Is it der, die oder das Onkel?
DER
The correct article in German of Onkel is der. So it is der Onkel! (nominative case)
The word Onkel is masculine, therefore the correct article is der.
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 Onkel?
How does the declension of Onkel 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 | der Onkel | die Onkel |
| Genitive | des Onkels | der Onkel |
| Dative | dem Onkel | den Onkeln |
| Akkusative | den Onkel | die Onkel |
What is the meaning of Onkel in German?
Onkel has various definitions in German:
[1] In a first degree kinship relationship: brother of mother or father of a person
[1] in einer Verwandtschaftsbeziehung ersten Grades: Bruder von Mutter oder Vater einer PersonBut also colloquially: brother-in-law of mother or father of a person
aber auch umgangssprachlich: Schwager von Mutter oder Vater einer Person[2] Obsolete: 1h Degree: Brother of the Father
[2] veraltet: 1. Grades: Bruder des Vaters[3] Second or higher degree: son of a big dance or a big monk of some degree
[3] zweiten oder höheren Grades: Sohn einer Großtante oder eines Großonkels irgendeinen Grades[4] colloquially: Any male, strange person
[4] umgangssprachlich: irgendeine männliche, fremde PersonHow to use Onkel in a sentence?
Example sentences in German using Onkel with translations in English.
[1–3] „Oma und Opa waren da, meine Eltern, mein Bruder Sebastian und Onkel Hugo.“[6]
[1-3] "Grandma and Grandpa were there, my parents, my brother Sebastian and Uncle Hugo." [6][1–3] „Ich stellte mir Onkel Louis vor, mit seiner Mütze auf dem Kopf, wie er am Steuer seines Citroëns saß und in den sonnigen Süden aufbrach.“[7]
[1-3] "I introduced myself Uncle Louis, with his cap on his head, as he sat at the wheel of his Citroën and broke in the sunny south" [7][1–3] Mein Onkel Richard wohnt in Amsterdam.
[1-3] My uncle Richard lives in Amsterdam.[1–3] „So gesehen ist hier Onkel Gerhard der Außenseiter.“[8]
[1-3] "In this way, Uncle Gerhard is the outsider at the outsider" [8][1–3] „Mein Onkel sprach weiter.“[9]
[1-3] "My uncle talked about" [9][4] Mama, der nette Onkel dort drüben hat mir ein Plüschtier geschenkt!
[4] Mama, the nice uncle over there has a plush toy for meHow do you pronounce Onkel?
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