noun

bildungsroman

/ˈbɪldʊŋsroʊˌmɑːn/ · say it: BIL·doongz·ro·MAHN

a novel about a character's growth from youth to maturity

In Literary English

In more detail

1. (noun) a novel about a young person's growth and development as they mature and learn about themselves and the world

Examples

The book is a bildungsroman that follows a teenager discovering who she is and what she believes in.

How to use bildungsroman

Bildungsroman is a literary term borrowed from German that describes a specific narrative type in which a protagonist undergoes spiritual, moral, or intellectual development. It is used primarily in academic and literary criticism contexts to analyze novels that trace maturation from youth to adulthood, such as Jane Eyre or The Catcher in the Rye. The term carries scholarly weight and is less common in casual conversation.

Common phrases

classic bildungsroman
modern bildungsroman
bildungsroman tradition
bildungsroman genre
bildungsroman narrative

Synonyms

coming-of-age novel · novel of formation · developmental novel

A common mistake

Learners sometimes assume bildungsroman refers only to autobiographical novels or memoirs, when it actually applies to any fictional narrative centered on a protagonist's formative journey.

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