Is it der, die oder das Giraffe?

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 Giraffe?

How does the declension of Giraffe 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] Zoology: (in African Savannas of the Central African Steppen, domestic, legged, plant-furious mammal (giraffa camelopardalis) with a 2-3-meter neck, whose short coat of sand colors dyed and irregularly with (rust) brown Patch is provided whose back is strongly dropping and there are several fur-coated bone pastes on its forehead

[2] Film, Jargon of Film Production: With a long, swivel arm provided device, where, for example, a camera or a (not visible) microphone is mounted

[3] Astronomy: A constellation on the northern starry sky

[4] colloquially: highly grown, hailer person

[5] colloquially: Long-necked person (mostly obsolete with regard to women)

[6] Colloquially: personality of high social rank

[7] obsolete meaning: hilly person

[8] obsolete meaning: women's hairstyle in which the backhaar has been put in one or more large loops on the crest

[9] Palatinate, obsolete meaning: person with protruding teeth

[1] Die Giraffe ist ein afrikanisches Huftier.

[1] „Wenn sich die Giraffen recken, / Hochlaub sucht die spitze Zunge, / Das ihnen so schmeckt, wie junge / Frühkartoffeln mit Butter mir schmecken.“[8]

[1] „Die Zahlen sind alarmierend: Einer Studie zufolge, die in der Fachzeitschrift ‚BMC Biology Journal‘ veröffentlicht wurde, gibt es insgesamt noch rund 110.000 Giraffen auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent - einige der Gruppen jedoch seien inzwischen auf wenige hundert geschrumpft.“[9]

[1] „Die Giraffe, glaubte er, hat deshalb einen langen Hals, weil sie ihn Generation um Generation nach immer höheren Blättern streckte.“[10]

[1] „Vor zehn Jahren lebten schätzungsweise 140.000 Giraffen in Afrika. Heute gibt es weniger als 100.000.“[11]

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