Is it der, die oder das Neandertaler?

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 Neandertaler?

How does the declension of Neandertaler 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, taxonomy, anthropology: extinct relative of today's people from the genus Homo

[1] Die Neandertaler bilden einen ausgestorbenen Zweig der Entwicklung der Menschheit.

[1] Es ist eben ein umfassender Verein »d' Neandertaler«, der die Kulturbedürfnisse vom Belt bis Hallstatt regelt, und sein Leibgesang, wenn er sich nicht an edleren Dichtungen vergreift, ist und bleibt: »Neandertal, du bist mei Freud«. (Karl Kraus: Vor der Walpurgisnacht - Aufsätze 1925-1936 (Kapitel 20))

[1] „Carl Heinrich Fuhlrott, der fast vergessene Entdecker des Neandertalers, wurde in Leinefelde geboren und war Lehrer am Gymnasium in Heiligenstadt.“

[1] „Die Neandertaler waren stark gebaut und besaßen besonders dickwandige Knochen.“

[1] „Vielleicht ist einem Neandertaler ein Stein auf den Zeh gefallen, und vor Schmerz umherhüpfend hat er lautstark Umlaute von sich gegeben.“