Whether it’s someone who saw an accident, testifies in court, or signs a marriage certificate—Germans call them a Zeuge. It’s a word with legal weight, personal significance, and historical resonance.

The noun Zeuge means witness, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll hear it in law, police reports, personal stories, religious texts, and everyday conversation.

It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Zeuge.
The feminine form is die Zeugin.

Pronunciation

Zeuge is pronounced [TSOY-guh].

• The “Z” is pronounced like “ts” (as in “pizza”),
• The “eu” sounds like “oy” (as in “boy”),
• The “ge” is a soft “guh,”
• Stress is on the first syllable: TSOY-ge

It’s sharp and direct—just like a courtroom statement.

Example sentences:

• Der Zeuge hat den Unfall genau beobachtet.
  The witness observed the accident closely.
• Sie trat als Zeugin vor Gericht auf.
  She appeared in court as a witness.

Nuance and usage tips

Zeuge comes from the verb zeugen, which means “to testify” or “to produce evidence” (and also “to father” in formal/literary use!).

It’s used in various contexts:

1. Legal / judicial
   • Augenzeuge – eyewitness
   • Hauptzeuge – key witness
   • Zeugenaussage – witness statement
   • unter Zeugen – in the presence of witnesses
2. Personal and ceremonial
   • Trauzeuge – best man / wedding witness
   • Zeugenunterschrift – witness signature
3. Historical or religious
   • Zeitzeuge – contemporary (historical) witness
   • Zeuge Jehovas – Jehovah’s Witness

Its antonym? Possibly Angeklagter (defendant), or more broadly, Täter (perpetrator). But in structure rather than opposition, not direct reversal.

Grammatical case examples:

• Nominative: Der Zeuge schilderte den Ablauf sehr genau.
  The witness described the sequence very precisely.
• Accusative: Ich habe den Zeugen befragt.
  I questioned the witness.
• Dative: Mit dem Zeugen sprachen die Ermittler zuerst.
  The investigators spoke with the witness first.
• Genitive: Wegen des Zeugen wurde der Verdacht bestätigt.
  Because of the witness, the suspicion was confirmed.

Masculine case pattern: der, den, dem, des

Word variations and language tidbits

Variation Station:

• Zeugin – female witness
• Augenzeuge – eyewitness
• Trauzeuge – wedding witness / best man
• Zeugenaussage – testimony
• Zeugenschutz – witness protection
• Zeitzeuge – someone who personally experienced historical events

Fun cultural note:
Germany places strong emphasis on Zeugenschutz (witness protection) in criminal trials and journalism. The term Zeitzeuge is particularly powerful when used in Holocaust education and remembrance:

Ein Zeitzeuge erzählt seine Geschichte.
“A historical eyewitness shares his story.”

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

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

Alternate translations note:
For testimony itself, use Aussage. For a more poetic or religious “witness,” Zeugnis (testimony) may be used. But for a person who saw something, signed something, or can confirm something—Zeuge is the word that carries legal, personal, and historical weight.

Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Zelle means? How about Zuhause? Find out!