# Pute, or Truthahn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2019, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678 "2019-11-19T22:49:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/1 "2019-11-19T22:49:59Z")
ISTR from high school German, that German for turkey is _die Pute_. But I also seem to recall it’s _der Truthahn_. Checking Google Translate backs this up. Which work do German speakers tend to use more? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/2 "2019-11-19T23:07:01Z")
I don’t know, but [googling](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Truthahn)tells me they are synonyms with some bias based on gender. > [@](#): > > There are two independant sets of synonyms for the “turkey”: Truthuhn (species), Truthahn (male), Truthenne (female) versus Pute (species and female), Puter (male). The commonest use is Pute for the species and female, but Truthahn for the male. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/3 "2019-11-19T23:09:54Z")
OK, that makes sense. In the U.S. I mostly see hens for sale; so Pute would fit the thing and the gender. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/4 "2019-11-19T23:47:34Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > I don’t know, but [googling](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Truthahn)tells me they are synonyms with some bias based on gender. Your quote sums it up quite well. There’s another point: as culinary term, I think “Pute” is preferred whereas “Truthahn” is more often used for the animal as a living species. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/5 "2019-11-24T08:19:46Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Your quote sums it up quite well. There’s another point: as culinary term, I think “Pute” is preferred whereas “Truthahn” is more often used for the animal as a living species. Unlike with beef vs. cow and pork vs. pig, there’s no separate English words for the two concepts with turkey (or chicken). ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/6 "2019-11-24T10:17:27Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Your quote sums it up quite well. There’s another point: as culinary term, I think “Pute” is preferred whereas “Truthahn” is more often used for the animal as a living species. That’s my impression as well, though it bears stressing that this is merely a preference, not a hard-and-fast rule. I’ve often seen “Truthahn” on restaurant and cafeteria menus and on bird carcasses for sale in (super)markets. Granted, I see this much less often than “Pute”, though I wouldn’t say the use of “Truthahn” is altogether rare in such contexts. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/7 "2019-11-24T15:06:03Z")
In Switzerland I’ve only seen Truthahn on the menu. Pute I’ve seen very rarely and probably would be hard-pressed to remember the meaning. [Migros](https://produkte.migros.ch/m-classic-truthahn-ganz) (major supermarket chain) is currently selling an entire (ganz) Truthahn for 42 CHF, for 2.8 kg. German in Switzerland is not the same as German in Germany. Or in Austria. Or even within Switzerland. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/8 "2019-11-24T19:47:04Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > In Switzerland I’ve only seen Truthahn on the menu. Pute I’ve seen very rarely and probably would be hard-pressed to remember the meaning. > > [Migros](https://produkte.migros.ch/m-classic-truthahn-ganz) (major supermarket chain) is currently selling an entire (ganz) Truthahn for 42 CHF, for 2.8 kg. > > German in Switzerland is not the same as German in Germany. Or in Austria. Or even within Switzerland. “Pute” also has a rather offensive meaning in [French](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pute#Noun), so I can see the Swiss avoiding it for that reason! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/9 "2019-11-24T21:06:37Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > Unlike with beef vs. cow and pork vs. pig, there’s no separate English words for the two concepts with turkey (or chicken). The closest would be “poultry” but that’s a term for both animals, not either, so I think your point stands. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/10 "2019-11-25T18:22:51Z")
Asked my coworkers about Pute, one who is half-German, got confused looks from both. And I made a mistake. If it’s on the canteen menu, it’s Truten, as in Trutenschnitzel. A bit more on the Swiss side of Swiss-German. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/11 "2019-11-25T19:44:29Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Asked my coworkers about Pute, one who is half-German, got confused looks from both. > > And I made a mistake. If it’s on the canteen menu, it’s Truten, as in Trutenschnitzel. A bit more on the Swiss side of Swiss-German. I’m German, and I’ve never heard “Truten” or “Trutenschnitzel”. Here, it’s a “Putenschnitzel” or “Putengeschnetzeltes” (a different dish, but I think something the Swiss would know because “[Zürcher Geschnetzeltes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCrcher_Geschnetzeltes)” is a well-known Swiss dish). ---
**Author:** ![Remember\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@Remember\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Remember_me)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/12 "2019-11-26T21:14:51Z")
According to Wikipedia, Truthahn or Truthuhn can be both the wild turkey and the domestic turkey. Pute or Puter is only used for the domestic turkey. For culinary purposes, Truthahn is only ever used for a whole turkey, at least in my experience. Although, preparing a whole turkey is not something that could be considered a standard dish in german kitchens. Most Germans probaply only ever saw a whole prepared turkey in American TV series or movies. I have only had it once, when friends of us made an American-style thanksgiving dinner. On the other hand, preparing a Putenschnitzel, or having slices of Pute on a Sandwich is quite common. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/13 "2019-12-01T15:00:44Z")
All this talk about turkey made me hungry, so I hied down to my local supermarket to pick up a bird for a weekend feast. Dopers may be interested to see [my photo of the packaging label](http://files.nothingisreal.com/tmp/truthahn.jpg), on which both “_Pute_” and “_Truthahn_” are present. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/14 "2019-12-01T17:03:12Z")
Pute is just one of the many local names for the Truthahn. _gulli, gulligû_ Switzerl., _gull_ Preussen , _bul, buli_ Els., _kutschhuhn_ (-), _kalkun_ ostfries., Preussen, _kalkaun_ Preussen, _kûn, kûnhan_ Meckl., Lübeck,\* kalkuter, kalekut\* (-), _kalekutischer hahn_, _wälsches hun_ Franken, _welschhahn_ Pfalz, _welschhuhn, welschguller_ Els., _indianisches huhn, janisch_(huhn) Steiermark (für “indianisch”), _windischspatz Steierm. (= indisch), zitränisch_ Lausitz,\* mierhong\* Lux. (= Meerhuhn), _schnuddelhong, schnuddeli-rouderack_ Lux., _schustervogel_ Steiermark,\* kuter, puran, pieperhahn\* etc. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/15 "2019-12-01T19:15:46Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > _schnuddelhong_ Alex, I’ll take “Sexually suggestive poultry terms” for $400, please. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/16 "2019-12-01T19:31:01Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Alex, I’ll take “Sexually suggestive poultry terms” for $400, please. schnuddelhong = “snot hen”. How poetic. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pute-or-truthahn/843678/17 "2019-12-01T19:48:55Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > schnuddelhong = “snot hen”. How poetic. Q: Why did the Schnuddelhong visit the doctor? A: Because she was feeling a little stuffed up.