Gesprächspartner

Gesprächspartner is a German noun that designates the person with whom one participates in a conversation, interview, or negotiation. Grammatically masculine in form (der Gesprächspartner), the term is commonly used generically for the other participant in a dialogue. For gender-inclusive language, writers often use Gesprächspartner/in or refer to both der Gesprächspartner and die Gesprächspartnerin, with plural forms such as die Gesprächspartnerinnen for all-female contexts.

The word is a compound of Gespräch, meaning a talk or conversation, and Partner, borrowed from other languages, indicating a counterpart or collaborator. It is widely used across professional, media, and academic contexts to identify the person on the other end of a discussion. In linguistics and writing, it is sometimes contrasted with terms like Interlokutor (interlocutor) or Diskussionspartner, which emphasize different aspects of a dialogue.

Typical contexts include journalism, where the interview is conducted with a Gesprächspartner, business negotiations with a Verhandlungspartner, and research interviews with study participants. In everyday use, it can refer to colleagues, clients, witnesses, or anyone with whom a conversation or exchange takes place, including telephone or video conversations.

Synonyms and related terms include Gesprächspartner, Diskussionspartner, Interlokutor, Unterredungspartner, and Interviewpartner. The choice of term depends on context and emphasis: Gesprächspartner highlights the conversational relationship; Verhandlungspartner stresses negotiation; Interviewpartner specifies the interview setting. In translations, common equivalents are interlocutor or counterpart in English.