Whether someone’s just dropping by, attending an event, or wandering through a museum—Germans call them a Besucher. It’s a word that suggests someone is welcome, but not staying forever.
The noun Besucher means visitor or attendee, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll hear it in public places, institutions, event announcements, and everyday conversation.
It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Besucher.
The feminine form is die Besucherin, and the plural is Besucher for a mixed or all-male group, or Besucherinnen for a group of women.
Pronunciation
Besucher is pronounced [beh-ZOO-kher].
- The “su” is pronounced like “zoo,”
- The “cher” ends with a throaty German ch (like in Bach),
- The stress is on the second syllable: be-ZU-cher.
It’s formal, neutral, and works in both everyday and official contexts.
Example sentences:
- Heute erwarten wir viele Besucher im Museum.
Today we’re expecting many visitors at the museum. - Der Besucher fragte höflich nach dem Weg.
The visitor politely asked for directions.
Nuance and usage tips
Besucher is used in many different contexts:
- Physical visitors to a place
- Krankenhausbesucher – hospital visitor
- Museumsbesucher – museum visitor
- Besuchergruppe – group of visitors
- Attendees at events or shows
- Festivalbesucher – festival attendee
- Besuchermesse – visitor fair (trade show open to the public)
- Besucherzahlen – visitor numbers (often in news and tourism)
- Someone who drops by temporarily
- Wir hatten Besuch – We had visitors
- Note: here, Besuch (visit) is the abstract noun; Besucher is the person
Its antonym could be Einheimischer (local, masculine) or Gastgeber (host, masculine).
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:
Der Besucher war sehr freundlich.
The visitor was very friendly. - Accusative:
Ich habe den Besucher gleich erkannt.
I recognized the visitor immediately. - Dative:
Mit dem Besucher haben wir eine Führung gemacht.
We gave the visitor a tour. - Genitive:
Wegen des Besuchers mussten wir früher schließen.
Because of the visitor, we had to close earlier.
Masculine case pattern: der, den, dem, des
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- Besuch – visit (the act, masculine)
- Besucherin – female visitor
- Besucherausweis – visitor badge
- Besucherandrang – influx of visitors
- Besucherrekord – record attendance
Fun usage note:
In German institutions—especially hospitals, museums, and government buildings—you’ll often hear announcements or see signs referring to Besucher, such as:
„Besucher bitte am Empfang melden.“
“Visitors, please check in at the front desk.”
It’s formal but friendly, and slightly more neutral than Gast, which suggests someone being hosted more personally.
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Besucher
🎥 Learn Besucher and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Alternate translations note:
For guest in a private setting (like someone staying at your home), Gast is more natural. For visitor in a public or official context—museums, hospitals, events—Besucher is the most appropriate word.
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Betrüger means? How about Blödsinn? Find out!