Is it der, die oder das Schamane?

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 Schamane?

How does the declension of Schamane 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 takes up ecstasy connection with ghosts and the souls of the deceased in order to cause something for the benefit of the community, for example healing of the sick, turning away of accidents, happiness in hunting

[1] Der eingängige Rhythmus der Trommel hilft dem Schamanen, sich in Trance zu versetzen und spielt bei allen Ritualen eine wesentliche Rolle. Stirbt ein Schamane, wird seine Trommel zerschnitten oder zerstört, damit er sich von der Erde verabschieden kann[.]

[1] „Alle Beschwörungen, die Orwo kannte, bestanden aus fremden, dem Korjakischen, der Eskimosprache oder gar dem Ewenkischen entlehnten Worten, die kein gewöhnlicher Mensch verstand, auch wenn sie ihm gehörten oder ihm von einem Schamanen verliehen worden waren.“

[1] „Schamanen sollten die gesamte wahrnehmbare Welt deuten.“

[1] „Der Priester als Mittler zwischen Mensch und göttlicher Welt findet sich auch heute noch bei Kulturen mit Ackerbau und Viehzucht (zu denen die Kelten gehörten), während der Schamane bei den Jägern, Sammlern und Hirtennomaden anzutreffen ist.“