nounnoun

der Unbekannte, -n

stranger

Dies ist eine Person, die man nicht kennt und mit der man noch nie zuvor gesprochen hat.

Definition & meaning

The word "Unbekannte" refers to something or someone that is not known, recognized, or identified. Depending on the context, it has two primary meanings:

A person (Stranger): It describes an individual whom one does not know personally or whose identity is a mystery. For example, "eine Unbekannte" refers to an unknown woman, while "die Unbekannten" refers to unknown people in general.
Mathematics and Logic (The Unknown): It refers to a variable or a value that is currently not known but needs to be determined within an equation or a logical problem.

Grammar & Word origin

The word is a nominalized adjective, meaning it functions as a noun but follows the declension patterns of an adjective. It is derived from the adjective bekannt (known).

Prefix: The negation prefix un- is added to change the meaning to "not known."
Root: The root comes from the verb kennen, which means to know or to be familiar with.
Gender and Number: As a noun, its ending changes based on the grammatical gender and the article used. For instance, "ein Unbekannter" is an unknown man, while "eine Unbekannte" is an unknown woman. The plural form is "die Unbekannten."