Is the expression “die alte Huhn” an offense?
A: Kennste Frau X?
B: Die alte Huhn? Ja, die kenne ich.
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Sign up to join this communityIs the expression “die alte Huhn” an offense?
A: Kennste Frau X?
B: Die alte Huhn? Ja, die kenne ich.
It should be das alte Huhn
for the right grammar and it definitly is insulting. Not in a very bad way but still.
If you are saying die alte Huhn
you are refering to the woman, with the last name Huhn and then this is of course no insult.
"Die alte Huhn" would only work in some regions of Germany if Huhn is the family name of the woman. It wouldn’t be an offense when used by e.g. villagers:
Die alte Huhn hat mir erzählt, dass der alte Schmidt gestorben ist.
(Old Mrs Huhn told me, that old Mr Schmidt has died.)
"Das alte Huhn" would be the correct translation in your example and is offensive, although I can also image a humorous notion (with B having a long friendship with Mrs X). I would recommend not to use it, you are walking on thin ice.
Animal names like Kuh and Ziege, as proposed by c-p, are more common to insult women, although a little old-fashioned (Sie ist eine blöde Kuh. or So eine dumme Ziege).