Is it der, die oder das Schleier?

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 Schleier?

How does the declension of Schleier 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] Thin, half -transparent fabric to cover the head/face (a woman)

[2] Translated: transparent, fine cloud from small particles

[3] Translated: Reporting or discoloration of a surface, for example in photos or paintings

[1] „Sie war ganz in Schwarz und trug einen Schleier. Ich erkannte ihr Gesicht kaum unter den Spitzen, […]“

[1] „Als er dann am Abend endlich allein mit ihr in der Brautkammer war und sie den Schleier lüftete, da heftete er voll gespannter Erwartung die Pupille auf seine Neue.“

[1] „Die Bewunderung raubte mir den Verstand; mit einer fast unwillkürlichen Bewegung streckte ich den Arm aus und wollte mit kühner Hand den Schleier heben.“

[2] „Nach einer trüben, regnerischen Woche zerriß plötzlich der graue Schleier, der heitere Himmel kam zum Vorschein, […]“

[2] „Diese so genannten planetarischen Nebel faszinieren die Astronomen schon lange, doch die Entstehung und Entwicklung der farbigen Schleier gibt noch immer Rätsel auf.“

[2] „Durch einen Schleier von Tränen hindurch lächelte sie Pierre zu.“

[3] „Zusätzlich kann bei unsachgemäßem Vorgehen eine Überfixierung entstehen, die weiße Schleier zur Folge haben.“