When someone is held against their will—used as leverage or bargaining power—Germans call that person a Geisel. It’s a word that shows up in crime reports, international politics, and the darkest moments of human conflict.

The noun Geisel means hostage, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. It’s emotionally intense, legally specific, and immediately understood.

It’s a feminine noun, so we say die Geisel—regardless of the person’s gender.

Pronunciation

Geisel is pronounced [GYE-zuhl], rhyming roughly with “aisle.”

• The “ei” sounds like “eye,”
• The “s” is voiced like a “z,” and
• The “el” ends softly, like “uh-l.”

It sounds sharp and urgent—just like the situations it's used in.

Example sentences:

• Die Geisel wurde nach stundenlangen Verhandlungen freigelassen.
  The hostage was released after hours of negotiation.
• Die Polizei versuchte, mit dem Geiselnehmer zu sprechen.
  The police tried to speak with the hostage-taker.

Nuance and usage tips

Geisel refers specifically to a person held under coercion, not to the act or situation itself. It’s often used with:

• Geiselnahme – hostage-taking
• Geiselnehmer – hostage-taker
• Geiselbefreiung – hostage rescue

In legal and military contexts, Geisel can also be used metaphorically:

• eine Geisel der Umstände – “a hostage of the circumstances”

There’s no exact antonym for Geisel, but Befreite (freed person) or Geiselnehmer (as the inverse role) are sometimes used contrastively.

Grammatical case examples:

• Nominative: Die Geisel konnte fliehen.
  The hostage was able to escape.
• Accusative: Sie befreiten die Geisel nach zwölf Stunden.
  They freed the hostage after twelve hours.
• Dative: Mit der Geisel durfte niemand sprechen.
  No one was allowed to speak with the hostage.
• Genitive: Wegen der Geisel verzögerten sich die Verhandlungen.
  Because of the hostage, the negotiations were delayed.

Feminine pattern: die, die, der, der

Word variations

Variation Station:

• Geiselnahme – hostage-taking
• Geiselnehmer – hostage-taker
• Geiselopfer – hostage victim
• Geiselbefreiung – hostage rescue
• eine Geisel nehmen – to take someone hostage

📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Geisel

🎥 Learn Geisel and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/

Ready for two more German words of the day? How about Dienst or Bescheid?