Is it der, die oder das Ei?

DAS

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

The word Ei 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

Grazer

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 Ei?

How does the declension of Ei 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 Ei	die Eier
Genitive	des Eis des Eies	der Eier
Dative	dem Ei	den Eiern
Akkusative	das Ei	die Eier

What is the meaning of Ei in German?

Ei has various definitions in German:

[1] Biology: a germ cell

[1] Biologie: eine Keimzelle

[2] Biology: a shell structure in which the embryo of oviparous animal species (for example birds) is formed

[2] Biologie: ein Schalengebilde, in dem sich der Embryo oviparer Tierarten (zum Beispiel Vögel) bildet

[3] Gastronomy: Inside of eggs [2] as food

[3] Gastronomie: Inneres von Eiern[2] als Nahrungsmittel

[4] oval, three-dimensional structure that is symmetrical along an axis

[4] ovales, dreidimensionales und entlang einer Achse symmetrisches Gebilde

[5] Colloquially: cue balls and other round objects in an approximately egg shape that are suitable for playing

[5] umgangssprachlich: Spielball und andere rundliche Gegenstände in annähernder Eiform, die sich zum Spielen eignen

[6] Colloquially, mostly used in the plural: the testicles

[6] umgangssprachlich, meist im Plural verwendet: die Hoden

[7] Colloquial, positive connotation: the egg of Columbus, realizable thought, realizable idea, useful invention, climax, core, core idea

[7] umgangssprachlich, positiv besetzt:: das Ei des Kolumbus, realisierbarer Gedanke, realisierbare Idee, brauchbare Erfindung, Höhepunkt, Kern, Kerngedanke

[8] Colloquial, derogatory: excuse, invention, cheek, climax, pseudo-argument, senselessness, subtlety, impertinence, insolence

[8] umgangssprachlich, abwertend: Ausrede, Erfindung, Frechheit, Höhepunkt, Scheinargument, Sinnlosigkeit, Spitzfindigkeit, Unverfrorenheit, Unverschämtheit

[9] Colloquially: synonymous, only plural: for currency unit, German mark, euro, franc and the like

[9] umgangssprachlich: synonym, nur Plural: für Währungseinheit, Deutsche Mark, Euro, Franken und Ähnliches

How to use Ei in a sentence?

Example sentences in German using Ei with translations in English.

[1] Nur eine Spermazelle kann ein Ei befruchten.

[1] Only one sperm cell can fertilize an egg.

[1] „Bei der Jungfernzeugung (Parthogenese) entwickeln sich auch unbefruchtete Eier (z.B. bei den Bienen und Blattläusen).“[2]

[1] "During the first generation (parthogenesis), unfertilized eggs also develop (e.g. in bees and aphids)." [2]

[2] Die Henne legt ein Ei.

[2] The hen lays an egg

[2] Um ein Ei als faul zu erkennen, muss man nicht selbst Eier legen können.

[2] In order to recognize an egg as lazy, you don't have to be able to lay eggs yourself.

[3] Das weiß ein jeder, wer's auch sei, / gesund und stärkend ist das Ei. (Wilhelm Busch)

[3] Everyone knows that, whoever it is, / The egg is healthy and strengthening (Wilhelm Busch)

[3] Die Suppe wird mit geschlagenem Ei gebunden.

[3] The soup is tied with a beaten egg.

[3] Kommt Ei in den Kuchen?

[3] If there is an egg in the cake?

[4] Welches Ei enthält etwas Spannendes, was zum Spielen und Schokolade?

[4] Which egg contains something exciting, something to play with and chocolate?

[3, 5] Wirf mal das Ei her!

[3, 5] Throw the egg here

[6] „Er hat sich die Hoden auf den Boden des Roten Platzes genagelt, um zu zeigen, dass der Kreml alle Bürger an den Eiern gepackt hat.“[3]

[6] "He nailed his testicles to the floor of Red Square to show that the Kremlin grabbed all the citizens by the eggs." [3]

[6] „Sie greift hinter sich, um seine Eier mit den Fingerspitzen zu streicheln.“[4]

[6] "She reaches behind her to stroke his balls with her fingertips." [4]

[6] „Der andere griff vorne in seine Hose und kratzte sich an den Eiern.“[5]

[6] "The other grabbed the front of his pants and scratched his eggs" [5]

[6] „Ich wollte nur noch nach Hause, dort die Kataloge der Ferienclubs durchblättern und mir dabei die Eier kraulen.“[6]

[6] "I just wanted to go home, leaf through the catalogs of the holiday clubs and scratch my eggs in the process." [6]

[7] Mensch, deine Erfindung ist das Ei auf der Messe!

[7] Man, your invention is the egg at the fair!

[8] Das war ja wohl nichts weiter als ein Ei!

[8] That was probably nothing more than an egg

[9] Da musst du eben die zwanzig Eier für das Knöllchen abdrücken.

[9] You just have to squeeze the twenty eggs for the nodule

How do you pronounce Ei?

Pictures or photos of Ei

[1] Sperma auf dem Weg zum Ei

[2] ein Ei

[3] ein Ei in Form eines Spiegeleis

[5] American football wird mit einem Ei gespielt

[6] die Eier eines ausgewachsenen Mannes

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