Is it der, die oder das Silhouette?

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 Silhouette?

How does the declension of Silhouette 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]

[a] a contour (dark) (dark) lifting off the background

[b] Fine artificialities painting, optics, photography: contour, outline of an area; An area enclosed by a clear contour that stands out from the background

[1a] Man konnte nur die Silhouette des Mannes erkennen.

[1a] „So, wie er da als Silhouette an der Reling lehnte, schien sein Profil nur aus einer großen, knolligen Nase und einer langen, tief nach unten reichenden Kinnlade zu bestehen.“

[1a] „Die Ebene entfaltet sich groß, in schwachem Blau beginnt in der Ferne die Silhouette der Bergränder aufzusteigen.“

[1a] „Dr. Böttcher hat zuerst verblüfft auf die Gestalten geblickt, deren Silhouetten sich im Türrahmen des Kellereinganges scharf abzeichnen, stellt sich mit einem Ruck auf die Beine und geht auf sie zu.“

[1b] „Unmittelbar an der Elbe gelegen, wollte er so gar nicht in die barocke Silhouette von Schloß, Katholischer Hofkirche, Brühlscher Terrasse und Semperoper passen.“