the player to remove an opponent's piece.
- Colloquial/Figurative: Sometimes it's used figuratively for a tedious, lengthy process (e.g., “die Mühlen der Bürokratie” – the wheels/mills of bureaucracy).
🚨 The article is always die for this word, regardless of the meaning.
Article rules for der, die, and das
-e/-ee → almost always feminine.
There are many -e nouns, many of which are feminine, but there are also some important exceptions.
📚 Grammar & Declension of 'die Mühle'
Die Mühle is a feminine noun. It is declined as follows:
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative (Nom) | die | Mühle |
| Genitive (Gen) | der | Mühle |
| Dative (Dat) | der | Mühle |
| Accusative (Acc) | die | Mühle |
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nom | die | Mühlen |
| Gen | der | Mühlen |
| Dat | den | Mühlen |
| Acc | die | Mühlen |
💡 Example Sentences
- Die alte Mühle am Fluss mahlt kein Getreide mehr.
(The old mill by the river doesn't grind grain anymore.) - Wir spielen oft Mühle am Abend.
(We often play Nine Men's Morris in the evening.) - Der Antrag steckt in den Mühlen der Verwaltung fest.
(The application is stuck in the wheels/mills of the administration.) - Besuchst du die historische Windmühle im Dorf?
(Are you visiting the historic windmill in the village?) - Er erklärte mir die Regeln von Mühle.
(He explained the rules of Nine Men's Morris to me.)
🗣️ How to use 'Mühle'?
- Grain Mill: Often used in the context of agriculture, history, or technology. You talk about Windmühlen, Wassermühlen, Kaffeemühlen (coffee grinders), Getreidemühlen (grain mills). Example: "Früher gab es in jedem Dorf eine Mühle." (In the past, every village had a mill.)
- Board Game: In the context of games and leisure. Example: "Lass uns eine Runde Mühle spielen." (Let's play a round of Nine Men's Morris.)
- Figurative: Often in set phrases like "die Mühlen der Justiz mahlen langsam" (the wheels of justice grind slowly) or "durch die Mühle gehen" (to go through the mill - experience a difficult process). Example: "Sein Vorschlag ging durch die Mühlen des Komitees." (His proposal went through the committee's machinery/process.)
⚠️ Don't confuse it with similar-sounding words like "Müll" (der Müll - trash, rubbish) or "Mühe" (die Mühe - effort, trouble).
🧠 Mnemonics for 'Mühle'
Article Mnemonic: Think of die machine or die party (game). Nouns ending in -e are often feminine, like die Mühle.
Meaning Mnemonic: Imagine the old lady (feminine 'die'!) sitting in her windmill (Mühle), playing the game Mühle on a board, while thinking about the 'mills' (struggles) of life.
↔️ Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms (similar words):
- For grinding facility: Mahlwerk (grinding mechanism), Zerkleinerungsanlage (crushing plant), (depending on type: Windmühle, Wassermühle, Hammermühle)
- For board game: No direct synonym, but related strategy games like Dame (checkers/draughts), Schach (chess). Also known as "Nine Men's Morris" in English.
- For figurative use: Apparat (apparatus), Bürokratie (bureaucracy), Prozedur (procedure), Instanzenweg (official channels)
Antonyms (opposite words):
- For grinding facility: Not directly applicable. You might think of something that builds instead of breaks down, e.g., a press (eine Presse).
- For board game: Not directly applicable.
- For figurative use: Direkter Weg (direct route), schnelle Lösung (quick solution), Unbürokratismus (lack of bureaucracy)
Similar sounding words:
😂 A Little Joke
Warum hat der Müller den Computer aus der Mühle geworfen?
(Why did the miller throw the computer out of the mill?)
Weil er ständig Cookies mahlen wollte!
(Because it constantly wanted to grind cookies! - 'mahlen' means 'to grind', also a pun on computer cookies) 🍪
📜 Poem about the Mill
Die Mühle, alt und grau,
(The mill, old and gray,)
Dreht ihre Flügel schlau.
(Turns its sails cleverly.)
Mahlt Korn zu feinem Staub,
(Grinds grain to fine dust,)
Ist mehr als nur ein Bau.
(Is more than just a building.)
Auf dem Brett, ein Spiel geschwind,
(On the board, a swift game,)
Drei Steine in dem Wind
(Three pieces in the wind)
Der Strategie, ein Kind,
(Of strategy, a child,)
Bis einer schnell gewinnt.
(Until one quickly wins.)
❓ Riddle Time
Ich habe Flügel, kann nicht fliegen.
(I have wings, cannot fly.)
Ich mahle Korn, doch kann nicht liegen.
(I grind grain, but cannot lie down.)
Ich bin ein Spiel auf einem Brett,
(I am a game upon a board,)
Mal ernsthaft und mal ziemlich nett.
(Sometimes serious and sometimes quite nice.)
Was bin ich? / What am I? Antwort / Answer: Die Mühle / The Mill (or Nine Men's Morris)
🧐 More about 'die Mühle'
- Etymology: The word "Mühle" comes from Old High German "muli" or "mulin", which in turn goes back to the Latin "molina" (belonging to grinding).
- Compound Words (Wortzusammensetzungen): There are many compound words with "Mühle", e.g., Windmühle (windmill), Wassermühle (water mill), Kaffeemühle (coffee grinder), Getreidemühle (grain mill), Papiermühle (paper mill), Ölmühle (oil mill), Sägemühle (sawmill), Mühlenstein (millstone), Mühlenrad (mill wheel), Mühlespiel (the game of Nine Men's Morris).
- Idiom (Redewendung): "Wer zuerst kommt, mahlt zuerst." - Literally: "Who comes first, grinds first." Meaning: First come, first served.
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Mühle?
The German word Mühle is always feminine. The correct article is die Mühle (plural: die Mühlen).