Is it der, die oder das Brot?

DAS

The correct article in German of Brot is das. So it is das Brot! (nominative case)

The word Brot is neuter, therefore the correct article is das.

Finding the right gender of a noun

German articles are used similarly to the English articles,a and the. However, they are declined differently (change) according to the number, gender and case of their nouns.

In the German language, the gender and therefore article is fixed for each noun.

Test your knowledge!

Choose the correct article.

DER

DIE

DAS

Graf

The most difficult part of learning the German language is the articles (der, die, das) or rather the gender of each noun. The gender of each noun in German has no simple rule. In fact, it can even seem illogical. For example das Mädchen, a young girl is neutral while der Junge, a young boy is male.

It is a good idea to learn the correct article for each new word together - even if it means a lot of work. For example learning "der Hund" (the dog) rather than just Hund by itself. Fortunately, there are some rules about gender in German that make things a little easier. It might be even nicer if these rules didn't have exceptions - but you can't have everything! The best way to learn them is with the App - Der-Die-Das Train! (available for iOS and Android)

German nouns belong either to the gender masculine (male, standard gender) with the definite article der, to the feminine (feminine) with the definite article die, or to the neuter (neuter) with the definite article das.

for masculine: points of the compass, weather (Osten, Monsun, Sturm; however it is: das Gewitter), liquor/spirits (Wodka, Wein, Kognak), minerals, rocks (Marmor, Quarz, Granit, Diamant);
for feminine: ships and airplanes (die Deutschland, die Boeing; however it is: der Airbus), cigarette brands (Camel, Marlboro), many tree and plant species (Eiche, Pappel, Kiefer; aber: der Flieder), numbers (Eins, Million; however it is: das Dutzend), most inland rivers (Elbe, Oder, Donau; aber: der Rhein);
for neutrals: cafes, hotels, cinemas (das Mariott, das Cinemaxx), chemical elements (Helium, Arsen; however it is: der Schwefel, masculine elements have the suffix -stoff), letters, notes, languages and colors (das Orange, das A, das Englische), certain brand names for detergents and cleaning products (Ariel, Persil), continents, countries (die artikellosen: (das alte) Europa; however exceptions include: der Libanon, die Schweiz …).

German declension of Brot?

How does the declension of Brot work in the nominative, accusative, dative and genitive cases? Here you can find all forms in the singular as well as in the plural:

1	Singular	Plural
Nominative	das Brot	die Brote
Genitive	des Brots des Brotes	der Brote
Dative	dem Brot dem Brote	den Broten
Akkusative	das Brot	die Brote

What is the meaning of Brot in German?

Brot has various definitions in German:

[1] no plural: food baked mainly from flour, water and salt

[1] kein Plural: aus hauptsächlich Mehl, Wasser und Salz gebackenes Nahrungsmittel

[2] single loaf of bread

[2] einzelner Brotlaib

[3] cut off slice of a loaf of bread

[3] abgeschnittene Scheibe eines Brotlaibes

[4] transferred, no plural: livelihood, wages, income

[4] übertragen, kein Plural: Lebensunterhalt, Lohn, Ertrag

[5] metaphorically, no plural: generally as pars pro toto: food, a meal, a meal, food

[5] metaphorisch, kein Plural: allgemein als pars pro toto: Nahrung, ein Essen, eine Speise, Kost

How to use Brot in a sentence?

Example sentences in German using Brot with translations in English.

[1] Er sitzt nur bei Wasser und Brot.

[1] He only sits with bread and water

[1] Heute habe ich ein ungesäuertes Brot gebacken.

[1] Today I baked unleavened bread.

[1] „Immer muß darum unser Brot mit zermahlener Birkenrinde gestreckt werden, und immer behält es – mit der Brennerei-Hefe gebacken – seine fatale Neigung bei, umgehend zu verschimmeln.“[4]

[1] "That is why our bread always has to be stretched with ground birch bark, and - baked with the distiller's yeast - it always retains its fatal tendency to go moldy straight away." [4]

[1] „Das Brot war schlecht und das Schweinefleisch nicht viel besser.“[5]

[1] "The bread was bad and the pork not much better." [5]

[1] „Die Husaren und Kosaken hatten sich um die Gefangenen geschart und boten ihnen geschäftig Kleidungsstücke oder Stiefel oder Brot an.“[6]

[1] "The hussars and Cossacks had rallied around the prisoners and were busy offering them clothes or boots or bread" [6]

[2] Zunächst brechen wir das Brot, danken und sprechen das Vaterunser.

[2] First we break the bread, give thanks and speak the Our Father

[2] „In einer Bäckerei hatte er sich ein Brot erbettelt und sorgfältig eingeteilt, auf Obstwiesen stahl er Äpfel und Birnen, und er übernachtete im Freien.“[7]

[2] "In a bakery he had begged for a piece of bread and carefully divided it up; in the orchards he stole apples and pears, and he slept in the open ." [7]

[3] Möchtest Du ein oder zwei Brote essen?

[3] Would you like to eat a loaf or two

[4] Er verdient sich sein Brot in der Fabrik.

[4] He earns his bread in the factory

[4] „Auch wenn er den Beruf des Wundarztes gelernt hatte, wollte er doch sein Brot künftig als Botaniker verdienen.“[8]

[4] "Even though he had learned the profession of surgeon, he still wanted to earn his living as a botanist in the future." [8]

[5] Sie denken nur an Brot und Spiele.

[5] They only think of bread and games.

[5] Unser täglich Brot gib uns heute. (Vaterunser)

[5] Give us this day our daily bread (Our Father)