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Is it der, die oder das Schweiz?

DIE

The correct article in German of Schweiz is die. So it is die Schweiz! (nominative case)

The word Schweiz is feminine, therefore the correct article is die.

It is always used with a specific article.

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.

Test your knowledge!

Choose the correct article.

DER

DIE

DAS

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 Schweiz?

How does the declension of Schweiz 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 die Schweiz die Schweizen
Genitive der Schweiz der Schweizen
Dative der Schweiz den Schweizen
Akkusative die Schweiz die Schweizen

What is the meaning of Schweiz in German?

Schweiz has various definitions in German:

[1] without plural: State in Central Europe

[1] ohne Plural: Staat in Mitteleuropa

[2] Part of mountainous landscape area names

[2] Teil von Gebietsbezeichnungen bergiger Landschaft

How to use Schweiz in a sentence?

Example sentences in German using Schweiz with translations in English.

[1] Die Hauptstadt der Schweiz ist de facto die Bundesstadt Bern.

[1] The capital of Switzerland is de facto the federal city of Bern.

[1] „Mit Voralpen werden in der Schweiz jene Gebiete bezeichnet, die den Übergang vom leicht hügeligen Schweizer Mittelland zum Gebirgsraum der Alpen markieren.“[2]

[1] "In Switzerland, the pre-Alps are those areas that mark the transition from the slightly hilly Swiss plateau to the mountainous area of ​​the Alps." [2]

[1] „Als traditionelle Orte der Namenforschung im deutschsprachigen Raum sind Lüneburg, Heidelberg, Mainz und Wiesbaden sowie mit Statistiken auch Zentren in Österreich und der Schweiz zu nennen.“[3]

[1] "Lüneburg, Heidelberg, Mainz and Wiesbaden as well as, with statistics, also centers in Austria and Switzerland are to be named as traditional places of name research in German-speaking countries." [3]

[2] Wir wollen im Sommer durch die Fränkische Schweiz Rad fahren.

[2] We want to cycle through Franconian Switzerland in summer

[2] „Noch häufiger wird der Begriff Schweiz für schöne, topographisch bewegte Landschaften angewandt. Weltweit gibt es fast 200 Schweizen, darunter mehr als ein Drittel in Deutschland […].“[4]

[2] "The term Switzerland is used even more frequently for beautiful, topographically turbulent landscapes. There are almost 200 Swiss people worldwide, including more than a third in Germany [...]." [4]

[2] „Theodor Fontane, der unermüdliche Wanderer durch Brandenburg, spottete 1862, die ‹Schweizen werden immer kleiner, und so gibt es nicht bloss mehr eine märkische, sondern bereits auch eine Ruppiner Schweiz›.“[5]

[2] "Theodor Fontane, the tireless wanderer through Brandenburg, mocked in 1862 that the 'Swiss are getting smaller and smaller, and so there is no longer just a Brandenburg, but also a Ruppin Switzerland' ." [5]

How do you pronounce Schweiz?

Schweiz
Schweiz
Schweiz (Österreich)

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