Is it der, die oder das Spieß?

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 Spieß?

How does the declension of Spieß 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 historical stabbing offered a long stem with a pointed end to sting

[2] A cutlery to push through ("Skewen") of food

[3] Military: Companiefer in the German military

[4] Chess: Double attack by lady, tower or runner on a diagonal or line on two stones standing in a row

[1] „Da werden sie ihre Schwerter zu Pflugscharen und ihre Spieße zu Sicheln machen.“

[2] Heute Abend grillen wir Krabben am Spieß.

[2] „Meine Mutter hat nach zwei Bissen genug, obwohl die Spieße tatsächlich sehr gut sind.“

[2] „Biwakfeuer entzündeten sie nicht, um sich zu wärmen, sondern um Hammelfleisch an Spießen zu garen.“

[3] Der Spieß ist Unteroffizier in einer Kompanie auf einem herausgehobenen Dienstposten.

[3] „Der Spieß wollte sie zu irgendwas kommandieren, aber sie haben den Befehl glatt verweigert.“

[3] „Er war zwar nicht Spieß, aber doch Fahnenjunker gewesen.“

[4] „Ist die unmittelbar angegriffene vordere Figur wertvoller, dann zieht sie weg und überlässt den hinteren Stein seinem Schicksal. Das ist der Spieß. Auch wenn die beiden angegriffenen Figuren gleichwertig sind, haben wir es mit einem Spieß zu tun.“

[4] „Spieße treten in Spielen zwischen versierten Schachspielern seltener auf als Fesselungen.“