Is it der, die oder das Ding?
DAS
The correct article in German of Ding is das. So it is das Ding! (nominative case)
The word Ding 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.
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 Ding?
How does the declension of Ding 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 1 | Plural 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | das Ding | die Dinge | die Dinger |
| Genitive | des Dings des Dinges | der Dinge | der Dinger |
| Dative | dem Ding dem Dinge | den Dingen | den Dingern |
| Akkusative | das Ding | die Dinge | die Dinger |
What is the meaning of Ding in German?
Ding is defined as:
[1] Object, the properties of which are not described in more detail
[1] Gegenstand, dessen Eigenschaften nicht näher bezeichnet sind[1a] (Plural 1): An object whose name cannot be specified because it is unknown or because it is about several different things
[1a] (Plural 1): ein Gegenstand, dessen Name nicht angegeben werden kann, weil er unbekannt ist oder weil es um mehrere verschiedene Dinge geht[1b] (Plural 2): An object whose name is known, but is replaced by thing for stylistic or downright reasons
[1b] (Plural 2): ein Gegenstand, dessen Name zwar bekannt ist, jedoch aus stilistischen oder herabschätzenden Gründen durch Ding ersetzt wirdHow to use Ding in a sentence?
Example sentences in German using Ding with translations in English.
[1] Was ist denn das für ein seltsames Ding?
[1] What kind of a strange dinge is that[1] „Allerdings“, sprach die Sphinx, nahm das Dings mehr nach links, und da ging's.
[1] "However," said the Sphinx, took the thing more to the left, and there went there[1a] In der ersten Runde müssen wir ein Ding raten, in der zweiten Runde einen Prominenten.
[1a] In the first round we have to advise a thing, in the second round a celebrity[1a] In der Werkstatt gab es Dinge, die ich nie zuvor gesehen habe.
[1a] There were things in the workshop that I have never seen before[1b] Mein neues Handy nervt: Ich kann das Ding nicht einmal stummschalten. Ich gehe morgen zum Laden, die werden wohl wissen, wie das bei diesen Dingern geht.
[1b] My new cell phone annoys: I can't even mute the thing, I go to charge tomorrow, they will know how it works with these things.[1b] „Die Dinger waren unglaublich schnell.“[2]
[1b] "The things were incredibly fast" [2][2] Man soll nicht an vergangene Dinge rühren.
[2] You shouldn't move to past things[2] „Mochten draußen in der Welt folgenschwere Dinge geschehen, uns betrafen sie nicht.“[3]
[2] "Most of the world may have happened outside in the world, they did not concern us" [3][3] Diese jungen Dinger von heute haben fast nichts mehr am Leib!
[3] These young things of today have almost nothing more in the Leibää[4] Er dreht schon wieder ein krummes Ding.
[4] He is already turning a crooked dingHow do you pronounce Ding?
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