Is it der, die oder das Kollege?

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 Kollege?

How does the declension of Kollege 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] Person who works in the same company, in the same organization, institution or in the same profession

[1] Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen, ich begrüße euch alle herzlich zu unserer Betriebsversammlung.

[1] Frag doch mal deine Kollegen, ob sie zum Grillabend kommen wollen.

[1] Kollege Bleibein hat mal wieder kein Papier in den Drucker eingelegt.

[1] Die Kollegen haben zu meinem Geburtstag alle zusammengeschmissen und mir einen Porsche geschenkt.

[1] „Die Archäologen arbeiteten bei der Erforschung und Interpretation der Funde mit zahlreichen Kollegen aus Nachbardisziplinen zusammen.“[4]

[1] [Bundesaußenminister Frank-Walter] Steinmeier erläuterte, wie er seinen griechischen Kollegen[, den griechischen Außenminister Nikos Kotzias,] direkt angesprochen habe: Auch für andere Länder am Verhandlungstisch sei es - so der deutsche Minister - manchmal nicht einfach, einem Kompromiss im Sinne der gemeinsamen europäischen Linie zuzustimmen.[5]

[1] Eine 22 Jahre alte Polizistin ist gestern in Heilbronn durch mehrere Kopfschüsse getötet worden. Ihr 24-jähriger Kollege ist sehr schwer verletzt und nicht ansprechbar, nachdem ihm ebenfalls in den Kopf geschossen worden war.[6]