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 Dirk?

How does the declension of Dirk 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] Sailor language: (mostly thin) rope that runs from the large tree nock to the masttop and holds up the large tree

[1] „Zieh doch mal die Dirk an, ich habe mir gerade den Kopf am Baum gestoßen.“

[1] Dirken gehören zum laufenden Gut eines Segelschiffes.

[1] Dirken laufen vom Ende des Baumes nach oben zum Mast und von dort zurück an Deck. […] Kleinere Jollen haben normalerweise keine Dirk.

[1] Bei kleineren Booten hat man im allgemeinen eine Dirk an der Nock des Großbaums.

[1] Schließlich behalfen wir uns mit der Dirk, was ein Drahtseilakt war. Denn damit wurde der zentnerschwere Baum seines Haltes beraubt. Damals nahm ich mir fest vor, ein "Reservefall" zu installieren. Was nicht so einfach ist, denn bei innenliegenden Fallen sind die beiden Rollen im Topp von der Dirk und vom Großfall ja schon belegt.

[1] Gewöhnlich fahren aber die Baumdirken, die bei größeren Schiffen doppelt sind, so daß das Segel zwischen den beiden Dirken liegt, direkt nach der Saling […]. Bei kleineren Schiffen und einfacher Dirk fährt diese oft über dem obersten Piekfallblock am Topp des Masten […]. Bei Schonern fährt die Dirk des Schonersegels nach der Saling des Großmastes hinauf.

German declension of Dirk?

How does the declension of Dirk 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] male first name

[1] Dirk muss gleich hier sein, er hat eben angerufen.

[1] Hast du Dirk schon zum Geburtstag gratuliert?